“Oh, Fallon!I daresay you will be the belle of the ball!” Eliza’s reflection joined hers in the mirror andastheir eyes met briefly, she could tell her cousin was trying to ease some of her doldrums.
Fallon glanced down andnoted the plunging neckline, that, combined with the corset,causedthe curves of her breaststo be onfull display. She lifted a white-gloved hand ascolorstained her cheeks. “Are you sure this is… proper? I’ve never been so…indecent.”
Eliza shook her head. “Rest assured, it’s the current fashion. Besides,” she winked. “The gentleman will consider it to be quite charming.”
Fallon didn’tdoubt thatas the door opened andFrancine strode inside.In true style, the mistress of the house wasted no time inpassing outorders to Ingrid, who quickly scurried awayto do her bidding.
Fallon met her aunt’s sterngaze;the same oneshe had come to associate with the lady. “The guests are starting to arrive so I wanted to ensure that you were ready.” Pausing to give her a quick appraisal, sheoffered no criticism, nor praise.“Itwould be in very poor taste to keep them waiting.”
Obediently,Fallonand Eliza followed Francineout the door, although she couldn’t help but feel a slight irritation. Would it have been so terrible for herauntto have commented on her gown, at least? Even if was an empty compliment it might have easedsome of hertrepidationas theyheaded down the stairs.It would have been nice to feel as though she was part of the family, rather than a burden that had been placed upon the household.
Careful to watch her footing and not stumble with the dragging weight of hergown,Fallon kept hergaze castdownward. Itcertainlywouldn’t do for her to go tumbling down the stairs and ruin her grandentrée into society as well as Francine’s affair.
“Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Clare.”
For all of her concentration, Fallon nearly missed a step when she heard Francine greet the new arrivals with a bold pronouncement.If Mr. Clare and his wife were in attendance, then surely their son wouldn’t be far behind. Fallon’s gaze quickly swept the area behind the older couple, but there was no sign of the dashing privateer.
“Naturally, we wouldn’t have missed it,” Mr. Clare announced as they reached the bottom of the stairs.He moved in front ofFallonand took her hand in his, bestowing a kisstothe back of her gloved hand. “Good evening, Miss O’Malley. It’s a pleasure tosee you again.May I present my wife, Onelia Clare?”
Fallon dipped into a slight curtsy. “Thank you, Mr. Clare.” As he moved to the side a handsome woman withkind,dark eyes stepped forward. Herebonyhair was lined with strips of silver, but itmerelyheightened her appeal. “It’s lovely tofinallymeet you.”
Fallon could feel some of her earlier reservations start to wane in light of the warmth she was being shown.If the rest of Southampton society treated her with such kindness, she had nothing to worry about. Shewas starting to think that shemight have misjudged these people simply because of her aunt’s aloof demeanor and her ownbiasupbringingtoward the English.
After that,it didn’t take long before theentrancetothemanorwas quickly barragedbyastring of guests whoseemedeager to make her acquaintance, but more than likely curiousabout this newcomerand eagerforgossip.
Nearly two hours passed asFallonstood in the receiving line and smiled until her face began to ache from smilingsocontinuously.As the crowd finally thinned and Francine gave Eliza and Fallon leave to mingle with the assemblage, she gave a sigh of relief, although it was short lived.
Elizasuddenlytugged on the sleeve of her gown.“He’shere!”
She turned toher cousinwith a frown. “Who?”
“BrendanHayes!” she whispered urgently, and then gestured behind Fallon.“Remember the man I was telling you about? The one I’ve been trying to get to notice me for weeks?”
Fallon turnedaround to see thata particularly fetchinggentlemanhadindeedjust entered the ballroom. But it was the man beside him that caused Fallon to shiver in awareness.Atticus hadn’t yetnoticed her, but as he spoke with his companion, she wasconfident that he was aware of everything that was going on around him.In the next moment, he proved her assessment, for he abruptly whipped his head in her direction.Fallon tried to steady her pulse when she met those dark, penetrating eyes. His lips quirked upward, the grooves around his mouth deepening as he flashed her a brilliant, white smile, as if heknewhow he affected her, which made her face scald with a mixture ofexcitementand irritation.
Elizanoted her tremor and asked,“Are you chilled?”
Fallon berated herself for allowing Mr. Clare toaffect her so. She shook her head and said dismissively, “Someone is walking over my grave.”
Her cousin winced. “Heaven forbid!” She grasped on to her hand. “Imust hold on to you tightly, for Ishould hateforthe grim reaper to rip you from my grasp!”
Fallon couldn’t help but laugh at Eliza’s dramatics. If there was one thing she’d discovered fromhergolden-hairedcousin, it was that she had alivelysense of humor,as if nothing could upset her pleasant demeanor. Fallon wished she could have that same unyielding fervor for life. But perhaps someday she would.
Eliza’s gaze flickered back to the entrance to the ballroom and her breath caught. Her lips barely moved when she murmured, “He’s coming this way.”
Fallon ceased breathing, for something told her that Mr. Hayes wasn’t crossing the room on his own.
Carefully masking her features, Fallon turned to see that Brendanand Mr. Clare were nearly upon them.Astheybothmurmured a greeting toeachlady,Brendanengaged Eliza in a bit of flirtatious conversation whileAtticusfacedher. He bowed gallantlyover her hand,his gaze lingering slightly on her lowdécolleté,asshe notedthe way his formal attire strained at the seamsfrom the muscles beneath.His shoulder length dark hair was pulled back inthat samequeue and as he straightened,he offered her another devastating smile.
“A pleasure, Miss O’Malley,” he said smoothly. “I trust you’ve been settling in to your new surroundings?”
She gently extricated her hand and resisted the urge to place it behind her backas she replied evenly,“I am,Mr. Clare.Thank you for your consideration.”
He turned to Brendanwho gestured with a slight bob of his head. Atticus’sdarkeyes twinkled as he moved awaywith Mr. Hayes, andonlythen didFallonrelease a full breath. The man was too intense for her piece of mind, but shewould not be swayed by his rugged handsomeness.She was quite sure thathe could have any woman in the room, and likely showered such charm on every lady he met. Combined with such a shady and dangerous past, she vowed she wouldstand firm and safeguard her heartagainst such a rapscallion.
Eliza, however, wasted no time in pullingher over to a corner of the ballroomwhere they wouldn’t be overheard. “What was that all about?”she hissed.
“What do you mean?” Fallon tried to feign ignorance, but her cousin wasn’t having any of it.
