“Damn it, Case, you are being deliberately obtuse. Do I have to spell it out for you?”
“I guess maybe you do. Why does it seem to bother you so much?”
“I won’t have any dishonor visited upon our family.”
Case gave him a bland look. “Youwon’t have? Who said anything about what you will have? I’m fairly certain this is my personal life we are discussing.”
“I am the head of this family. It is my responsibility to ensure nothing blackens our reputation. You are my responsibility.”
Case snorted. “In case you haven’t noticed, I am no longer twelve years old. What I do is my business and my business alone.”
“She can’t be worth your reputation, Case. If you want to lift her skirts, then do it, but keep it out of the public eye!”
“My relationship with Jillian is none of your affair. Remember that. If I were in a worse mood, I would find it insulting that you think me capable of bringing dishonor to our family. Instead, I will put it down to your overbearing habit of playing nanny. I think it would be better if I left you to resolve your ill humor. Mayhap you’ll be in better spirits tonight.”
Justin’s lips tightened, but he remained silent.
“I’ll come ‘round tonight so we can arrive at the Trents’ bash together. I intend to forget we had this conversation, and I hope you will do the same,” Case said, as he rose and walked from the room.
Justin groaned. He hadn’t anticipated Case’s avoidance of his question. He had expected him to laugh off any idea of a serious relationship, perhaps regale him with the lady’s attributes. The Case he knew would have affected a lazy grin and denied he took any woman seriously. But he hadn't done any of those things.
He hadn’t refuted a relationship. In fact, he had all but confirmed one by saying it was none of Justin’s business.
The image of soft ebony hair and penetrating green eyes drifted deliciously through his thoughts, tempting him to retreat back into the memory, but he quickly banished the intriguing woman from the park from his mind. He couldn’t afford to be swayed from the problem at hand.
Tonight’s ball would be a telling experience. He didn’t want to alienate Case, but he had to do something about the countess. If Case wouldn’t listen to reason, then perhaps she would.
CHAPTER TWO
Jillian sat at her dressing table surveying her appearance in the mirror. Her inky black hair was swept up in an elegant knot, tendrils floating softly from atop her head, framing her face. She clasped a necklace around her neck, a single diamond pendant that rested in the hollow of her throat. It had belonged to her mother and was the only piece of jewelry she owned. The rest had been sold to pay Lucas’s mounting debts.
She rose and carefully stepped into the red satin dress she’d had designed especially for this night. Elsie, her lady’s maid, buttoned the back and then moved away, allowing Jillian access to the mirror.
Jillian looked herself over in the full-length mirror with a critical eye. The dresswaslovely, though it was unlikely to garner any compliments. The deep neckline barely covered her breasts, and she was sure any sudden movement would send it plunging. The dress defied the current mode, fitting tightly at the waist and flaring gently at the hips. Scarlet satin spilled from her waist to the floor, surrounding her feet with layers of the shiny material.
She excused Elsie, wanting a few moments to herself before she left for the ball. She hadn’t attended many since her husband’s death, preferring an existence outside the boundaries of polite society. But the few she had gone to had left a stream of scandalized whispers and staunch disapproval.
It didn’t matter really. This wasn’t her world, no matter that she had been born into it. She refused to allow anyone to think she actually mourned the monster she had married. Nor would she retire to a country estate somewhere and drape herself in black when, in fact, she was celebrating.
She liked London and had no plans to leave. Her townhouse had been bought on the heels of an inheritance she received on her twenty-first birthday, and she had taken great delight in exerting her independence. Free from the constraints of a husband or a society that had dictated the course of her life for too long.
Even her friendship with Case drew the ire of theton. Not that she was surprised, but he was the only friend she had, and she wouldn’t discard him for the sake of propriety. A smile curved her mouth as she thought of their relationship. She’d like to think he was the brother she never had. As an only child she had grown up lonely, and the death of her mother had compounded it all the more.
She glanced one more time at the mirror and took a deep breath. Sad eyes gazed dolefully back at her, and she attempted to force a spark of happiness into them.
At this moment a year ago, she had been full of dreams of a wondrous future filled with love and children. Now, one year—no, a lifetime later, those dreams were as shattered as her illusions.
Unbidden thoughts of her encounter in the park came suddenly to her mind. She closed her eyes, self-condemnation washing over her. Had she not learned her lesson when it came to handsome, charming men? Evidently not, for she had stood there like a lovesick calf as he made to kiss her. She clenched her fists and banished the handsome stranger from her thoughts.
She had one last act to complete, and then she could slip quietly away from public notoriety. One lasttributeto her dead husband on this, the night of their anniversary, and she would hang up the clothes, the memories and the bitterness. She had won, after all, because no one had guessed that beneath the flamboyant, irreverent hoyden hid a vulnerable, insecure woman who abhorred confrontation.
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Case and Justin stood taking in the crowd of people packed into the too-small ballroom. Candles hung from every chandelier, lending bright gaiety to the room. There were also large candelabras in every corner to light the area reserved for dancing. A huge table laden with food, punch and champagne lined one side of the wall. Couples resplendent in their evening wear glided merrily by. Heavily jeweled ladies stood to the side, chattering behind their fans and repeating the lateston dit. Gentlemen stood in groups discussing a variety of subjects, from the latest hunt to politics. Justin grimaced. His head was spinning from all the activity. He had forgotten how festive London was even outside the season.
His appearance had caused quite a ripple among those present at the ball. Society matrons had immediately begun querying him as to his intentions now that he had returned. Translation, did he plan to settle down and select a wife?
“The vultures are circling,” Case murmured. “If you aren’t careful, they will have you married off in a week’s time.”
