As unobtrusively as possible, she surveyed the people around her.
Of course, Miss Cunnington was present. She appeared to be a guest, along with her mother, in the box directly across from theirs. Cecily noted with a very small, very tiny amount of satisfaction that the lady’s eye appeared to have been blackened. She had attempted to cover the bruises with face paints, but Cecily knew where to look, and thereby noticed what somebody else perhaps might not.
Stephen, ever the protector, was observing their surroundings as well. When he leaned back comfortably into his seat, Cecily could feel the heat of his body all along her right side. On her left side where Flavion sat, she felt nothing.
Why should a woman’s body respond so differently to one man’s than to another’s?
Stephen leaned over to her and whispered, “Marcus’ parents are here. He hasn’t spoken with them in years.”
“Where?” Cecily said, giving into the spirit of people watching completely.
“Two boxes to the left,” he said without pointing or looking. “Marcus’ father betrothed him to a friend’s daughter years ago. Since she was in the nursery, in fact. Of course, Marcus refuses to give in to his father’s wishes. The standoff has gone on for over five years now.”
“Poor Lord Blakely,” Cecily said. “Do you know who the lady is?” She liked that Stephen shared secrets with her. This was how she had imagined having a husband would be. His cologne was the same and yet different. Perhaps the texture of his clothing changed the scent of it. It had smelled warmer last night… in her bed…
“I do not. Although I gather she is one of his father’s friend’s daughters. Could be the young chit in the box with them, for all I know. In fact, that’s a distinct possibility.”
Cecily glanced over slyly. “Oh, but she is lovely. Why won’t he come up to scratch?”
Stephen laughed. “Would you wish to marry somebody merely because you were ordered to do so?”
At that, Cecily laughed as well. “Well… when you put it like that…” She smiled and then pointed out another box as discreetly as possible. This one was filled with what looked to be very prominent looking nobility. “Oh, look, Sophia is in the Duke of Prescott’s box beside Lord Harold. I do hope he realizes how lucky he is to have her company this evening. Sophia missed my utterly magnificent dinner party to instead mingle with such lowly personages as his and her grace and whatnot. Poor, dear Sophia.”
Rhoda turned around to capture Cecily’s attention.“Cece,”she mouthed and then gestured with her fan to a suite across and over,“that is the colonel’s daughter.”
But Stephen had understood as well.
As had Flave.
The lady was quite lovely and appeared to be seated in between her father and mother. And then the father caught sight of Flavion.
Without removing his eyes from Cecily’s husband, the man stood and made his excuses to the ladies before stealthily exiting the private box. He obviously had some urgent business to attend to.
Cecily looked over at Flave and saw more than a little concern beneath all of his bruises and swelling. He quickly stood up and, without making any excuses, abruptly departed as well.
Out of the corner of her eye, Cecily noted that Miss Cunnington, having seen Flavion exit, was sneaking out of the back ofherbox. Cecily leaned back and wondered at the drama that might take place in the lobby…
Lord Blakely purposefully ignored his father, the duke, and gave both Rhoda and Emily an inordinate amount of attention.
As the lights were doused, Cecily reached over and, without thinking, grasped Stephen’s hand. After a moment’s hesitation, he laced his fingers through hers and then rested both of their hands in her lap, amongst the folds of her dress. She wished she could tilt her head and rest it on his shoulders. In darkness now, the day’s events would finally catch up with her.
The curtains were drawn to reveal a mystical castle scene. An actor stepped out, Bernardo, of course. “Who’s there?” he cried out…
Cecily let her eyes droop shut as the actor’s voices soothed her muddled mind.
Stephen was torn.
A part of him, an old familiar part, urged him to follow Flavion and make sure his cousin made a quick enough getaway to evade the colonel. The colonel had looked murderous. Unlike Miss Cunnington’s father, this man could in no way be described as feeble. Based upon what Stephen knew of the colonel’s military accolades, Flave did not stand a chance if the man challenged him to a duel.
The other part of Stephen wasn’t feeling so very loyal to his cousin. The only person who could possible save Flavion at this point, was Flavion. Sure, Stephen’s money and some of Cecily’s dowry were helpful, but Flavion had need of something altogether different, something he had neglected for a great part of his life. He had need of honor.
And no amount of money could purchase this.
Thinking of honor made Stephen somewhat ill-at-ease about the bargain he’d made with Cecily. It also made him a little less comfortable about the fact that she had fallen asleep and her head now rested upon his shoulder. He knew she’d fallen asleep by the deep even rhythm of her breathing. Smiling, he thought about how deep of a sleeper she had proven to be the night before. He wondered what it was going to take to awaken her when it came time for intermission.
Except he didn’t want to awaken her.
Again, that protectiveness emerged strongly for a lady he ought not to have strong feelings for whatsoever.
