The Cursed Countess, page 3
While he wanted to march over to them and interrupt their dance, he knew the duke would never stand for such behavior and would most likely eject Jack from his home. Instead, he planned to be on the edge of the dance floor when their dance finished. He moved past the gossiping women to the edge of the dance floor. The dancers were swirling by in a sea of white and ivory silk, accentuated by the jewel tones of the married women. As the country-dance played, he caught Lady Stanhope’s eye a few times and noted how she blushed. He was surprised the woman still flushed when a man watched her. She hadn’t seemed to redden for the duke.
And that was all the encouragement he needed. He smiled as he watched her dance, knowing she felt that same desire swirling about them.
Seduction was the plan for Lady Stanhope.
In fact, that would be the safest way to protect the duke.
The music ended and the duke started to escort Lady Stanhope off the floor. Jack moved forward to intercept him. “Lady Stanhope, I do believe this is our dance.”
The Duke of Worthington stared at him with disdain. “Indeed, Raynerson? Tessa, do you wish to dance with this rogue?”
Lady Stanhope smiled up at the duke. “I did promise him a dance, Your Grace.”
“Very well, then,” he said with a scowl. He removed her arm from his and started to move away. “Have a care with her, Raynerson,” he muttered as he walked by Jack.
Jack held out his arm to Lady Stanhope. “Shall we?”
She nodded and took his arm. “Why do I feel you deliberately chose now for our second, and last dance?”
“I believe you worry about far too much, Lady Stanhope. I have decided to leave early tonight but wanted one last dance before I departed. There is nothing more to it than that.” He shrugged nonchalantly.
“If you say so,” she replied before lining up next to him for the quadrille.
As the music started, he didn’t speak but enjoyed the music and company. Once they returned to their starting position, he danced around her and said, “Might I call on you tomorrow?”
Her cheeks turned bright red. “I see no reason for you to do so.”
The dance moved them apart again before he could reply. And this was why gentlemen preferred the waltz. It gave much more time for conversation than this quick reel, which constantly moved the partners away from each other. As she moved closer to him, he finally replied, “I see many reasons to call on you.”
“Call if you must but I make no promise of being at home,” she answered in a flirtatious tone.
“Oh, you shall be at home for me,” he said in a low husky voice in her ear.
CHAPTER 4
Tessa could barely catch her breath as Raynerson bowed and left her at the edge of the dancefloor. Why had this man suddenly taken an interest in her? It made no sense. More importantly, why did she suddenly have an interest in him?
Perhaps there was one person who might be able to learn more about the intriguing man. Seeing her sister in deep conversation with her friends, Tessa strolled over to them. “Louisa, may I have a moment?”
Louisa rolled her eyes but then made her excuses to her friends. “Let me guess, you have decided to leave already.”
“No.” Tessa linked arms with her sister. “Take a turn about the room with me.”
“Very well.”
Once they were away from the crowd, Tessa could finally speak without being overheard. “I need your assistance with a very private matter.”
Louisa slid a glance at her. “Oh? And would that private matter concern a certain dancing partner?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “Would you please speak with Lord Blakely about Mr. Raynerson. I am not sure I trust the man. Why would he take an interest in me when I have been out for years? It makes no sense.”
“Well, much of that time you were in mourning. But must I speak with him?”
“Lord Blakely?”
Her sister sighed. “He is a very lovely man, but I fear he wants more from me than I want from him.”
“Louisa, I believe he wants to marry you.” Tessa shook her head in disbelief.
“Yes, but I do not wish to marry him,” Louisa whispered harshly. “He is so concerned about living up to his father’s legacy in Society. But don’t worry I will inquire about Mr. Raynerson for you.”
“Thank you.”
Their walk led them straight to the one person Tessa would have preferred not to see tonight. “Good evening, Mamma.”
“Theresa,” she replied with a stiff nod. “Thank you for coming, although you must realize how you have stoked the flames of gossip with that gown. You do know better. I can only assume you decided to flaunt your wickedness by wearing green instead of gray. Or perhaps you cannot let your sister have her one night.”
For once in her life, Tessa decided to stand up to her mother. “No, Mamma. My gray gown was dirty from all the other balls I attended during my mourning period. Perhaps I should have arrived wearing nothing so all the men would pay attention to me.”
“Theresa! Do not speak to me in such a manner.”
Louisa choked back a giggle.
Tessa smiled as a sense of relief washed over her. She was finished doing her mother’s bidding. Until now, she hadn’t truly realized what Stanhope’s fortune meant for her—she was free. No longer would she have to listen to her mother telling her who she should and should not entertain, or where she could go, or most importantly whom she should marry next. “I am sorry, Mamma. I decided nine months of mourning for a man I did not love, and to whom I was married to for exactly one week, was more than enough time. I am putting away my black and gray.”
“It’s about time,” Louisa mumbled.
“Scandalous!” her mother exclaimed. “And it will bring shame down on this entire family. Think of Louisa and Emma.”
“That is all I have thought about for the past five years since you and the duke convinced me to marry Langley. I believe my sisters shall be fine, as will you.” Tessa yanked Louisa’s arm. “Come along, Louisa. We have not finished our turn about the room, scandalizing everyone.”
