“No!” Meredith declared.
Traveling alone with him in a dark, secluded carriage was unthinkable. She might as well lean back against the sofa and allow the passion stirring between them to ignite into full desire. The marquess was far too tempting and she was feeling too strange and puzzled by the encounter to risk being alone with him in such a private, intimate setting.
“You cannot return to the ball.” He reached for her.
“Don’t.” She drew back in alarm.
He straightened and pulled away. Meredith got the absurd impression she had somehow insulted him. “I’m only trying to help, my dear.”
She followed his pointed gaze and looked down at her chest. The bodice of her gown gaped open. Her naked breasts were completely exposed. Her hands, clumsy with nerves and embarrassment, fumbled with the fastenings. In the end it seemed easier to allow him to aid her.
Silently he tied the ribbons of her chemise and buttoned her bodice closed. Oddly, it felt almost as intimate as when he had unfastened her garments.
“Thank you.” Meredith rose unsteadily to her feet.
It felt cowardly and rude to leave so abruptly. But she did. Against the protests of the marquess, with her pulse galloping and her head whirling, Meredith raced along the winding walkway, through the garden, and beyond the tall hedge.
She reentered the house by a side door. Thanks to the crush of people, she was easily able to slip into the crowd. Her aim was to find her brothers and insist they leave immediately.
However, too late, Meredith drifted by one of the many gilded mirrors that lined the edge of the ballroom and caught a glimpse of her reflection.
Her cheeks blushed bright with color. Her lips were red, ripe and swollen, her eyes bright and feverish. Tendrils of her normally tightly wound chignon were curling haphazardly about her face. But worst of all, the exposed area of flesh above breasts was flushed and marked.
By the marquess’s possession.
In the mirror, Meredith met her own eyes and grimaced. She should have listened to him and avoided the ballroom. Desperately she glanced at the French doors on the opposite side of the room. It was the closest means of escape, yet at this moment they seemed very far away.
Knowing she had no choice but to brazen it out, Meredith moved forward. Keeping her head low and her feet swift, she chose the most direct path, circling around the dancing couples. As she neared her goal, Meredith dared to let out a soft breath, thinking she had made it, vowing to herself she would never again do anything so dim-witted.
Her hand reached out eagerly for the brass handle, but then a shrill female voice filled the air. The Duchess of Lancaster stood directly in her path. Meredith nearly shouted out loud at the unfairness of it all.
“We meet again, Your Grace,” Meredith said evenly. Her hand fell to her side and she straightened her spine. “Are you enjoying the ball?”
“Apparently not as much as you are, Lady Meredith.” The duchess wrinkled her nose, then frowned. “ ’Tis not difficult to know precisely what you have been doing tonight. However, I would very much enjoy knowing withwhomyou have been spending your time and bestowing your favors.”
Five
Trevor leaned back against the wide seat, enjoying the plush velvet and thick padding beneath him. The elegant coach was a vehicle he seldom used, for it was too large and luxurious for just one person. And it carried his coat of arms brazenly upon the door, which made discretion about town a near impossibility.
Yet he was glad he had decided to take this monstrosity to the ball this evening, for it provided a much needed means of escape at the most fortuitous of moments.
“Are you going to speak to me, or sit there glowering for the entire journey to your home?” Trevor inquired of the tight-lipped female who sat across from him.
“I thought you would prefer a silent glower over a heated lecture,” Meredith replied stiffly. “But if you truly wish to hear my thoughts on this matter, I should be pleased to oblige you.”
Trevor coughed softly, lifting his hand to his mouth to hide the brief smile that emerged. He had thought her beautiful in the ballroom, exquisite in the evening shadows of the garden, but now she was beyond equal as she sat across from him, wearing her indignity like a royal badge of honor. Though it was dark, he could see the fire of anger she cast his way, and it set his blood racing.
“I fear you are overreacting to the situation, Lady Meredith. ’Twas just a stolen kiss.”
“A stolen kiss!” Meredith’s lips tightened. “ ’Tis not the incident but rather the discovery of it that has me all tied in knots. The Duchess of Lancaster is a mean-spirited gossip who thrives on the misery of others. She despises me, which will make the telling and retelling of this sordid tale all the more enjoyable for her.” Meredith paused and took a deep breath. “This, my lord, is a full-blown scandal.”
“You exaggerate.” Trevor frowned skeptically. “However, if you had done as I asked and left with me from the gardens instead of returning to the ballroom, all this could have been easily avoided.”
“How gallant of you to point that out to me, sir, at this late juncture,” Meredith huffed. She tilted her chin in the air. “If I had listened to my innate good sense, this unfortunate incident would never have occurred. But that, as the saying goes, is water under the bridge.”
“You insult me, Lady Meredith.”
“How so?”
