Chapter Thirteen
Pere studied herselfin the mirror once more.It was just the theater, but it felt like more… and that terrified her.
Because she was playing with fire.Hawthorne could play the part, seduce her emotions without even trying, and if he were merely using his charm to befriend her, she’d walk away silently heartbroken, but something whispered to her that it was more.
He was more.
That something had shifted.
And, regardless of the potential heartache, she wanted to know if it was all in her head, or maybe if something had started in his heart.
Henley and Anna would be accompanying her as well, which took some of the tension out of her shoulders as she took the stairs down to the foyer.The polished mahogany banister gleamed under the chandelier’s glow, casting soft shadows across the marble floor, a quiet elegance that steadied her racing heart.
“Pere, you look lovely!”Anna grasped her hand and gave her a saucy grin.
Her eyes sparkled with mischief, as if she sensed the undercurrent of Pere’s nerves and sought to ease them with her warmth.
“Thank you, and for once, you are ready before my brother?”Pere glanced around the room and arched her brow.
Anna swatted at her playfully.“Miracles happen.Be sure to tease him mercilessly.”
“I cannot wait.”Pere felt a smile widen her features.
Her brother’s predictable tardiness was a familiar jest, a comfort amid the uncertainty Gabriel’s presence stirred.The sound of someone’s feet quickly descending the stairs caught her attention, and she turned to watch her brother take the last step.“Finally.I was wondering if perhaps you got lost on your way down or were sending Anna and me to the theater without you.”
“Hilarious,” Henley grumbled to his sister, then quickly tugged his wife’s hand and kissed her cheek sweetly.
His gruff demeanor softened, his love for Anna a beacon that made Pere’s heart ache for something similar.
“How.I don’t understand how you can be such a pain in the neck one moment and so tender and sweet to Anna the next,” Pere grumped as he took Anna’s hand and escorted them to the carriage.
“It’s simple,” Henley said over his shoulder.He helped Anna into the carriage and turned to Pere.“She’s my wife, you… are my sister.And it is my job to harass you.”
“You harass me too,” Anna called from the carriage, earning a giggle from Pere as she stepped into the conveyance and took a seat across from Anna.Anna’s teasing was a gentle nudge, her way of including Pere in their shared warmth, though it only deepened Pere’s longing for a connection of her own.
“That’s an entirely different sort of situation… isn’t it?”Henley sat beside his wife and deftly ran a finger up her arm and then placed a kiss behind her ear.
The gesture was intimate, unguarded, a reminder of the love Pere yearned for, yet feared to trust with a man like Gabriel.
“Present.Not blind and still quite innocent,” Pere shot back, her sarcasm a shield against the pang of envy in her chest.
“You bloody well better be fully innocent, dear sister.”Henley shot her a look that was all at once suspicious and evaluating.
“My corruption comes from being around the both of you… excessively,” Pere quickly amended, wanting to put all of Henley’s suspicions to bed.
It wouldn’t do to have him overly alert tonight, of all nights, especially when the only man she’d ever kissed was the same man who invited them out to his box.The memory of that kiss, fleeting yet searing, lingered like a forbidden melody, threatening to unravel her composure.
“Very well.”Henley narrowed his eyes once and then turned to Anna.“Lovely,” he whispered the word, and Pere watched a crimson blush heat her friend’s face.
Yes.That was exactly what she wanted.The little words that meant more than thousands, the way Henley looked at Anna as if she were the only woman in the world… Pere wanted to be that for someone, the right someone.
And while she was certainly feeling something for Lord Hawthorne, could she ever be really secure with him?The whole rake persona that she’d started the season pursuing had lost its polish.And if she really considered her intentions at the beginning of the season, she was searching for something so strong, an attachment so fierce, that even a rake who could experience a myriad of other women would forsake all of it to have her instead.That… that was the nameless, unrealized true heart of the matter.
The carriage slowed as they pulled up to the entrance of the grand theater.Newly remodeled, its white stone structure was illuminated by flickering streetlights.The façade gleamed like a Grecian temple, its columns soaring against the night sky, while the soft glow of lanterns spilled onto the cobblestones, casting a warm halo over the bustling crowd.Henley alighted and aided Anna and herself to the solid cobblestones.Pere’s gaze scanned the scene before her.Women in feathers and fur held the arms of their husbands in top hats and gold-topped canes.The horses blew out impatient snorts as theclip-clopof hooves hitting cobble echoed in a hundred different ways.The air was alive with the hum of anticipation, the scent of lavender and musk mingling with the crisp night breeze.Pere closed her eyes for a moment, then quickened her steps to catch up with her family.
The wide doors were fully open, accommodating the influx of gentry.Twin wide staircases rose up from either side of the polished stone floor, drawing the eye up to the vivid white plaster covering the ceiling with gold paint highlighting the depths of the Grecian reliefs.The foyer sparkled under a massive chandelier, its crystals refracting light into a thousand prisms, while the murmur of voices and the rustle of silk gowns filled the space with a heady energy.
“Have you seen it since the renovations from the fire?”Henley asked as he turned to his sister.
