Chapter 2

CHAPTER2

“What are you staring at?”

“I beg your pardon?” Seth lowered his glass of wine and turned his eyes away from the direction where he had been staring.

Catarina’s ball was in full swing. The ballroom was full of people wearing grand gowns and a heavy amount of glittering jewelry. Between great swathes of red and gold cloth that hung from the ceiling and candelabras, candle flames glittered gold. Footmen and maids wandered between the guests, all wearing their own black masks, carrying trays of fine claret in crystal glasses.

“Seth?” Jacob said tartly at his side. “Who are you staring at?”

“I was looking at your mother’s footmen and maids, admiring their masked apparel for the night,” Seth lied, forcing a smile when he saw his friend’s dark eyebrows rise in strong doubt.

Seth turned his back to the spot he had been looking at, hoping to hide the truth. He had been staring at Lady Bridget as she arrived at the ball and descended the staircase, wearing a pale pink gown. The soft-hued silk complimented her light brown hair perfectly, and it left nothing to the imagination, with the silk caressing her curves quite spectacularly. He had been admiring the curve of her hips when Jacob had arrived at his side.

“Of course, you were,” Jacob said tightly. “You remember my warning, don’t you, Seth?”

“How could I forget it?” Seth put his back to the rest of the ball and reached for another glass of claret on a nearby table, replacing it with the empty glass in the palm of his hand.

“Lady Bridget… not her. Any other woman, and I wouldn’t remonstrate with you, but she… she is my sister-in-law now—”

“Enough.” Seth lowered his glass a little, his tone unnaturally serious compared to his usual self. “Must we repeat our old conversation? You made it quite plain when we last talked about this that she was out of bounds.”

“I know you.” Jacob quirked an eyebrow. “By making her forbidden to you, does your desire for her become sweeter?”

Yes.

Seth kept that answer to himself. The fact that Lady Bridget was out of bounds made him want her all the more, but perhaps not for the reason that Jacob thought.

“Never mind that.” Seth forced a smile. “I remember what you said all too clearly. I am the rake, yes? The man who is suited to courtesans, opera singers and the actresses of Covent Garden. I’m hardly fit for a fine lady of the ton, am I? I’m likely to make a fool of myself if I even attempted it and fall flat on my face, am I not?” he jested, watching his friend smile.

Glad to have distracted Jacob from any further thoughts of Lady Bridget, Seth pointed across the room with his glass. “Your wife wants you.”

Emily was, indeed, waving at Jacob, trying to get his attention from where she stood beside Catarina.

“Enjoy yourself tonight, Seth. Just—” Jacob paused. “Within limits.”

“I’m not that bad.”

“As long as I don’t find you tomorrow morning in the library with a woman’s skirts tangled around you, I’ll be happy.”

“I’m not that bad!” Seth called again after his friend, but Jacob merely laughed, walking away. “I’m truly not,” he mumbled to himself after Jacob had gone.

He downed what was left in his glass and then, contradictory to his promise to Jacob, turned and sought out another in the room. He found Lady Bridget easily, for she was in her usual place—a dark corner.

She stood between two swathes of golden cloth, tapping out a rhythm to the violin music on her glass of claret. She was watching someone very intently, and Seth strained to see whom she had her eyes on.

Another gentleman had entered the room. He was tall, but not as tall as Seth, and had excessively coiffed blond hair. He turned heads as he walked across the floor and commanded attention all too easily when he stopped by a group of ladies to chat. He was the kind of man that Seth resented. He was used to being the center of attention the way an actress was used to the spotlight on a stage.

Seth’s eyes gravitated toward Lady Bridget again to see that she hadn’t looked away from the gentleman. In fact, she was watching him rather intently.

It’s not jealousy. It’s not!

Yet, Seth couldn’t think of another word to describe the tightening in his gut.

Topping up his glass, he took the opportunity to cross the room toward Lady Bridget. It was difficult to sneak up on her, for she was so pressed into a corner. Fortunately, the swathes of cloth enabled him to hide behind her for a minute, and check exactly where she was staring, before lowering his lips toward her ear.

