Page 27 of A Countess Captured for the Captain
But Nox could only glance behind him with a desperate look, as Clarissa and Sevelia led him forcibly away. His eyes caught those of Samantha for a but a moment, and she seemed sad to see him in such company, her own appearing intent upon possessing her.
Chapter Thirteen
“Is that him?” Reginald asked, just as they were introduced by the footman.
“But it cannot be,” Samantha’s father exclaimed, as Regina raised her hand to her mouth in horror.
“The brigand, the pirate,” she exclaimed, as Nox’s uncle came to greet them.
“Your Grace, how pleased I am that you join us, you are most welcome, and I am sure that my nephew will greet you himself when no longer in the company of his admirers,” he said, winking at them.
Samantha tried her best to keep her composure. But the sight of Nox on the arm of Clarissa and Sevelia Thompson had brought a tear to her eye and a pang of jealousy to her heart. If she had wanted an answer to Nox’s intentions, then she had it, plain and simple.
He had surely known that she would be in attendance that evening, the perfect opportunity to prove his feelings and claim her as his own. But instead, he was cavorting with women well known for their predatory ambitions, their mother a scheming woman who thought only of her own advancement in society.
“Are you aware that you harbor a brigand and a pirate? A man responsible for the sinking of several of my sugar ships?” Samantha’s father spluttered, but Nox’s uncle only waved his hand dismissively.
“Oh, that small matter,” he exclaimed, “it is hardly of any importance. You cannot seriously believe that my nephew was responsible for the actions of the pirates he lived alongside? No, Your Grace, the man you see before you now is not the same one, not at all. He is the Earl of Brimsey, and the past should be left where it belongs. He was lost but now is found,” and he strolled away, greeting the other guests as he went.
There was some small satisfaction for Samantha to see her father’s upset at the discovery of Nox and Norman Osmond being the same man, furthermore, because no one else seemed in the least bit concerned. If anything, the whole of society was fascinated by the sight of this man who had led such a colorful life, and Samantha could only watch as a steady stream of women filed past him, the Thompson twins doing their best to keep him for themselves.
“Did you really think he would remember you now?” Regina whispered, when Samantha’s father and Reginald had gone off to fill punch glasses for them all.
Samantha made no reply, watching Nox, longing for him to catch her eye and prove Regina wrong.
“Here we are,” Reginald said, as he and the Duke returned with the punch glasses.
“And a glass of tonic for you, my dear,” the Duke said, handing Regina a punch saucer filled with an oddly colored liquid.
“Such a shame I cannot dance in my condition. I suppose everyone will have to come to me,” she said, taking a sip, and smiling up at Samantha’s father.
“You and I will dance though, Samantha,” Reginald said.
It was an order rather than a request, and reluctantly, Samantha took his hand, knowing that when Nox saw them, it would surely be the end of his interest in her. He himself was dancing with one of the Thompson twins, the musicians having now struck up a waltz, so that the whole room had come alive. But Samantha knew all eyes were turned on Nox, and that it was he and he alone that was the object of attention.
“A pirate and now the Earl of Brimsey. What a true debacle, your father has every right to be angry,” Reginald said, placing his arm around Samantha as he spun her in the dance.
“He is a good man,” Samantha replied, glancing over her shoulder, just as Nox turned and caught her eye.
The sight of her with Reginald brought that same look to his eyes as Samantha had felt in herself at the sight of him with the Thompson twins. A look of jealousy, of desire, of longing. Now, she felt utterly confused, imagining that he too was the victim of sad circumstance, one which brought them so close and yet so far from one another.
“He will soon learn that he is not truly welcome in society, an outcast, once all the fuss has died down,” Reginald continued.
With every word he spoke, Samantha disliked him even more, and now she stepped back, feigning a headache.
“I must take the air, will you excuse me?” she said, pulling away from him.
“But the dance is not yet over, Samantha. It is terrible form to step out like this. Will you leave me bereft?” he asked, and without replying, she slipped away through the throng.
Catherine and Rebecca were there too, sitting on the far side of the dance floor, and Samantha made straight for them, glad only to have gotten away from Reginald who seemed angry to have been left on his own and was muttering to her father and Regina.
“Have you seen those awful Thompson twins? They are quite brazen, and their mother is a–” Catherine said, but Rebecca interrupted her, taking Samantha by the hand, as he looked at her worriedly.
“You look awful, Samantha, what is wrong?” she asked.
“I… I cannot marry that man, I simply cannot. He is too awful for words. I have spent barely a few hours in his company and already I know that,” she said, shaking her head.
“Then we must ensure that Mr. Nox… the Earl of Brimsey, comes to realize that. Look, he is coming over,” she exclaimed, and Samantha looked up in delight to see Nox weaving his way through the throng toward them.
