Instantly, his icy eyes brightened, and his treacherous mouth curled. Eleanor castigated herself the moment the words were out. The other monstrous men were a league below him. Unlike nearly every other lord she’d spoken with that evening, the Marquis of Basingstone was not one she could spar with and hope to walk away without feeling as though he had unfastened her to her very core.
“My dear Miss Eastwick, if having a beast between your thighs is your desire, I can think of a setting to which the two of us might adjourn that’s far worthier than a manure and mud-soaked field. I should be happy to provide you ample opportunity to play the horsewoman.”
Her face flamed as he leaned in closer, his whisper for ears alone.
“And besides, my dear, the stink of the stable is still on him, despite that wretched fragrance he’s attempted to use to cover it. He’s not interested in playing horsey the same way we have. I thought I’d already shown you that, but I’m happy to repeat the lesson at home.”
She hated that she wanted to laugh.No, we just hate him.She circled away putting distance between herself and his sharp blue eyes.
“I was thinking perhaps we could row on the lake, Miss Eastwick.” That was the minotaur. Unlike the orc, he had been a genial conversationalist. He had also been a genial conversationalist with every other woman in attendance, and she had a feeling he would continue to be a genial conversationalist with other women well after he finally found a bride.Do we care? As long as the girls are taken care of, who cares how far his hand wanders.
“He’s a regular attendee of these balls, little moth.” A hiss at her ear, Silas having found her again, the smell of him clouding her head. “I’m not sure why he’s not been able to seal the deal, but something keeps alerting the other young ladies. I would greatly prefer that you didn’t have to find out whatever that was when you are alone, and I’m certain the earl would agree. Besides, if you want to go rowing, I have a beautiful lake at Basingstone, and I’m told there are swans.”
She stamped her foot, noticing too late that the action was witnessed by the blue-glowing man and the countess. She didn’t care. He was lucky she wasn’t stomping on his face.
“Are you alright?” It was Penney, the girl from her floor, who preferred books to the idea of marriage, smiling in concern.
“I-I, yes, I’m fine. I’m just incrediblyvexedat the moment.”
He was trailing after her like a stray cat, and he had something to say about every man in attendance. He knew them all, of course, and had known them all for years, no doubt. He knew their peculiarities and their perversions, and under different circumstances, she would quite welcome his counsel . . . But it seemed he was determined to turn her away from every potential suitor. It was only the first night, she reminded herself, but considering the ball was only three days long and engagement announcements would be made upon the third, it seemed like no time at all.
She noticed her bookish new friend engaged in conversation with the blue flame man a short while later, and her other neighbor, the lovely woman with her chaperone, was being entertained by the serpent. She was not the only woman in attendance who was not yet definitively paired off, for there was a handful of the regular wallflowers these events always attracted and few others like her, yet undecided.
“Miss Eastwick, I crave the opportunity to speak with you privately.”
She closed her eyes and sucked in a breath between her teeth, avoiding having to smell his familiar, comfortable scent.
“I can’t imagine what it is you have to say, my Lord, considering you had two weeks in which to do so. The full month, technically. You were asked by the Earl to assist me, and you assisted. I thank you for your help, and if repayment is what you seek, I assure you, my Lord, I will find a way to do so. But if you do not leave me be and let me find a husband this weekend, Lord Stride, I promise you that I will return to Basingstone in the middle of the day with every pigeon in London and introduce them to the roof of the moon temple.”
His laughter was still an icy white slide of satin, gliding up the back of her neck. “Little moth, please. I’m begging you. Please meet me at the hedge maze after the next quadrille.”
He vanished from her side after that, and she allowed herself to be pulled into the dance by the lagomorph. He was charming and funny, and as she moved through the dance with him, the orc catching her eye as he watched their quadrille from the side, she wondered why it was that she was not putting her whole heart into a single potential match.Because next to him, they’re all dull and unamusing. Because none of them infuriate you and excite you at the same time. Because none of them are him.
“Miss Eastwick? If you’re looking for the hedge maze, the doors at the other end of the ballroom would be most expeditious.” The countess gave her another one of those knowing, cat-like grins, motioning to the doors in question, and Eleanor paused, wondering whose side she was even on.
She slipped out the doors, after navigating her way through the crowded ballroom, sucking in a lungful of the cool night air. Leaving during the dancing was the done thing, he had said. Pausing at the top of the stone staircase, Elanor looked out at the wide expanse of the grounds before her. They were not the only couple to have taken to the outdoors. She could see them pairing off, headed to the lake, the sculpture garden, and the fountain.Pairing off, which meant already paired. And here she was, partnerless, preparing to argue with Silas Stride. You’ve ruined everything.You may as well go home now and start looking for cleaning work.
“Miss Eastwick.”
She startled the sound of his voice, turning to find him there, a soft smile curving his lips.
“I saw you coming. The hedge maze is that way,” he gestured over his shoulder. “I thought you might be headed to the lake.”
“Well, I don’t exactly know my way around, particularly in the dark. What is it that you wanted to speak with me about, Lord Stride? Why did you follow me? Do you hate me so much, my lord?”
“Hate you? My dear girl, why would you even say something like that? Quite the contrary, I lo —“
“Why would I say that?” She backed up, incredulous. “Why would I say that? What else am I supposed to think?! Youknowhow important this is. This isn’t a game for me, Lord Stride. This is a matter of my entire family’s survival, and you know that. And yet here you are, actively sabotaging my every move. What else am I supposed to think?”
“Miss Eastwick, please. You’re right, I am getting in the way of you making a match with another lord. Why would you marry them? Why notme, Eleanor? You’ve been a guest at my home, you know that I am well-provisioned to take care of a family, to raise a family. Some of the lords here tonight are practically paupers, with a title and little else. You know I can take care of you. Your sisters will be well-educated as the finest young ladies, and your grandmother can enjoy her golden years with every comfort at her disposal. I love you, Eleanor. I’ve come to claim you as my bride, Miss Eastwick, and bring you home to Basingstone, where you belong.”
She was speechless. It was the last thing she expected him to say, and while it might have been what she was pining for a brief moment two weeks ago, now all she felt was fury.
“You . . . love me.Now, you love me. Now that I’m here, trying to make a change for the better in my life. Not at any point in the last month, but now.“ A red mist swam over her eyes, and she could barely control her actions as she pounced on him, gripping the lapels of his jacket. “I wouldn’t marry you if you were the last man in London with a pulse, my lord. You had every opportunity to let me knowthisis what you were thinking, and you did nothing. You did nothing but remind me that all that was between us werelessons. You had me in your bed, and you could have claimed me as yours then.”
She was livid with him and even more furious with herself for the hot tears that spilled down her cheeks, crowding her throat and nearly making speech impossible. “You could have asked me to stay forever that night, and I would have said yes, Silas. I would’ve said yes a hundred times over. But you didn’t. You didn’t tell me you loved me then. You didn’t ask me to stay. You let me leave. And then you went to a brothel.” He looked ill at her words, and her breath was hitching with the force of holding in her sob, but she was undaunted.
“You had the opportunity to show me exactly what kind of man you are, Silas Stride, and you did so.Loveme. I don’t think you even know the meaning of the word. You’re a spoiled child. You only want me now because someone else may have me. And if I were to say yes right now and leave with you tonight, you would be bored by the time we even returned to Basingstone, and you would throw me away like a tatty little plaything. I would accept all that and worse from any single one of the lords in that room because I don’t know them, and I don’tcareabout them. But you . . . Ididcare for you. But you didn’t care for anything but your own debauchery. You don’t even know what love is. I don’t ever want to see you again, Silas Stride.”
