ShewasLady Delilah Windermere.
He stood, motionless, his eyes refusing to tear themselves away from her as she strutted, strode, danced, and flounced from one end of the stage to the other, the crowd around him reacting to her antics. It could’ve simply been her unusual height for a woman or her undeniable beauty, but Delilah held more within her and radiated it outward tenfold—a charisma that made it impossible to move one’s eyes from her.
Further, Delilah was possessed of the most wonderfully expressive face. A face that conveyed openness. The sort of face that drew in the audience and made it believe and held it in its grip until the very end of a performance and into the breathless moment just beyond, before everyone broke out into a frenzy of applause. She was, quite simply, transfixing.
And she was the daughter of an earl—a lady who absolutely didn’t cavort with low company such as Ye Olde Albion Players for the public’s consumption.
He snorted.
Right.
Lady Delilah and all the Windermeres did as they pleased.
And as she didn’t appear to be in any imminent danger, he settled back against the elm and allowed the performance to proceed without interruption.
This wasn’t at all like Eton.
His interference wasn’t necessary tonight.
An hour later, the players took their final bows, and the crowd began to thin, and Sebastian knew he should turn on his heel and leave exactly the way he’d come.
What he shouldn’t do was seek out Lady Delilah Windermere. Yet…
His feet had other ideas as they led him along the dark periphery of the crowd and toward the company’s caravans circled behind the stage. Scatterings of conversations passed him by as he strode through the makeshift camp, glancing about and even poking his head through a few caravan curtains. “And good riddance to that Jed. He barely knew the business end of a hammer from the other,” came a gravelly voice here. “Listen, Mary, if you don’t want a pin poke in the bottom, you’ll hold still,” came another there.
It was the third caravan he peeked into that was the charm.
There, seated alone at a dressing table, sat Delilah rubbing at her face with a cloth, removing black stage make-up from her eyebrows, pink from her cheeks, red from her lips, revealing the delicate, fine-boned face beneath, one swipe at a time.Exquisite.It was an undisputed fact that Lady Delilah Windermere stood to be a diamond of the first water—if only she would be.
But a description of Lady Delilah’s looks only scratched the surface of her. It so happened that her beauty wasn’t the most important—or interesting—thing about her.
It was what lay beneath that delicate, exquisite surface.
Determination…talent…intelligence…passion…desire…
Sebastian only realized he’d been watching her for a few seconds too long when a voice rang out, “Now, what sort of Tom do we have peeping into our caravan?”
Sebastian only now noticed the space held two other occupants—actresses by the saucy look of them in various states of dishabille, one removing her boots, the other already down to chemise and stays. The smiles they flashed his way suggested they didn’t mind him here in the least.
It was the third set of lips he remained focused upon—lips turned down in a decided frown when her gaze shifted and her eyes met his in the mirror. Delilah’s hand froze mid-swipe. The moment stretched as a symphony of emotions marched across her expressive face—confusion…disbelief…annoyance…anger.
“Bloody hell,” she exclaimed, twisting around on the stool and meeting his gaze directly. “It’syou.”
Sebastian didn’t flinch at the way she flung thatyouat him.
“Again.”
“Well acquainted with one another, are we?”
Delilah’s gaze flew to the other two actresses. She’d clearly forgotten their presence. “Flora, Dorie, would you mind allowing us a few moments of privacy?” she asked politely, but firmly.
Flora and Dorie’s gaze raked over Sebastian again. “No need to get all hoity-toity about it,” said one.
“Oh, come now, Dorie. Can’t hardly blame the chit for wantinga few moments of privacywith this bloke,” said Flora with a waggle of her eyebrows.
Laughter trailed in their wake as they cleared out, brushing their bodies against Sebastian’s as they did so. Silence prevailed inside the caravan while he and Delilah continued to stare at one another.
Eton.
