Chapter 10

Something was different about Lady Victoria, but Thomas could not decide what it was. The young lady arrived, lovely despite her dress, which was—like the others—less elaborate and plainer than those worn by the other ladies of the ton. Still, it mattered not. Lady Victoria would have looked beautiful, no matter how plain her gown, and there was that brightness in her face when she talked about the theatre and love that made Thomas feel somehow lighter inside.

He had not expected that the young lady would believe he was a rake, but she had not seemed repulsed by him. Besides, she clearly had an appreciation for a good performance. Thomas would indulge her and see how their attraction progressed.

He had watched her from across the room all evening, waiting for Lady Norwood to leave her stepdaughter, as she always did, and join her friends. Thomas was not a patient man, and the burden of waiting was only slightly eased by Lady Victoria's frequent glances in his direction.

"You are staring," Samuel said slyly.

Thomas cast his friend a vexed look. Like Thomas' father, Samuel found it comedic that Thomas had finally found an interest outside of his business. Heaven help Thomas if the two of them ever joined forces against him.

"She is staring at me, too."

"Do you want me to distract Lady Norwood for you?" Samuel asked.

Thomas wearily shook his head. As appealing as that plan sounded, he did not trust Samuel to think of a subtle plan. It would be something absurd that would draw everyone's attention in the worst possible way. That would only worsen an already delicate situation.

"I will wait."

Lady Norwood would not remain by her stepdaughter's side all evening. She had friends, and Thomas was sure that she would join them in conversation for most of the night. That was what Lady Norwood had done last time, after all.

"Suit yourself," Samuel said.

He left Thomas alone, waiting and watching for Lady Norwood to move. Grimacing, he leaned against the wall. The worst part of Lady Norwood's refusal to move was that she seemed to be coaxing Lady Victoria into dancing with a string of other men. Thomas clenched his jaw, something fiery and sharp stirring in his gut. It was not jealousy; he did not think. Still, it was not a pleasant emotion, whatever it was.

At last, Lady Norwood moved and joined a small crowd of ladies in another corner of the room. Seizing the opportunity, Thomas crossed the floor in quick, bold steps. Victoria turned her head towards him, smiling as though she had been waiting. "Lord Bedford."

She sounded happy at his approach. Thomas smiled, forcing away a bemused expression. This was different from the last time when she had seemed suspicious of him. "Lady Victoria. It is a pleasure to see you once again. Have you given any further thought to my offer?"

"To teach me of love, My Lord?" she asked. "I have."

Thomas searched her face for any hint of what conclusion the young lady might have drawn from all that thinking, but her face revealed nothing but slyness. She looked as though she had some delightful secret that she was eager to share.

"And?" he asked.

"Inconclusive," she replied. "I am trying to decide if knowledge is worth the risk. I am reminded of Marlowe's Dr Faustus. Is my soul worth the knowledge of love?"

"I will not ask for your soul," he said. "That seems a little much."

"You may not ask for it at first," Lady Victoria replied, "but let us suppose that you ask for something small now and later seek to tempt me with something else. You will want to extract a higher price, then. Would you not?"

The dance halted, and the couples halted. It was the best possible timing.

"Find out. May I have this dance?" Thomas asked, bowing and extending his hand. "If we are quick about it, your stepmother may not even notice."

Lady Victoria's eyes shone, and she extended her hand. Thomas swept her along at once, taking care to place as many dancers as possible between themselves and the watchful eye of Lady Norwood. They danced to the slow, twinkling melody. The lady's gloves were not of fine quality, and the material was thinner than most. He felt almost as if he were touching her bare hands with his own, and the thought sent a fissure of delight through him.

Her slender body was so enticingly near, and he found himself trying to force restraint. His gaze wanted to roam everywhere, to sweep over every curve of that elegant form. She was built like the statue of some beautiful goddess – like a marble Aphrodite brought to life.

And although Thomas was not a rake, the thoughts he had of Lady Victoria slowly removing that gown and lounging across his bed in her stays and chemise, were certainly those of a rakish man. He wondered what would remove that sly expression from her face. What would make her lose that carefully crafted composure?

