Page 44 of The Dangerous Love of a Rogue
Mary froze as they disappeared into the dark night.
She’d heard rumours of Lady Kilbride, of her unfaithfulness. Was Drew her lover?
She did not dance the next set but told Daniel her slippers rubbed. He kindly stood out with her watching Bethany dance. Emily joined them as she did not have a dance partner.
Nausea rolled in Mary’s empty stomach as she struggled to make conversation.
Twenty minutes has passed when Drew and Lady Kilbride returned. She stopped mid-sentence: Lady Kilbride clutched his handkerchief in her hand.
‘Mary, what is it?’ Daniel looked over his shoulder, following her gaze.
Drew was hidden by the dancers.
Daniel looked back at her.
‘Mary, what is it?’ Emily queried her silence.
‘Nothing is wrong. Sorry, I lost my thread.’Would he do that? Would he make love to Lady Kilbride after what they had done?
The dance ended and her other friends returned before Daniel or Emily could question her further.
Mary looked for Drew. He’d returned to his friends. Lady Kilbride elsewhere.
As Lord Brooke said something to Drew, Drew’s gaze caught Mary staring. A bitter smile twisted his lips. The expression said he knew she’d seen him with Lady Kilbride. Lord Brooke must have seen her watching and told Drew.
Mary turned to her friend. ‘Emily…’
Because Emily was uncertain of her place in society, she hated to offend, which made her a good confidant. ‘I wish to talk to a group of gentlemen I met the other night. Mama would skin me alive if she knew I was going to be so forward, but you will keep me company, won’t you? There is safety in numbers. There will be no harm done if we both speak to them, and I am sure your papa will thank me for introducing you to Lord Framlington and Lord Brooke.’
The naivety of Emily’s family meant she would not know the reputations of those men.
She conceded rather than actively agreeing. Mary added another deceit to her list.
She threaded her arm through Emily’s and led her across the room.
Lord Brooke saw them coming and turned to Drew.
* * *
Peter touched Drew’s shoulder. ‘You had better look sharp. You are about to become the victim of your fiancée’s wrath. The lady bears daggers in her eyes.’ Peter’s smile said he thought it a great joke.
Drew’s friends had joined him tonight not at his request, but of their choosing, insisting they should be given the opportunity to congratulate his future wife. Truthfully, they came to see him act the lover and humiliate himself. They were here to laugh at him – albeit good-naturedly.
Of course he had not told them his attempt at affection was genuine. That was for Mary to know and no one else. He would not make himself vulnerable to the whole damned world.
But his friends’ presence was welcome, especially as Peter had been able to warn Drew that Mary had seen him leave with Caro.
As she approached, the look on her face made it clear she’d misunderstood. Peter was right, a thunderstorm raged in her eyes. She probably did not know Caro was his sister, only a few people knew of their relationship. His family never acknowledged either of their bastards in public.
The pale blue satin Mary wore enhanced her eyes and made her hair and eyelashes look even darker, while the pearls about her neck made his fingers itch to touch her skin.
Kilbride had been up to his vicious games again and Caro had needed a shoulder to weep on. Her make-up had barely covered the bruises. As the family outcasts, they had turned to each other since childhood. He’d promised to intervene in her marriage a dozen times but she was too afraid of Kilbride. But when he married Mary he would have the money to get her away from Kilbride and hide her. Then he intended to insist she let him help.
Drew held Mary’s gaze as she walked the final steps, laughter tight in his throat. He smiled.
Her family be damned. The girl had courage to come across the room and tackle him.
He liked this side of her nature.
