imagine.
Ducking her head, she retired to the withdrawing room for the ladies and
sighed in relief as she managed to escape the oppressive crush.
****
With a malicious smile, William eyed the belle of this lavish ball and decided
that she would do very nicely for his plans, very nicely indeed.
He was hard pressed not to applaud himself for having found the appropriate
woman. One that was so similar to his cousin's dead wife, Camille. In fact,
the similarities in their poise had him hoping that Lady Lily shared Camille's
looseness. For the woman was a veritable beauty and one he would greatly
enjoy bedding!
Looking over her form and the pleasing amount of bosom she had on
display, he wondered if indeed he would be able to sample her delights. She
seemed a strange mixture; a dress of a demimondaine and the figure and
face of a Renaissance angel, deliciously delightful.
In regards to his loins, it was a most pleasing discovery he had made. But
where his plan for Dorian's wealth came into play, having found a woman
who reminded him of Camille seemed almost anti-climactic. The last four
years of searching to have finally come up to snuff . . . was strangely
pleasing yet at the same time, tedious. Plans had to be finalized now he had
found her and that would constitute a lot of work. It would be worth it
though, of that he was certain.
His gaze raked over the delightful form of the woman who was about to take
the center stage of his plans. She was dancing with the old coxcomb,
Lycombe who was making a cake of himself and to a splendid degree. His
eyes seemed to be almost glued to her ample breasts, which jiggled as she
danced and turned. William could well understand Lycombe's predicament.
Had he been more in the mood, it would have taken much less for his own
cock to have hardened at that pleasing sight!
He drained the tumbler of punch that was in his hand and wished it were
some of the illegal brandy his smuggling pals stocked in his cellar. The fruit
punch was far too weak for his tastes and did not have the exquisite burn of
French cognac. William sighed mournfully at the lack of brandy on offer in
the main ballroom then willfully ignored a secret smile that was sent his way
by one of his ex-paramours.
Clinging women had always been the instigator of his departing from any
illicit liaison and Lady Carstairs had done just that and to no small degree.
He'd been pestered and badgered by the tenacious hoyden! Nigh on
harassed by her refusal to believe that he had wanted to cut all ties with
her! The feminine ego could be extremely exhausting he had found.
Slowly turning away from Lisabet Carstairs, so as not to highlight the snub
he was delivering her way, for to do so would create gossip, William dropped
the glass on the mantelpiece of a nearby fireplace and moved further into
the crowd. He only had to retire to the gaming rooms for something more
fiery than ratafia, but, at this moment in time, his plans kept him here.
While Lady Carstairs was indeed a beauty and a veritable goddess in the
bedchamber, those particular attributes were insufficient to deal with her
petty jealousies. The woman had not seemed to understand that while
extra-marital affairs were commonplace, and the gossips and tabbies
certainly ensured the entire ton knew of the relationship, they were never
directly discussed. It had been most embarrassing to learn that she had
actually called at his club to find his whereabouts one evening!
The damnable cheek.
That had been the final nail in a coffin that had been ready to be buried into
unholy grounds. William had had to endure his friends' mockery for almost a
sennight, after one of his chums had spied the lady herself in the vestibule
of White's, asking after him and when the footmen had barred her entry,
according to Chalmsley at any rate, she had damn near thrown a tantrum
like a small babe in the hallowed hall of his club!
Pursing his lips at the memories, William tilted his head to the side as he
studied the lady of the moment, Lady Lily Mercer.
The similarities in appearance between her ladyship and Camille were not
immediately apparent, but William had seen them and he had also noticed
the innocence in the eyes and face that also reminded him of Camille. If he
had, then Dorian was bound to see the same likenesses.
He was rather pleased that his waiting had finally come up to snuff. Four
years was a hellishly long time to wait for a plan to come to a head, but now
the end was in sight, William could rest easy and comfort himself that it had
all been worthwhile.
Seduction was not an easy business. The tabbies and the matrons thought
that it was the food of the rakes but it could be devilishly difficult and
William had a feeling that in this case, Lady Lily would not be an easy fuck.
At times, that could be titillating, but in this case, it would be more in
keeping with his plans for her to be as facilitating as possible.
A shame indeed that while there was an innocence in her face, there was
also a cynical disdain . . . . That did not bode well for his seduction plans.
Pursing his lips at the thought, William's eyes roved over the crowd and
spotting the ludicrously attired aunt of his target was not altogether difficult.
Eying her all the while, he sank into the crush and aimed for the overlarge,
purple blight on the horizon and entered the hornet's nest of tabbies and
matrons who spent their lives gossiping over the inane.
