Damon stood with his back to me at the cellaret where the bottles of alcohol were stored. He’d removed his coat and wore only his waistcoat and shirt sleeves, and his cravat hung misshapen around his neck.
I wished I could retie it for him. Wished I could pull him back into my arms and tell him that everything was going to be okay. But everything would not be okay. We’d been put in an impossible position by his father, and we had no recourse.
Damon pulled the stopper off a decanter of brandy and poured himself a drink. He stared at the amber-colored liquid for a moment, then drained the glass. He refilled his glass once more, then replaced the stopper. When he finally turned back to face the room, his steely gaze landed on the chessboard between me and Ollie. Damon’s jaw tightened, and I knew he was remembering the game we’d shared at the beginning of the summer.
I gave a slight shake of my head, trying to tell him that there was nothing to be jealous of. But Damon quit the room anyway. I stared at the threshold for a long moment, hoping he would rejoin us, but it remained empty.
Ollie cleared his throat behind me. “It is your turn, Hannah.”
“Forgive me,” I said, turning back to our game. I searched the board, and my eyes landed on the knight. Its windswept mane looked so much like Ares’s. I left the piece where it was and studied the board for another advantageous move. There were far too many for how long we had been playing. “Either you are a remarkably terrible opponent, Mr. Jennings, or you are playing poorly on purpose.”
“I am not playing poorly on purpose, but even if I was, you never used to mind when I let you win.” He flashed me a dimpled smile.
He was trying to make me smile, but it had the opposite effect. Win or lose, I wanted to do so on my own merit, not because heletme. “Challenge me, Ollie.”
A muscle in his jaw flexed. “Iamtrying, Hannah, but I am not as good at this game as my brother is.”
“Pardon?”
“Damon,” he said. “You were comparing how well I play chess to him.”
“I wasn’t.”
“You were,” he insisted, and my irritation grew. “Never mind. Let’s just finish our game.”
And so we did. In silence. Until I captured almost all of his pieces and had to say, “Checkmate.”
Ollie let out a humorless breath. “It seems I’m no match for you, Hannah. Perhaps we should stick to other diversions to pass our time together.”
“Perhaps so.”
That night, I went to bed with a heavy heart.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Nora laid my new poppy-coloredgown on the bed. I ran my fingertips over the intricately beaded bodice and delicate cap sleeves. The soft silk gown was even more beautiful than I’d dared to dream. I had no desire to put it on and pretend to be happy, but there was nothing for it.
“You are quiet this evening,” Nora said as she helped me change.
“I was only thinking about tonight.”
We moved to the vanity table. Nora pinned my curls into place, framing my face with ringlets, and then accented the arrangement with a ribbon and pearls. I dabbed a little rose water onto my neck and was ready.
My skirts swished as I walked down the corridor and descended the grand staircase. Halfway down, I noticed Damon standing alone in the entryway, looking at his fob watch. My heart leapt traitorously at the sight of him. Dressed in a crisp white shirt and formal black tails, he was the picture of a well-heeled gentleman.
Damon looked up from his watch. “Hannah.” His gaze raked over me unguarded. “You look . . .” His sentence trailed off, and he swallowed hard.
I continued to the bottom of the stairs. “Your silence is uncharacteristic. Disconcertingly so. You must tell me as a gentleman, does this shade not suit me?”
“You know it does,” he said in a low voice. And stepping nearer than was proper, he brought his mouth to my ear. “As I once said, every man in the ballroom will be yours for the taking.”
My pulse quickened, but I could not allow myself to feel this way. I set a hand on his chest and stepped back an appropriate distance. “Noteveryman, my lord.”
“Please don’t call me that,” he said quietly.
“We have had this conversation before,” I said sadly. “This time, I must insist on propriety.” It was the only way for me to endure this separation.
Damon looked at me for a long moment, his gaze full of yearning. “Dance with me tonight,” he said as if he could not resist.
