Liverpool remained shocked. He stood, as did Devlin. “And Eastleigh allows this…trespass?”
“Eastleigh has no choice, really.” Devlin shrugged.
“This behavior is simply not acceptable,” Liverpool said firmly. “And you may not care, but as an officer of His Majesty’s navy, you are expected to be both honorable and a gentleman. Eastleigh will insist you marry her—as will I.”
He stiffened, his heart lurching oddly.Will you marry her to salvage her reputation?Tyrell had demanded. But her freedom would surely be enough. If he had to, he would make certain she returned to Virginia, where her reputation would not be blemished. “When will my new orders be given?” he asked tersely, his thoughts shifting to Sweet Briar. Had it been sold? If so, Virginia would have no place to go.
“In a week or two.”
“She will be free when my tour commences,” he said. “But marriage is out of the question.”
Liverpool looked at him, clearly stunned and appalled.
“Is there anything else?” He suddenly hated himself. An honorable man would marry Virginia to make amends, but then, an honorable man would have never used her as he had in the first place.
“I have never understood you,” Liverpool said heavily. “But you are a great officer, you have done your country one great service after another, and I have nothing but admiration and respect for your stepfather, Adare. Now I am at a complete loss. A senior officer of His Majesty’s navy, willfully destroying a woman of family and breeding—it is not to be had.”
“I suggest you think to court-martial me when my tour is over. Just now you need me, James, once again.” Devlin bowed and walked out.
VIRGINIA STARED AT HERreflection in an oval mirror. She was astonished that the seductive and beautiful creature she gazed upon was herself. It simply did not seem possible.
“Oh, Miss Hughes,” the maid, Hannah, breathed. “Captain will never be able to look at another woman again after he sees you!”
And staring at the slender woman in the low-cut tissue gown with its silver-velvet cap sleeves and sash, Virginia almost believed her. She turned to glance at her profile. Her breasts seemed voluptuous in the dress and she was acutely aware of her new undergarments, all sinfully black, sinfully sensuous, trimmed in ribbon and lace. She should feel like a whore, considering the underwear she wore, but she did not—she was too frightened of the evening to come, and all she could feel was a dreadful anxiety and a genuine faintness.
“You are so elegant, Miss Hughes. How proud the captain will be,” Hannah murmured.
At least she did not look like a whore—or like a mistress. She looked very regal and very rich. Virginia touched the beaded silver lace that ornamented her tightly coiled hair and looked far better than any turban or headdress. All that was missing was a necklace and earbobs. She did not dare complain.
But how would she face an evening filled with the ton’s most elegant, most aristocratic ladies and gentlemen? How?
“Virginia, we are late,” Devlin said.
She glanced into the mirror and saw him pause in the open doorway. His eyes widened as he saw her, moved over the reflection of her face and dropped to her bosom. “Turn around,” he said softly.
As ill with dread that she was, she understood the silver gleam in his eyes was one of appreciation. She obeyed, wanting to make light of the moment—and all the moments that would surely come during that evening. She curtsied. “I hope you approve of Madame Didier’s work,” she said with a forced smile.
“I approve. I more than approve, Virginia, and you will be the most beautiful woman at Carew’s tonight.”
She made a derisive sound.
His mouth quirked. “You may leave,” he said to the maid. She nodded, eyes downcast, and fled. “Come here,” he said softly.
It did not cross her frozen mind to disobey or even question why. She walked over to him. He smiled a little and reached up, and for one instant she thought he was going to take her face in his strong hands. Instead, he clipped an earring to each earlobe, turned her around, and placed a necklace about her neck. Virginia looked down, trying to see, and gasped at the sight of so many diamonds dangling about her throat. “What is this?”
“Do you like it?” he asked, his hands moving to her shoulders.
Virginia found herself facing the mirror, with Devlin standing behind her, his hands clasping her shoulders. Hundreds of diamonds, all cut like stars, dangled from the necklace in random sizes. One large pendant dangled from the center. The earbobs matched.
Virginia swallowed. “Yes,” she managed, wondering when he had gotten the necklace and why. Surely it was only for her to use—surely it was not for her to keep. She could never ask.
“Shall we?” he asked, releasing her and lifting her gray satin wrap and settling it about her shoulders.
She nodded, inhaling harshly and beginning to tremble. If only, she managed to think, they were going somewhere else, as something other than man and mistress.
“We will not stay too long,” he murmured as he guided her from the room, as if guessing her thoughts.
One minute was too long. She wisely refrained from saying so.