As soon as he entered the fray, fans were raised and slight titters became
audible the closer he neared them. William was hard pressed not to roll his
eyes, but ever aware that he was being paid close attention to, he plastered
a very faint and very fake smile on his face and stalked towards the mound
of purple in the center of the group.
Why Lady Lily's aunt was wearing purple, he did not know . . . for surely
they weren't still mourning for the late Marquess? Or was it some kind of
bizarre fashion statement of which he had yet to hear? From the little he
knew of Millicent Greaves, he could only assume it was the latter and never
the former!
Making a bow, he greeted the 'Purple lady' with great aplomb. “Good
evening, ma'am,” he said, his voice gently jovial.
As expected, she tittered yet again and fluttered her fan coyly. Bowing her
head slowly, she caught his eye and smiled prettily. “Good evening, sir.”
“May I have a dance with your delightful niece, ma'am?”
“If her dance card is not entirely marked, my lord, then naturally, you may
and with my blessing.” Mrs. Greaves smiled again and then caught the eye
of a footman in full livery, who’d instantly appeared as though requested by
magic. “Wright, would you please inform Lady Lily that I would like to speak
with her?”
The man bowed and went off to do his mistress' bidding.
“I must tell you that your niece is quite the diamond, ma'am.”
“Forgive me for being frank, dear sir, but I know this and have done for
many a year! It was so unfortunate that my dear bro
ther-in-law passed and
at such an important and inopportune stage in his daughter's life.”
“Indeed, very sad, ma'am. Although, I do suppose that it is my good
fortune. For were she to have had her come out before her father's death,
then she would no doubt have a Duke on her arm, who would guard his
Duchess' honor and hold all her dances for himself!”
The purple mound and her avidly listening friends laughed gaily at his sally.
He bowed low and almost as though the polite gesture had summoned her,
Lady Lily swept towards them gracefully.
There was a smile on her face that bespoke of her maturity over the other
silly chits who were being released into society this year and as soon as her
eyes met his, and they bowed and curtsied before one another, William's
earlier prediction came once more to the fore.
It would in no way be as easy as he'd imagined. To the point where he
wondered if he should seek another target!
It was a peculiar way of describing it, but he could only liken it to a wall
slowly being constructed between them, one of her making. And brick by
brick, an impenetrable barrier was raised that shielded her almost entirely.
Damn his luck!
She was a beauty, of that there was no doubt. He'd noticed it as she'd been
dancing and now, face to face, he could admire her form as he would a filly.
A touch of innocence in those pretty emerald eyes, reminded him of his
cousin Camille, yet there was also intelligence, which Dorian's dearly
departed certainly hadn't had, a strong but conversely delicate face, with
rosebud lips and a pert nose. Definitely a beauty and one that were his plan
to work, he would certainly enjoy bedding.
Almost as though the thought pressed him into considering failure, he
immediately discarded that as ridiculous. He was not a man who buckled
easily when he put his mind to something and in this regard, he had no
intention of conceding defeat. The prize was too large to even consider doing
so!
“Lily! Dear, has your card been marked for the next dance? Mr. Wright has
charmingly requested you take a turn with him.”
William watched with hooded eyes as the smile on Lily's face froze
momentarily, she then blinked and turned to him with a charming duck of
her head. “No, indeed, sir, I am free for the next dance.”
“Then it is to my relief that the rest of the gentleman here have not
cascaded upon you and stolen a dance from me, my lady.”
“I'm afraid that I have tended to reject rather than accept the many
invitations I have received tonight.”
“Lily!” Mrs. Greaves spat warningly.
“Did I not tell you, dear aunt?” Lily replied, a mocking twitch playing about
her lips. “I unfortunately overturned my ankle when I danced with Lord
Lycombe and find it a tad too painful to be dancing heartily. I took a break in
the ladies' chamber and feel a touch better, but not enough to take part in
the upcoming dances, I'm afraid.”
Her voice and the spark in her eye decried her words. The naughty girl!
“Such a shame!” William murmured smoothly, “but at least permit me to
parlay you a glass of punch, my lady, or would a turn about the room
perhaps exercise the joint and prevent any stiffness?”
“Yes! Indeed, Lily. I'm sure that would be most helpful and so kind, dear sir.
I thank you on my sister's behalf. Do enjoy your promenade and I hope,
niece, that it ceases any suffering.”
Mrs. Greaves nodded slowly and it was another warning on her part. William
noticed it with faint curiosity and wondered what sort of misdeeds had
happened here. He had noticed a faint glumness on Lily's face and even
though it seemed rather melodramatic, he could only believe that she did
not want to be here so soon after her father had stuck his spoon in the wall!
