His hand came down on her backside hard enough to make her gasp. “Sarcasm gives me hives, Evelina.”
She held in a shudder of arousal. “I’ll… remember that.”
Dorian handed her coat over, “The carriage is waiting.”
The second set had broken, and Evelina was nursing a glass of water while Dorian had stepped away to speak with two other lords. Her eyes landed on the door as Benedict Rothwell, Victoria’s brother, stepped through it. He looked flawless in a dove grey frock coat and waistcoat with a subtle damask pattern.
She wanted to speak to Benedict and get his side of the story that Dorian had told her.
How had he betrayed Dorian? By my math, they would have been the same age. Eleven or twelve. Just a boy, himself. How on earth could he have betrayed him?
She made a quick trip to the washroom to freshen herself, but then, upon returning to the main chamber, Dorian snagged her arm and spun her around, pressing her into his side. Giggling, she wondered what had gotten into him for him to show such whimsy.
“Look there,” he nodded to his left.
“What do you—” Her words left her as she glimpsed her cousin Harriet, dark hair up in dangling ringlets, dressed in a lilac satin ball gown that showed off her slender figure yet remained modest.
Ellie was off before the next breath, and she rushed to her cousin’s side—belatedly realizing that Dorian had not held her back whatsoever.
“Harriet!” she called from half a room away.
Her cousin spun, and the young girl’s eyes widened; in moments, she met Ellie in the middle, and they embraced tightly. “Harriet! You’re here!”
Harriet trembled with what Ellie hoped was relief and happiness. When she pulled away, the elation in her cousin’s visage proved her hopes right.
A tear beaded in Harriet’s left eye. “God, I’d hoped to run into you one day soon.”
“As did I,” Ellie choked out, glancing around at the onlookers who were trying—and failing— not to stare.
Harriet bit her lower lip before bursting into a somber giggle again. “Mama and Papa are so out of sorts today that they allowed me to attend this ball with only my maid as my companion.”
“Why were they upset?” Ellie’s brows furrowed. “And are you truly here alone?”
“I am,” she nodded eagerly. “But I am happy to be here on my own. I feel that I can do better without Mama embarrassing me and Papa looking like a lost puppy.”
“I understand,” Ellie linked arms with her cousin and walked the pair to the refreshment table. “But why were Aunt and Uncle upset, though?”
Taking a glass of champagne, Harriet sighed. “I did not hear much, but from what I could gather, it is something to do with their bank. Papa had been saying something about losing clients lately, so Mama has less to spend. You know Mama is never happy about being a miser with the finances.”
“Of course,” Ellie held back a grimace.
Harriet looked afraid to say the next words. “And then again, without your marriage to Carrington, it seems her ticket to a spot in thele bon tonis withering.”
Pressing her lips tight, Ellie felt her heart thump unnaturally under her breastbone. Looking around to make sure no one was close enough to overhear her, she dropped her voice and admitted, “I am scared for you, Harriet.”
Dropping her glass from her lips, Harriet asked, “Why?”
“With how materialistic Aunt Constance is and how desperate she is to become one of the ton, I am afraid they will sell you off to the highest bidder as they attempted with me,” Ellie explained. “Unfortunately, I do not think lady luck’s dice will roll twice and you will get a man who will be free from their horrid choice.”
“You—” Harriet swallowed tightly. “You really think so?”
“I fear it,” Ellie whispered ruefully. “If they try to do something of the sort, come to me, immediately.”
“Where will I find you?” Harriet asked.
That was where Ellie had to pause. She knew Dorian was very protective of his private spaces and that he would not like it if she did give his address out, even to her cousin. But there was one place they could meet where Dorian would not turn her away.
“Go to the Labyrinth on St James Street,” she told her cousin. “Whoever is there will get you to me.”
