“Then, I am content.”
He was besotted, and Diana was so pleased that her brother had found happiness. She looked away to give them some privacy only to see both her sisters watching the pair as well. Gwen frowned as she studied them as she might a strange plant, for botany was her passion. Lilah, on the other hand, seemed to lean forward with such unguarded yearning that Diana was surprised. How sad that the sister most unlikely to find a husband was the one who so obviously wanted it.
On impulse, Diana leaned forward and clasped her hand. “It is possible for you, too,” she whispered.
Lilah started and immediately ducked her head to cover her embarrassment.
“All creatures yearn for love,” Diana continued. “I do not believe God would give us such desires if it were not possible to find it. We only need the courage to reach for it and accept no substitute.”
Her attention had been on Lilah, but she saw Gwen’s frown at her words. The woman was about to chastise her for her romantic notions, and she tensed to defend her thoughts. Instead, Gwen added her hand on top of Diana’s. “It should have been me,” Gwen said to Diana. “I haven’t a romantic bone in my body. I would have been content in a loveless marriage.”
“You marry Oscar instead of me?” Diana said. “You were fifteen.”
“I wouldn’t have cared. Give me my books, and I would have been exceedingly content.”
“As am I,” Diana said. It wasn’t a full lie. She had found her own kind of equilibrium inside her marriage. “Come now, we are here for a party, one that I have been looking forward to for three long weeks.”
Everyone seemed to agree, even Gwen, and soon Diana was settling into the joy of a night out. She hadn’t realized how much she had missed until they were stepping into the pleasure gardens. Elliott found them seats in a box near the orchestra, and the five of them settled in with minimal fuss.
“Look! There’s Lord Ares!” Lilah said, pointing to the box opposite them where a large man in a Roman outfit sat on a throne befitting a warrior god.
“Lord Satyr’s over there,” Gwen said as she pointed to a man wearing trousers meant to resemble a goat’s legs, and instead of a mask, he wore a headpiece with goat horns. He was right now dancing with a jolly flair that made everyone clap, Diana included.
“But where is Lord Lucifer?” Amber asked as she scanned the crowd.
Diana didn’t want to look. She already had one Lucifer in her life; she had little interest in adding another. But the fun was infectious, and she couldn’t help herself. Eventually, Elliott spotted the man and pointed him out to everyone else. Lord Lucifer stood near the orchestra with his arms crossed and his face covered entirely by a black mask. His clothing was equally black, as were the bat-like wings that extended behind him. As Diana studied him, she saw a pair of ladies approach him and try to engage him in conversation. He must have said something rude as they gasped, then backed away with scandalized giggles.
“No one knows who he is,” Diana said.
Even she had heard the gossip regarding the three hosts of the party. The other two were generally understood to be Lord Kittrell and Lord Sayres, but Lucifer was the mystery that had spawned enough gossip to intrigue even Gwen, who stared hard at the man. But it was Diana who abruptly gasped as Lucifer flicked his wrist at someone in a gesture she recognized well. It was a tiny movement, as crisp as it was restrained, and yet it carried such a note of command that it could not be anyone but the very same Lucifer who plagued her household.
Good God, what was he doing here? Could she not escape her home for one night without its unnerving aspects following her here as if to stalk her. Because at that very moment, Lucifer looked across the grass to stare long and hard at her.
She drew back. She was in the company of her family. Surely he wouldn’t…
“He’s coming over,” Amber whispered. “Do you think he means to talk with us?”
Of course, he did. After all, Diana had taken extra pains to see that she never crossed paths with him in her own home. Naturally, he would plague her on the one night she truly escaped. So Diana took pains to look elsewhere, most specifically at the dance floor. If someone asked her to partner with him, she would immediately agree. But no one presented themselves, and so she stood stiffly by as Lord Lucifer approached the box.
“Good evening, beauties and sir,” he intoned.
That was definitely Lucas. She would recognize his voice anywhere.
“Good evening, Lord Lucifer,” Amber responded. “Do you come to tempt us to sin?”
“Most definitely.” He turned and looked straight at Diana. “What of you, my lady? Would you indulge the devil with a dance? I would allow you to flit about me to your heart’s content.”
Diana’s gown was themed as a butterfly, the dress expertly dyed, and the mask fitted with wings of blue and black. “I am afraid I am not a lady to be tempted by sin, my lord,” she said darkly.
“Oh, go on,” Gwen said as she dug her thumb into Diana’s thigh. “You love dancing. And as we are here specifically for fun, then you cannot decline.”
Beside her, Lilah agreed with a daring smile. “If you will dance, then I shall dare to find a partner myself.”
“Perhaps you and Lord Lucifer—” Diana began, but Lilah cut her off.
“No! I shall find my own gentleman. Come along, Gwen, let us go hunting for dance partners.”
Odd to see Lilah so forceful, but it was a welcome change. And as the two ladies departed, Elliott asked his wife for her hand, and that left nothing for Diana to do but accept the inevitable.