The thought had him wishing he had the freedom to roll his eyes. For the
love of the Lord, people spent far too much time moping around in their
funeral blacks. To William's mind, life was far too short to be spent mourning
people, who no longer had the ability to appreciate the sacrifice!
Indeed, it seemed rather tedious of Lady Mercer to be such a prig. There
was many a chit who would have loved such a come out as this. Indeed, he
had yet to attend one of this kind where the luxury and opulence could
match such splendor as here. For sure, the bill for this kind of ball could
have paid several of his gaming debts! Not that he was up Queer Street yet!
But then, the Mercers' fortune was reputed to be larger than Prinny's
himself! Not that Prinny had a fortune! Rather the state funded his
extraordinary tastes, but still, the point was that the Mercers could afford
such a ball and their only daughter should have at least had the damned
decency to enjoy it!
In fact, were it not in his best interests and a point of pride to take both
Dorian's wealth and title, he would have made a play for the chit himself. He
could easily see himself as her groom and while she had not inherited the
fortune as had her brother, she was bound to have a pleasingly substantial
dowry.
Holding out his arm for Lady Lily to take, he smiled at her gently when she
slipped her gloved palm atop his. She was obviously very hesitant, not out of
fear, he'd have been able to sense that, but out of disinterest.
William had never believed himself to be a vain man, but to say that her
disinterest piqued him was an understatement.
“Are you enjoying your come out, my lady?” he asked suavely, hiding his
annoyance with aplomb.
“Yes, very. Thank you, Mr. Wright.”
“Nay, indeed. The pleasure is mine. I am just aggrieved that you have hurt
your ankle. Considering what a night this is and how important to a young
lady a come out is, you must be most disappointed, my lady.”
“Yes, it is a shame. But I only hurt my foot a little. I'm afraid since my
father's death I have not danced as much as in the past. I was . . . out of
practice,” she murmured with a smile and elegantly nodded at an
acquaintance who lifted her fan and waved it Lily's way.
“I was terribly sorry to hear about your father, my lady.”
“I thank you. It came as a great shock. My mama is quite overcome still.
She is at sixes and sevens at our country estate with my brother.”
“The new Marquess is in residence at your estate? He is not in London to see
you out?”
“Mama needed him more than I,” she demurred.
“Such a selfless daughter!” he complimented. “Regardless of your mother's
absence, I'm sure your aunt shall do you proud. And, may I say, how
beautiful you look this evening.”
William felt almost like pouting when she failed to even blush or titter at his
quite obvious adulation. She was a peculiar chit, he'd give her that.
The gal merely blinked her eyes at him - that was the sum total of her
reaction. “Thank you, Mr. Wright,” she answered woodenly.
Thereafter, the conversation was quite stilted and even though they took
two turns about the large room, very little else was said. Lady Lily asked if
they co
uld desist from their promenade momentarily and speak to one of the
other girls, a rather ugly looking, green girl named Anna. On their part,
there was very little conversation. Merely some sort of code, whereby they
looked at each other, a twitch of the lips followed and then a nod of the head
and they then curtsied farewell to each other.
He returned her gladly to her aunt and made his retreat to the gaming
rooms with an elaborate bow that had Mrs. Greaves more aflutter than his
intended target. This, combined with their turn about the ballroom had
taught him something and he was not altogether certain that he liked it. In
fact, he knew for a fact that he did not. It had been a very long time since a
woman had failed to succumb to his charm and that Lady Lily hadn't, was
most annoying.
For two reasons. One, it pricked his pride. But secondly, and far more
importantly than his damaged vanity, it meant that he would be unable to
manipulate her into helping him.
As his eyes cast over the tables of his peers, some foxed as they played faro
and others as they played loo, William knew that he would have to take this
to a completely different level and one that he hadn't contemplated in the
past.
He'd always considered his ability to charm as heaven-sent. It meant that he
could have any woman he wanted, from the grandest ladies to the Cyprians
and bit o' muslins that could be found about town. But in regards to his
ambitions to accede to his cousin's title, William had always known that it
would be most handy in this instance for persuading a good lady of the ton
to assist him.
Where Lily was concerned, he knew that it would be difficult enough to
persuade her to take a ride in Hyde Park with him, never mind to coaxing
her into seducing his unstable cousin into marriage!
Feeling most angered, for his plans were almost up in the air, William swiftly
realized that he did not necessarily need her to willingly comply with his
wishes. He could always force it. Persuade her into behaving in a manner
that was quite out of character simply to protect her good name.
Indeed, that her bastard of a father had died was actually quite handy for
him. It meant that her mother was distraught and on the edge, for had Lily
not said that her mama was still grieving and after almost two years? And