Page 40 of What a Courtesan Wants
The morose thoughts concerning a solitary future without someone underfoot who loved him, were smothered as Aubrey rose to prepare for the day. The renovation on the expanded portion of the warehouse had been completed, and he and Kit would spend the day ensuring all was in order for the opening in a few weeks. Then, he would have little time to return and dress for the dinner party.
Among his guests would be his friends and fellow courtesans—as they’d watched Elizabeth grow up and were like uncles to her in a way, Lucinda, and an intimate handful of Aubrey’s friends and business contacts with their families. On Elizabeth’s insistence, Kit had also been invited. Try as he might to squelch whatever attraction had blossomed between them, Aubrey knew it to be a hopeless endeavor. It would make Elizabeth happy to have him in attendance, as the two had known one another since she’d been a little girl hanging onto Aubrey’s coattails and Kit had been a young apprentice. It was his enduring hope that once Elizabeth had been introduced to more young men, she would come to appreciate the plethora of options available to her.
Aubrey shared breakfast with his niece and Mrs. Baines as he did every morning, watching the old nanny sniffle and swipe at her watering eyes over the impending loss of her young ward. Elizabeth could be wed and away from them in a matter of a year or less, a fact that became more real on such a monumental day.
When Elizabeth caught him staring at her with a watery sting in his eyes, she had lifted her eyebrows and asked him if everything was all right.
“Yes and no,” he had replied honestly. “This day is as happy for me as it is sobering. I knew it would come, but that doesn’t make me any better prepared to let you go.”
“I’m not leaving today, Uncle Aubrey,” she’d said with a little laugh. “And I’ll never be completely gone. You’ll grow sick of me descending upon you and Mrs. Baines with a gaggle of great nieces and nephews, I suspect.”
You say that now, dearest, but time will change that. You’ll have your husband, your children, your life separate from mine.
Instead of speaking that thought aloud, he simply rested his hand atop hers and smiled. “I look forward to it, dearest.”
After finishing breakfast, he set out for Rowland-Drake. The mountain of tasks to be accomplished at the warehouse served to smother his tangled, contradictory thoughts and he lost himself in his work. Kit seemed tense, his mouth drawn and his jaw tight, and Aubrey supposed this day unnerved him, as well. If the young man had any aspirations concerning Elizabeth, her coming out probably reminded him just how far out of his reach she would soon be. Aubrey went out of his way to be kind to the boy, choosing not to berate him for absentmindedness as he fumbled tasks that would usually come easy for him. Kit hardly seemed to notice, his green eyes unfocused as if he were here but not truly present.
He understood the boy’s plight, as his own mind had been unsettled for weeks. Aubrey could easily pity Kit when he himself couldn’t stop ruminating over the previous weeks with Lucinda—following their night at the opera and the explosive joining in the carriage. After that, they’d seemed to hover on the edge of something more, something that grew and swelled between them each time they saw one another. The near-kisses that always ended before they began, the longing glances she gave him whenever he departed from her, the rightness of her body in his arms … all of it left him in a confused tangle of contradictory thoughts and emotions he couldn’t seem to sort. It put him in as much a dudgeon as Kit for most of the day.
Aubrey’s spirits lifted as he joined Elizabeth in the drawing room to greet their guests that evening, a festive mood falling over the household. He had hired additional servants for the night to help his small staff greet and serve guests, their new navy-blue livery made from superfine newly acquired from the latest shipment to Rowland-Drake.
Elizabeth was radiant in her handmade gown of watered silk in a shade of pale green, her hair arranged in a soft, whimsical coiffure. Mrs. Baines had been invited to attend, but had declared that she’d be unable to survive the night without collapsing into tears and sobs, and she did not want to embarrass her employer or her former charge.
His niece lit up like a starry night sky as guest after guest arrived—Benedict and the other courtesans who toted wrapped parcels for her to unwrap after dinner, Evelyn on Hugh’s arm, and Kit. Three merchants, a banker, a solicitor, and a baron came with their sons and daughters in tow—four young men and three young women who had been previously introduced to Elizabeth. Lucinda arrived last, taking his breath away in an evening gown made of the peacock blue silk from his shop. As he had suspected, the color brightened her eyes and complimented the honeyed hue of her hair, the fall of the fabric from her bodice enhancing the womanly curves of her form.
