Page 29 of Desire and Discipline
Her lips curved in a smile as her eyelashes fluttered. She could never have anticipated this was where they would be when she accepted his proposal of marriage nor on their wedding night. When she’d married him, she’d known it was the right choice; she just had not knownhowright.
For the first time in her life, she felt completely and utterly fulfilled. She was no longer the boring and somewhat pitiable Miss Bliss. She was finally who she was meant to be.
Epilogue
Oliver Stuart,Marquess of Camden
It had been several years since Oliver had darkened the doorstep of a Society of Sin event. He’d occasionally visited, always with a care to attend on nights when his progeny would not be. But it had been a long, long time.
Seeing Joseph and Priscilla coming into their own had engendered an unexpected yearning within him, desires he’d thought he’d buried long ago. Or maybe it was the combination of their happiness and…her.
Because ofher, he yearned for things he had not wanted in years. Things he could not have. She was too young. Too… well, he was not sure if innocent was the word or not, but he presumed. After all, she had never been married. She’d taken up an occupation instead. She was from a good family, so he assumed…
Stop thinking about her.
Stepping into Hartford House, Oliver adjusted his mask. The masquerade this evening was the main reason he’d decided to finally step out of his own house and attend. That and none of his family was home. Elijah and Josie had gone to the country after they’d realized she was with child, and Joseph and Priscilla had gone with them. His first grandchild. The mind boggled. But it also brought home the fact thatshewas far too young for him. He was going to be a grandfather soon. Never mind what the other men of his station did. That was not his way. And most of them did so when they needed an heir, while he had three sons.
He had no excuse for lusting after her the way he did.
Adam and Lucas were on the continent, visiting Paris where their preferences were more accepted. Oliver missed his youngest, but Adam wrote frequently, and both young men had proved adept at information gathering.
While Evie and Anthony were in London currently, they had an important meeting tonight with the Crown. Which meant they certainly would not be attending the Society’s masquerade, despite it being hosted by one of Evie’s best friends. Oliver did feel odd being there while Mary was present—she’d made him into an honorary uncle when she was growing up—but he would just avoid her as best he could. He’d informed her husband Rex that he would be attending and trusted the man to keep her away.
There were some things he did not need to witness, even if he knew they were happening.
Making his way down the hall, everything was as he remembered. Laughter, murmurs, and cries of pain and pleasure spilled out into the hallway from the rooms. Muffled moans could be heard from behind closed doors. Here, there was true freedom to be whoever one wanted to be.
The difference between tonight and other events was that most of the sound was coming from the ballroom at the end of the hall. Both doors were open, admitting whoever had arrived. Music was playing and as he approached, he could see the whirling figures on the dance floor.
Everyone was wearing masks, and some were wearing dominos as well to cover most of their clothing. Oliver had opted to wear a plain grey suit with a black vest, negating the need for a domino. Even with it, many of his companions were easy to identify if they’d chosen to wear a distinctive outfit. Some had done very little to conceal their identities, while others were completely unidentifiable thanks to their large masks and wigs.
Pausing at the entrance, Oliver scanned the room, automatically assessing it for threats the way he always did. Rex and Mary were on the dance floor, waltzing in a decidedly improper manner that would have scandalized most of theton.Oliver’s gaze skidded away, looking for anyone else he might know. It was entirely possible his other honorary niece, Lily Talbot, and her husband might be present, but if they were, they were well hidden among the throng.
Or perhaps they were in one of the rooms he’d passed to get here.
As long as he did not see them engaging in… anything, he would be satisfied.
Now, he just needed to find what he wanted for the evening.
A partner.
A distraction.
A substitute for who I really want.
It was the best he could do.
A woman across the floor caught his eye. Possibly because she was standing among a crowd of men who he knew to have preferences like his, but also maybe because there was something familiar about her. She was wearing a wig and a mask, but the way she moved her hands, the way the corner of her lip quirked up when she smiled, the way…
No.
It could not be.
It cannot be her.
He started across the floor toward her, unseeing all else. If it was her… well, he did not know what he was going to do.