He realized then what it was. All of Lady Victoria's wit and slyness was a sort of performance, an act meant to conceal that she was but an innocent, young woman who knew so little about carnal pleasures. He wondered who that performance was for. Was it himself or for her?

"Are you enjoying the dance?" Thomas asked.

Lady Victoria smiled pleasantly. "I am."

"More than the dances with the many other gentlemen?" he asked.

At that, Lady Victoria laughed. His eyes lingered on her coral lips. They looked terribly soft, and Thomas' fingers itched to touch them. He resisted, of course. Thomas was a gentleman, even if he was somewhat also pretending to be a notorious rake at the moment. "That sounds rather presumptive, does it not?"

"Rakes are allowed to be a little presumptive. That is the way of our world."

Lady Victoria shook her head, and they danced together. For a few seconds, Thomas was content simply dancing with her and losing himself in the sweet song with Lady Victoria. Her gown was a pale green that reminded him of the new growth of spring. The colour made her hair look more red than brown and brought a flush of pink to her cheeks. She looked like a lady of the ton, but beneath that pretty face and soft body was something else entirely.

"How is your play coming along?" he asked.

He was trying to distract himself from the thoughts of her body. It was difficult, though, when her dress draped over her in such a lovely way. The garment managed to hint at every delicate curve while showing him nothing specific.

"Well," she replied. "I will admit to having taken some of your advice."

"Oh?"

"I began writing," she said, "without worrying so much about what errors I might make. I believe I know how the play begins now, but I still cannot say how it ends."

"I see."

Lady Victoria looked askance, her gaze landing somewhere over his shoulder. A heartbeat later, her eyes found his face. She must be looking for her stepmother. Thomas silently considered asking the lady to find somewhere more private, but if they were caught, meeting privately would surely be more frustrating to Lady Norwood.

"You must tell me more," Thomas said.

"Why should I? When I mentioned that I wanted to write a play about love, you laughed at me," Lady Victoria said. Her face appeared entirely serious, but he heard the current of slyness in her voice. Against her better judgement, perhaps, she enjoyed their witty repartee as much as he. "I am unsure if I want to reveal anything about my play to you now."

"Perhaps I should guess?" he offered with a grin.

"If you like."

"It is about an innocent, virginal young lady being introduced to a new world of salacious pleasures."

Lady Victoria shook her head. Her eyes shone, and her fingers curled just a little more tightly around his hands. "That is not what my play is about."

"Then, what?"

"It is about a worldly lady who knows all the tricks that a rake might use to ensnare an unsuspecting young woman," Lady Victoria said, her lips twitching into a small, shy smile. "While the rake seeks to corrupt her, he does not realize that she intends to ruin him."

Thomas' lips twitched upwards in amusement. "It must be difficult writing a character who is so different from yourself."

"How do you know that she is so different from myself?"

"It is quite obvious."

Lady Victoria laughed. "Not so obvious," she said. "I think that you believe you know more about the nature of women than you really do, which is rather disappointing for a rake."

He grinned. The music slowed, heralding the end of the dance. Thomas wished that it could have lasted longer, for the dance's conclusion also meant the end of his time with Lady Victoria. He could not possibly justify dancing with her again. "Perhaps you shall have to teach me about the ways of women, and I can teach you about all those things that your heroine is supposed to know about the world."

"There you are, asserting this knowledge of what I know. That is something you cannot possibly have."

Lady Victoria curtsied, and Thomas bowed in return. "I feel as though we are both making claims without any evidence for them," Thomas replied. "Perhaps we ought to speak further."

Lady Victoria's eyes darted around, and she grew suddenly tense. It was no mystery what the cause of her unease must be, and he turned his head, searching for the wicked stepmother who must have caused such distress. "Another time," she said.

The young lady lifted her skirts and left him, edging around the crowd as the next dance began. She was gone seconds later in a cloud of skirts. Thomas looked towards Lady Norwood, facing the dance floor but surrounded by her friends. It was difficult to determine if she had seen everything or nothing at all.