“Are you ready?” he asked Wilhelmina once the footman had collected her cloak.
She answered with a tremulous smile. “No.”
He leaned in and kissed her, not caring if anyone happened to see. “We’re in this together, my love. I’m right by your side.”
A small nod assured him of her trust. She’d placed her faith in him in spite of her apprehensions. He understood. She would be stepping out into Society for the first time in over two years with every risk of facing censure. It had to be terrifying, but Wilhelmina was nothing if not brave. And James both admired and loved her for that.
He offered his arm and, when she took it, led her through the white marbled hallway. “You look incredible, Mina. Have I mentioned that yet?”
“Only a dozen times,” she said with a hint of laughter.
“If your baking attempts fall through, you can always make a career as a seamstress. Mark my word, there’s no woman in there who won’t wish they had your gown.”
“Truth be told, I’m rather pleased with the results myself.”
“And so you should be.”
They reached the entrance to the ballroom where the butler stood, ready to announce their arrival. James’s stomach tightened. He squeezed Wilhelmina’s hand, and prayed he wasn’t about to make a colossal mistake by challenging Cloverfield’s statement in public.
“Mr. James Dale and Mrs. Lawson,” the Pennington butler declared, his voice unnaturally loud.
James tried not to flinch. The music accompanying the country dance currently underway kept playing, but from his vantage point, James saw that the dancers were no longer keeping time with the rhythm. They, like everyone else in the room, had turned to stare. Whispers began. They sped round the room like hounds giving chase to a rabbit. And then the music droned to a halt.
“I hate this,” Wilhelmina murmured.
James heartily agreed although the response they received was nothing less than what he’d expected. He searched the crowd and finally relaxed a little when he spotted Pennington. The viscount was making his way toward them with his wife on his arm. James leaned a little closer to Wilhelmina. “Take heart, my love. Everything will be all right.”
“Welcome, Mr. Dale,” Pennington said as soon as he and the viscountess reached them. “We’re delighted to have you and Mrs. Lawson join us this evening.”
If Pennington was aware of the shocked expressions this statement led to, he showed no indication. “Perhaps you would—”
“What the hell is this?” an angry voice asked.
“Oh God,” Wilhelmina muttered.
James had no need to look for the man who’d just spoken to know it was Cloverfield. He spotted the duke within the next second as he too marched forward, the crowd parting on either side of him as if he were Moses. “Surely these people have not been invited.”
Anger hardened Pennington’s eyes even as he smiled and turned to address the duke. “On the contrary, I issued the invitation myself.”
Cloverfield’s face turned a dangerous shade of red. “I never expected such despicable inconsideration from you, my lord. How dare you force upstanding members of Society to associate with such disgraced individuals?”
“As it happens,” Pennington said, his voice clearly audible in the hushed silence now filling the room, “I believe they have something important to share.”
Cloverfield sent James a look of disgust. “I doubt there’s anyone here who wishes to hear it.”
“I would like to,” Pennington’s brother-in-law, the Earl of Ashburn said.
“As would I,” echoed Michael, who’d also been invited along with Cynthia. He raised a glass of champagne in salute.
James glanced at Pennington. The viscount merely gestured toward him. “Now would be an excellent time for you to say your piece, Mr. Dale.”
Right.
James steeled himself and sent the duke a glare which he promptly returned.
“I recently lost a client due to a lie that was printed about me inThe Mayfair Chronicle,” James began. He cleared his throat and took a deep breath, ignored the duke’s protest and kept on talking. “It was claimed that my acquaintance with Mrs. Lawson preceded her divorce and that I was in fact the one to set it in motion because she and I were lovers. This, I can assure you, ladies and gentlemen, is utter nonsense, fabricated by the Duke of Cloverfield for the purpose of tainting my reputation.”
“I would never be dishonest about such matters,” Cloverfield snapped. “Your charge against me is outrageous.”