“Has the Earl of Burnington caught your eye, My Lady?”

“Oh, dear God.” She flung her free hand up to her chest and jumped away from him. “You made me jump out of my skin.”

“So I saw.” Seth laughed. “Though, do me a favor and do not jump out of your skin. The dress, on the other hand… you can jump out of that,” he purred.

“No more of your games.” She smiled in spite of her reprimand and tapped him on the arm, turning away from him.

Seth couldn’t stop his eyes from roaming over her, wondering, indeed, what it would be like to see her out of that gown. It did something to him. Goosebumps rose beneath his shirt and across his arms, and his fingers tightened around his glass.

“So?”

“So, what?” she asked, taking a rather large gulp of her claret.

“Why are you staring so keenly at the Earl of Burnington?” Seth leaned on the wall nearby, nodding his head in the direction of the Earl.

“No reason,” she muttered quickly. “Many ladies stare at him.”

“Yes, I have noticed,” Seth said with an exaggerated sigh. “If a peacock walked into this room at this moment, I do not believe he would get any more attention.”

“A peacock?” Lady Bridget repeated.

“It is how I think of the Earl. Look at him.” Seth leaned toward her, lowering his voice to a whisper.

She was wearing that rosehip scent again, and he was driven quite wild by it. When he imagined himself taking her behind one of the swathes of cloth, doing something he shouldn’t, he realized he may have had a little too much wine tonight.

“What about him?” Lady Bridget asked, her voice the epitome of innocence.

“He is an ostentatious display, a dandy, with those excessive shoes, the great waistcoat, and the hair.” Seth shuddered as if nothing repulsed him more.

“You object to a man being handsome?”

“No. I object to his trying too hard,” he confessed with an amused smile.

Lady Bridget evidently tried to stop herself from smiling but could not.

“This coming from a rake,” she pointed out. “Are you telling me you have never gone to any great lengths to impress a woman?”

“Impress her? Yes, of course. It’s men’s greatest folly and weakness that they’ll go to ridiculous lengths to see a woman smile, but the Earl of Burnington wishes for every pair of eyes in the room to admire him. That is something I have never longed for.” Seth looked at Lady Bridget, rather wishing she would stare at him, but her gaze was back on the Earl now.

I would settle for one pair of eyes, instead of every pair.

“Yet, I see you are the one longing for his gaze tonight.” Seth moved to stand behind her once more.

“You are playing games with me again.”

“Far from it. I am being a good friend to you.”

“Pah! A good friend? You are teasing me for looking at a man,” she added in a husky whisper. That tone did something to Seth, and he was rather glad he stood behind her so she couldn’t see how his gaze lingered on her. “I should stop looking at him.”

“Yet, you cannot, can you?” Seth whispered teasingly. “It is like a moth dancing toward the light of the moon.”

“Oh, I am not so incapable.” Lady Bridget turned pointedly around, no longer looking at Lord Burnington, but at Seth instead. “See? I can look elsewhere.”

“That you can, yet I can see that I bore you, compared to the looks of Lord Burnington.”

“I never said that.” She shook her head firmly.

“Aha, so you do like the way I look,” Seth said, stepping closer toward her.

“What happened to no more flirtation?”

“As I said earlier today, I never agreed to that.”

He smiled as he looked down at her. They were standing rather close in this corner, perhaps closer than was proper, but no one seemed to have noticed they were here, and Seth was all too happily indulging.

“Now, Lady Bridget, tell me the truth of the matter.”

“What truth?”

“Do you look at Lord Burnington because he is the fine strutting peacock?”

“He is not a peacock—”

“Or do you look at him with genuine interest?”

“I am not answering that question.”

There was a sudden movement beside them. Two drunk men staggered against the wall, clearly in their cups and struggling to stand straight. Seth took Lady Bridget’s arm and easily swooped her aside before they could collide with her.

“Oh. Thank you,” Lady Bridget whispered, startled.

“Some men do not notice what is in front of them.”

These words gave Seth an idea, as he realized that he hadn’t yet let go of her arm. He slowly released her, and she stepped back. He could have sworn she had blushed crimson red because of his touch, but perhaps it was all in his mind.