Louisa glanced back at their mother’s face while Tessa marched forward. “Tessa, I cannot believe you finally told Mamma how you really felt. I never wanted you to marry a man for position or money. I’m sure Emma feels the same.”
“Thank you.” She squeezed her sister’s hand. “It finally occurred to me that I am wealthy in my own right now. I do not need to marry again, nor do I need to listen to Mamma’s advice on men.”
“I have been telling you that for months.” A long sigh escaped Louisa. “I have to admit a certain amount of envy, sister dear. Mamma will have my head if I don’t accept someone this Season.”
“Of course she will,” Tessa commented. “She wants you and Emma married and out of the house so she can finally have her freedom.”
“I don’t want to marry just any man,” Louisa said wistfully.
“You could come live with me,” Tessa said with a grin. “Think how that would upset her.”
Louisa giggled softly. “She might never speak to either one of us again.” She stopped walking and pulled back on Tessa’s arm. “If you are not interested in marriage again, why all the worrying over Mr. Raynerson?”
Her cheeks burned in embarrassment. “I am concerned about his interest in me. It might be unseemly.”
“Unseemly? You are a widow. You can do whatever...” She paused and stared at Tessa for a long moment. “You’re not considering,” she moved closer and whispered in Tessa’s ear, “an affair, are you?”
“Louisa, I only just met the man tonight!”
“True,” she replied slowly. “But he is quite handsome. It certainly appeared as if you were attracted to him while dancing the waltz.”
Tessa’s mouth gaped open. “What do you mean?”
“I cannot remember the last time you smiled at a man that way while dancing with him. And you stared at him the entire dance.”
Was her attraction to the man so obvious? “I am not attracted to him. You forget that I haven’t danced with a man since before my marriage to Stanhope. All you saw was my excitement to be out amongst people again.”
Louisa only shook her head. “If you remember, I had to force you to come to your own sister’s ball.”
Drat, she had forgotten that point. “Just ask Blakely about him...please.”
“Of course I will. I’m sure I’ll discover he is just a handsome man interested in a beautiful woman.”
“Shh,” Tessa scolded. “You are being inappropriate.”
“I always am inappropriate,” Louisa said with a smile and a shrug. “It’s part of my charm.”
“I am leaving once I speak with Emma. She has been impossible to catch tonight.” Tessa smiled, seeing her youngest sister speaking with a handsome earl. Happiness swelled in her, and she prayed Mamma would let Emma find a man she could love.
“Come along, I shall walk with you so you don’t get eaten up by the gossipy hens here tonight,” Louisa commented with a smirk.
They made their way through the crush until they reached Emma and Lord Killam. Once the earl spotted Tessa, he made a quick excuse and left.
“I’m sorry, Emma,” Tessa apologized. “I don’t mean to drive away your friends with my presence.”
“Well, then they are foolish indeed,” Emma said with a bright smile. “And I am extremely happy you made an appearance tonight.”
Her youngest sister shone like an angel in her white seeded pearl silk gown. With her hair swept up and a hint of powder on her face, she looked older than her eighteen years.
“You look so beautiful tonight, darling,” Tessa said, pulling her sister into a tight hug. “I must leave so I don’t ruin your ball. There has been far too much talk of me and not enough of you. This is your night.”
Emma pulled back, her lips in a pout. “Please don’t go. I do not care what any of these people say about you. You are my sister and you are not cursed. You just seem to have terrible luck with marriage.”
Tessa smiled wryly. “Yes, I do, which is why I shall never enter into marriage again. But still I must take my leave. Enjoy your evening.”
“I will.”
Tessa walked down the stairs to the front door and then waited for her carriage to be brought around. It felt odd to wait for her personal carriage with no man, no mother, and no sister waiting to chaperone her. Another wave of true freedom flooded over her as it had when she finally spoke up to her mother. She could do as she pleased, whenever she pleased...and with whomever she pleased. She was finally ready to embark on her new life.
~*~
The next morning, Tessa awoke and dressed in her blue muslin. She had completed her mourning. Stanhope had been a very nice man, but it was time to move on with her life.
By noon, her conviction was steadily decreasing. Since she had publicly declared the end of her mourning last night, she had hoped for an invitation to some event tonight—a soiree, perhaps even a short musicale—but she’d received none. For all her thoughts on the attraction of freedom, if she were never invited to an outing, she would be alone in this house forever. Perhaps she and Louisa should settle here together.
At two, a knock on her door finally brightened her mood. Hopefully, this would be Louisa with news on Mr. Raynerson. She looked up from her needlework with a smile when her butler opened the salon door.
“A Mr. Raynerson is here to see you, my lady. Shall I show him in?”
Raynerson. Here? Before she had even discovered any information on the man. Drat him. “Yes, please show him in and bring us some tea.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Tessa folded her needlework and set it in her basket before checking her reflection in the mirror over the fireplace. She pushed a few wispy curls behind her ears and then raced back to the sofa where she sat perfectly still.
“Mr. Raynerson, ma’am,” Roberts said, and then backed out of the room.
