Page 1 of Dangerous Games of a Broken Lady
Chapter 1
Lady Adelaide Colborne lounged on a chaise, flicking absently through a book. A fire roared in the grate, keeping out the bitter chill of October. The clock on the mantelpiece chimed eleven o’clock at night. Outside, carriage wheels clattered past the window.
She glanced across at the others in the drawing room and wondered when she might be permitted to make her excuses and leave the Gilletts’ house. There were far more exciting exploits out there to enjoy. London was her oyster and yet, she was being kept in domestic drudgery. If she had wanted that, she would have stayed at her family’s Yorkshire estate.
“Planning your escape, Lady Adelaide?” a voice murmured. She turned to see Jasper Fitzwilliam, Viscount Gillett, the only son of the Earl of Richmond, watching her closely.
“And what if I am, Jasper?” She mimicked his tone, flashing a mischievous smile. “As you see, my father is in deep discussion with yours, Miss Green is attempting to gain my mother’s favor, and your mother has already retired for the evening. Undoubtedly, out of utter tedium for the company and conversation herein.”
Adelaide looked towards her dear father, Ephraim Colborne, the Earl of Leeds. He drank animatedly from a brandy snifter, whilst Jasper’s father, Milton Fitzwilliam, the Earl of Richmond, nodded uncertainly at everything being said.
Adelaide smiled at the scene. No doubt, her father was discussing some new business endeavor. The Earl of Leeds had a passion for commerce, though his success did not always hit the mark. And most of the time, no one had any clue what he was talking about. Lord Richmond seemed to be enduring such a bout of confusion, at that very moment.
Adelaide’s mother, the Countess of Leeds, on the other hand, seemed to be fielding the excitable chatter of Miss Leah Green. Adelaide liked the girl well enough, but a distance remained between them that had yet to be traversed. All her life, Adelaide had hoped to find a genuine confidante. Thus far, Jasper was the only one she felt she could speak freely with on most subjects. But, being short on close female friends, she kept Leah around, just in case true closeness blossomed.
The problem was that a competitive streak existed between the two young ladies. Adelaide had power and wealth, and a way of wrapping anyone around her little finger. Leah had enthusiasm and a lack of responsibility. She did not have a title to lose if she put a foot wrong. In truth, Adelaide envied her somewhat for that. Not that she would ever admit such a thing to Leah herself.
“You are so severe on your talent for conversation?” Jasper quipped.
Adelaide flashed him a look, “You know very well that your mother finds me an absolute delight. Were she here, she would seek me out as the only worthy conversant in the room.”
“Ah yes, I had forgotten how highly you place yourself above others.”
“That is most untrue and deeply unfair of you to say, Jasper.” She gave him a hard stare, feeling stung. “As you see, I have been forced to retreat into the pages of a novel. Everyone seems perfectly occupied without me. I would not intrude where I am not needed, nor speak for the sake of speaking.”
“Perhaps you might find the evening more interesting if you were to involve yourself, instead of slinking to the shadows like a petulant feline.”
“And seek to interrupt your stolen words with dear Miss Green? I would never do such a thing,” Adelaide teased. She had noticed the way Jasper looked at Leah. It would take a blind man not to see how fond he was of the enthusiastic young lady.
“I have not stolen any words with Miss Green,” he remarked stiffly. “She is here as your guest. She is no acquaintance of mine. Why should I have reason to steal conversation with her? There is no current affection between her and myself. Indeed, I hardly know her.”
“Methinks the admirer doth protest too much,” Adelaide chuckled. “Indeed, methinks the admirer would very much like to get to know Miss Green better. Is that why you have come over to me, Jasper? Do you seek to make the poor girl green with envy?”
He flushed furiously—a sight that amused and pleased Adelaide in equal measure. She knew there had long been a distant flirtation between Jasper and Leah. They were not closely acquainted, but their paths often crossed. Each season, they dabbled a little more. As Adelaide’s London home neighbored with that of Jasper and his family, whenever Leah was invited to visit, they invariably ended up bumping into one another. Adelaide had often teased Jasper that he likely watched from his window like a desperate sentinel.
“I know you seek only to tease me, Lady Adelaide. I shall not rise to your taunts,” Jasper said coolly. “I might ask why you are so eager to make your exit, however? Is there a secret admirer lingering in the dark halls of the Assembly Rooms, awaiting your clandestine arrival?” His tone mocked her, but she did not care. He could mock all he liked.
“Whom I choose to acquaint myself with is none of your concern. Though, if you must know, I seek only to find more stimulating entertainment. Why must I read and sit on the periphery of stuffy conversation when I might be dancing and conversing with the other shining young creatures of London?”
“The delights of London society calling to you, are they?” he mused. “You know, they are naught but mere façade and performance. None of it is real—it is all a fantasy, created to amuse the young ladies and gentleman of our day.”
“Perhaps fantasy is what I desire,” Adelaide shot back, arching an eyebrow. She chuckled at the sudden flush of his cheeks. She had a way of inducing men to heated discomfort. It was not a trait in herself that she always enjoyed, but she and Jasper had long been friends. She knew she could never induce him towards romantic thought. He was immune where other gentlemen were not. Indeed, a humorous understanding existed between them, perpetuating their mutual jest of one another.
“If you do not enjoy these evenings with my family, why do you insist on partaking of them?”
“I should never wish to appear rude,” she offered with a shy smile.
He sighed in evident frustration, “Then, maybe you ought to make your excuses and leave?”
“You see, now you agree—that is the only solution,” she said, chuckling softly. “Although I believe you have an ulterior motive. You wish me to leave so you might have the pleasure of Miss Green’s company, a little more intimately. My mother shall retire when I do. If I were to remove myself in such a manner, by the merest law of averages you would have to garner the courage to speak with Miss Green. Otherwise, she would be left quite alone. And then, who would appear to be the uncouth one?”
“That is not why I am suggesting such a thing,” Jasper remarked sharply. “I would not see you in discomfort or boredom, that is all.”
“Of course.” Playful amusement rippled from Adelaide’s words, “Ever the selfless knight, charging in on his white steed.”
Jasper narrowed his sea-green eyes at her. “If you will not be serious, Lady Adelaide…”
“Then what?” she interjected.
