“Oh, I am so pleased,” the Marquess continued, his eyes a little glazed, as if he had been imbibing. “It is good to be acquainted with one’s neighbors.”
Anna put on a bewildered smile. “Yes, I suppose it is. Although, how did you know it was me? Is my mask not good enough?”
“The crest on the side.” The Marquess nodded to the departing carriage. “But, have no fear, I shall not give up your secret. Your mask is excellent. No one shall have any notion that it is you!”
It was only then that she noticed he was dressed like a Greek god, in a black silk toga that kept sliding off his shoulder. If he wasn’t careful, he might expose more than his desperate desire to befriend his neighbors.
“You must be… Hades?” she said, forcing some cheer into her voice. “The God of the Underworld.”
Colin threw back his head and laughed, making her think she had judged it entirely wrong. “I shall be whichever god you want me to be, Your Grace,” he replied, once his laughter abated. “Indeed, though I suspect you are here as Aphrodite, I might be compelled to ask you to be my Persephone.”
She blinked in surprise. Mythology had always been one of her favorite subjects, which she had indulged in for hours at the library at Pembroke House. Poor Persephone, dragged off to the underworld for half the year to be Hades’ wife, tricked into the position with pomegranate seeds. It was tantamount to a proposal from the Marquess. Anna had not expected such a thing so soon, nor was it welcome. Or maybe it was just whatever liquor he had been drinking that was influencing his words.
Giving him the benefit of the doubt, she chuckled. “Oh, well, unfortunately, I do not care much for pomegranates.”
The Marquess grinned. “Ah, thatisa pity.”
He shifted his lively focus to Jeremy, and all the good cheer and merry smiles faded from the man’s face. Whatever he saw made him immediately release Anna’s hands. But when she looked up to see what was going on, Jeremy’s expression didn’t seem different from his usual cold indifference.
“You are both welcome here,” the Marquess hurried to say, his arm sweeping wide to usher them in. “Please, enjoy yourselves.”
At Anna’s side, Jeremy grumbled, “We’ll try,” as he took her arm to guide her inside the charming Belford House.
It was nothing like a Scottish gathering. The music was too restrained, the guests too consumed with themselves and their appearances rather than celebrating, and the dancing was so methodical and predictable that it hardly qualified as dancing at all.
Jeremy already wished he hadn’t bothered attending. Where was the feast? Where was the merriment? Where were the liberally poured drinks? The laughter? The liveliness that existed at the very heart of a good gathering? Considering it was an event where anonymity was encouraged, he had expected more vigor, more enthusiasm.
I should’ve tossed the invitation into the fire.After all, it wouldn’t be easy to find a husband for Anna when everyone had their faces covered. He wondered absently why he hadn’t thought of that problem sooner.
As he guided Anna toward the edge of a crowded ballroom, all adorned with ostentatious displays of Colin’s wealth, his ears perked up at the sound of whispers. The crowd was not subtle about it either, with many eyes shifting to where the pair stood, gossip flowing behind fans and elbows nudging ribs.
“Who is that?” someone hissed.
“Is that a kilt?” another asked, her fan beating faster.
“Who is the lady in gold? My goodness, what a gown!”
“You see, that is whatIshould have worn!”
“It is unseemly.”
“It is majestic.”
“Are they together?”
And it went on and on until Jeremy’s head started to buzz, as if a swarm of gossiping insects was inside his skull. He only ever enjoyed gatherings because of his family and because they were familiar. Being the younger brother meant there was never any pressure on him to host, entertain, or pretend to be interested.
Listening to the whispers, he began to realize that he had misjudged the night’s endeavors. Not just that, but the demands of his new station, too.
Ye’d know exactly what to do, Douglas.Whereas Jeremy just wanted to leave before anyone approached him and started making tedious conversation.
“What is that frown for?” Anna said with a snort of amusement. “Did you not say that you wished to surprise them? You should have expected this magnitude of curiosity, for it is not every day that they see a man’s bare legs.”
He glanced down at her. “I wasn’t aware ye were interested in me legs.”
Behind her mask, she rolled her eyes. “I am merely pointing out the source of their excitement.Ihave not paid your legs the slightest bit of attention… or interest, for that matter.”
He knew he should cease his flirtations unless he wanted to be burned again by the inferno of temptation, but in that gown, with her shoulders exposed and looking so stunning, he had to resist the urge to lean in and kiss that bare skin. It was not easy. Instead, it made him feel even more inclined to suggest they leave, though the short carriage ride back to Stonebridge would not be nearly long enough for what he wanted to do to her.