“Lady Stanhope,” he said with smile before giving her a bow. “It is lovely to see you again.”
“Mr. Raynerson, when you asked to call on me, I truly did not expect you so soon.” Nor looking more handsome than she’d remembered from last night. In the light of day, his brown hair appeared slightly lighter, and his eyes a softer brown with amber tints that mesmerized her.
“I thought I had better beat the competition.” He looked around the room with a half-smile and appeared to notice three of her cats looking up at him from their positions on assorted chairs in the room. “Do I have competition? Other than the cats, that is.”
“I’m not certain you are in the competition at all,” Tessa quipped. “Or that there even is a competition.”
He tilted his head back and laughed. She hadn’t noticed the slight dimple in his chin last night. He sank in the chair across from her still smiling. “I believe you are quite wrong on that account, Lady Stanhope. But having no rivalry only increases my odds.”
“Odds of what exactly?”
“Seeing you,” he replied in a low tone that sent a shot of desire down her body.
“I called for tea,” she said, unable to think of what else to say to the man.
“Excellent, I am parched.” He looked about the room intently as if memorizing every detail. “Since we had so little time to talk last night, I thought we should learn more about each other.”
“For what purpose, sir?” she asked, far more primly than she had wanted. But she truly had no experience playing the flirtatious widow. She’d never even learned to be a flirtatious wife. After her first two marriages, she returned to her mother’s home. If she were ever to take a lover, she would need to be bolder.
He tilted his head slightly and smiled again. “Indeed, what reason would two people wish to learn more about each other? Why, to gain a new friendship, of course.”
Friendship? Why would such a handsome man be in need of a friend? There was only one reason she could imagine and the idea of him wanting her seemed strange indeed. “Of course.”
“To determine compatibility, is also a good reason.”
“I agree. I should so hate to think of you as a friend if we are not like-minded.” Tessa wondered what his true reason was...there was far more to him than he was letting her see. Again, he seemed to scan the room as if memorizing every detail of the furnishings. Could he be attempting to determine their worth...her worth? She truly knew nothing of the man. Before she could decide if he should be her first lover, she must discover more about him.
“True, but there are other reasons for compatibility.” He cleared his throat. “After all, you are a lonely widow...and I am a lonely man.”
Tessa laughed nervously. “I highly doubt you are a lonely man, Mr. Raynerson.”
His brows rose slightly. “You have no idea just how lonely I am.”
She couldn’t look away from his penetrating gaze. What would it be like to take a man in his prime to bed? She fisted her hands to keep them from quaking. A sharp knock on the door broke her musing.
“Tea, my lady.” Instead of a footman, Roberts entered the room with a silver tray. He gave Mr. Raynerson a look of warning. “Would you like me to pour, ma’am?”
“No, thank you, Roberts.”
“As you wish.” He backed out of the room slowly, never taking his gaze off Raynerson.
Tessa concentrated on pouring the tea without spilling. She felt like a young miss again entertaining her first suitor. He seemed to be watching her every movement. “Milk?”
“Yes, but no sugar.”
She glanced up at him with a smile. “That is exactly how I take my tea too.”
“There now, something in common already.” He sipped his tea and then nodded. “Excellent tea.”
“Thank you.” She sipped hers before speaking again. “The duke’s son sends over tea from their estate in India. It is a custom blend only for family...and close friends.”
“How nice that you are such close friends with the duke.” His brows furrowed. “I’d hoped to discover if you are returning to your mourning period now that your sister’s ball is over.”
“Why would you wish to know?”
“It was a self-serving question to be honest. I have an invitation to the Marshalls’ musicale tonight. He is my godfather so it is expected that I will attend. Since it is usually an excruciatingly painful evening of their daughters attempting to display their talent, I would love some company.”
“Oh? You wish to share a painful experience then?”
He laughed soundly. “Misery loves company and all that...I was hoping to have someone next to me who might take my mind off the agony.”
Tessa’s mouth gaped. Was he truly asking her to accompany him, unescorted by her mother or sister? Was this how widows were courted? Before she could talk herself out of it, she blurted out, “Yes, I would love to attend.”
A slow smile brought his molded lips upward. He placed his cup on the tray and bowed to her. “Until tonight, then. I shall arrive here at seven.”
Tessa had no idea what to say as he walked out of the room. But with every step he took away from her, the urge to call him back to her became stronger. She wanted to feel the charged sensation that filled the room when he was near.
She wanted to know what his kisses would feel like...what he would feel like.
CHAPTER 5
Jack smiled as he walked up to Lady Stanhope’s front door to escort her to the musicale. So far, everything was falling into place. His attempt at befriending her landed him a beautiful companion for the evening, something he figured would never happen so quickly. Somehow, he had to keep the momentum continuing forward. He could already see her longing to trust him. That would only make this easier.
“Good evening, Mr. Raynerson. Lady Stanhope is expecting you,” her butler said as he opened the large black door.
“Thank you...”
“Roberts, sir.”
“Thank you, Mr. Roberts.”
“Please follow me,” Roberts said as he walked toward the receiving salon.