“Speaking of which, has Lord Burnington noticed you?”

“Do you need ask?” Lady Bridget sighed exaggeratedly. “You are the only gentleman who seems to see me standing in the corners of the room.”

“I’ll always notice you in the shadows, My Lady.” Seth’s voice had grown deeper, and her brows arched.

“More flirtation?”

“As I said, I will not stop.”

She tapped him on the arm in reprimand, again. He rather loved those taps of hers. They were playful—an indulgence, and a chance to be touched by her. His mind went wild, and he started wondering what it would be like if she tapped him in such a way when they were completely alone, with nothing between them, no stitch of clothing at all.

Stop it!

He had to hold himself back from growling under his breath at the mere thought of it.

“Come off it, My Lord,” Lady Bridget said with a sudden smile. “A lady like me can admire Lord Burnington from afar, yet I am not the sort of woman that ever could catch his eye.”

“I beg your pardon?” Seth shifted his weight between his feet, quite shocked by her words.

“He’d be looking for a beauty like one of my sisters—someone with Rachel’s great humor, or Emily’s confidence. I am not like them.” She shrugged, her eyes drawing past Seth’s shoulder and toward where the Earl of Burnington stood.

I do not believe it.

Seth blinked, staring at her in bemusement. She did not believe herself worthy of the attention of a man as sought-after as the Earl.

“You think yourself unworthy?” he whispered.

“I wouldn’t use those words, but I know where I stand, My Lord. We all must know where we stand in life.” She stood taller and nodded as if accepting this as fact.

“Then I must argue with where you think you stand.” Seth downed what was in his wine glass, an idea taking up position in his mind. “Let me show you something.” He put down his glass and took Lady Bridget’s too, putting it down on a ledge nearby.

“What are you doing—oh!”

He took her hand and drew her away from the side of the room, towing her across the space.

“Now, smile and pretend you like my attention, instead of batting it away all the time,” he whispered in her ear and lifted her hand, toying with the dance card that hung from her wrist. He was careful to make sure their path crossed Lord Burnington’s. “I see your dance card is busy tonight, My Lady.” He raised his voice as he passed the Earl, to make sure he was heard. “No space for me?”

“What are you doing?” Lady Bridget hissed. They both knew her dance card was empty.

“A man always wants what others desire,” Seth whispered, drawing her past the Earl and to the side of the dance floor. “Now, cast a glance over your shoulder, My Lady.”

She huffed but did as he asked, then flicked her head around so fast that she must have cricked her neck as she looked back at him.

“Lord Burnington is watching us.”

“Exactly,” Seth said in a deep voice. “You are more worthy of a man’s attention than you seem to think. Any man would be lucky to be noticed by you.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“You know what I mean.” He brushed his own comment off quickly, not wanting her to look into too much detail as to why he had complimented her to such an extent. “My point is that a man like the Earl of Burnington is used to making himself the center of attention. You simply need to be a little more artful in how you capture his attention.”

Lady Bridget raised her eyebrows. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you are about to give me tips on seducing a man, My Lord.”

“That is exactly what I wish to do.”

“My Lord! You—”

But before she could say anymore, the music ended. Seth took her hand and drew her onto the dance floor, being careful to keep her in full view of the edge of the floor so Lord Burnington could watch her.

“He is still watching you,” Seth whispered in her ear as he drew her into a waltz, his hand on her waist and hers on his shoulder.

“You didn’t exactly ask me for this dance.”

“I did not, but neither are you pulling away. Perhaps you like me a little more than you pretend to.”

“I never said I did not like you.”

“Not as much as the Earl of Burnington, eh?”

The truth felt like a kick in the gut. When Seth stared at Lady Bridget so much and admired her from afar, it hurt to think she would prefer the attention of that peacock.

“Let me make you this offer, My Lady.”

A wild thought occurred to him, a way to be a good friend to Lady Bridget. If he could succeed in helping her convince Lord Burnington to court her, then perhaps that would be enough to stop him from thinking of her so much.

“If you wish it, I shall coach you on how to seduce Lord Burnington.”