“Oh, Aubrey, she looks radiant,” she murmured as they stood together watching Elizabeth talk and laugh with her guests while waiting for dinner to be announced. “You’ve done so well.”
The note of affection he heard in Lucinda’s voice fed the flame of hope burning deep in his chest, which Aubrey knew to be dangerous. He couldn’t snuff it out no matter how much he tried, and every time she gave any indication she cared about him and Elizabeth in any way only made matters worse.
“I’ve done my best. With your help, she’ll be a smashing success. I know I’ve thanked you already—”
“There is no need. I’ve received many acceptances to my invitations, including a viscount and his son, as well as a young baron. She’ll charm them as effortlessly as she has anyone else. Elizabeth hardly needs my help. I am only offering her an entrée into society … the rest, she will accomplish on her own.”
Lucinda was right, of course. As he watched his niece throughout the night, he could see the years of schooling, etiquette, and polish had paid off. If not for the station of her birth, she might fit seamlessly into the ranks of the upcoming Season’s crop of new debutantes.
Dinner was a jovial affair, with conversation and laughter flying about over six sumptuous courses. Aubrey noticed the marked attention the young men paid to Elizabeth, though he did not miss how that only served to worsen Kit’s mood. The lad spent most of the evening picking at his food and watching Elizabeth with longing and sadness in his eyes.
Nevertheless, his assistant’s sulking did nothing to dampen the mood. Following dinner and dessert, the entire party retired back to the drawing room, where Elizabeth opened the trinkets and books from her ‘uncles’, after which Aubrey presented her with a rather expensive set of pearls. She sighed and cooed over the ear bobs, necklace, and bracelet he’d purchased for her months prior, wanting to mark this occasion with a grand gift.
“Oh, Uncle Aubrey, I love them!” she cried, throwing herself into his arms. “Thank you.”
“Anything for you, dearest.”
The gift-giving was followed by a champagne toast in honor of Elizabeth, after which Lucinda coaxed her into playing the pianoforte for them. Aubrey was grateful for her presence, and the way she’d spent the night subtly highlighting Elizabeth’s attributes and accomplishments to their guests—particularly the parents of prospective suitors, who would appreciate knowing what sort of woman their sons might come to court.
After a while, the piano playing gave way to the suggestion of dancing. Lucinda took over at the instrument, a wide smile stretching across her face. Aubrey partnered Elizabeth first, before ‘Uncle Ben’ insisted he must be next. Pairs formed as the furniture was cleared to make room, and with Lucinda playing with skillful fluency, ladies flounced from man to man, given over to the sort of exuberance that could never exist in any ballroom in London.
An hour passed in a blur of merriment, with Aubrey standing back after a few dances to simply enjoy watching Elizabeth—eyes sparkling, tawny cheeks flushed with excitement, a few unruly curls slipping free of her coiffure. She danced with Kit now, who was grinning for the first time all evening.
His gaze darted to Lucinda and held, as he became enraptured by the sight of her, fingers gliding over the keys, face relaxed and free of its customary sadness and strain. He could imagine her playing the instrument on a quiet evening, with only the two of them in the room. The entire world seemed to fall away, and he could see himself as if he’d stepped outside of his body, approaching her as she played, bracing both hands on her shoulders, affectionately kissing the top of her head. She would lean into him, tip her head back, and offer her lips without reservation. Something within him reacted viscerally to the fantasy of bending down to kiss her lips, his scalp tingling as if she reached up to cup the back of his head and hold him close, opening her mouth and letting him in.
“Uncle Aubrey!”
He blinked to find Elizabeth standing before him. Her lips moved but he couldn’t register the words, his mind still caught somewhere in between daydream and reality.
“I’m sorry?”
“I said, you should ask Lady Bowery to dance,” she replied, giving him a knowing glance before her gaze slid to Lucinda. “She’s been playing for us all night without a reprieve. I’ll take over if you wish to dance with her.”
