Page 2 of Clarity

London, 1846

C larity leaned back on the cream-colored velvet chaise lounge and examined the toes of her blue slippers at the other end.

“Of course I recall Alex. It has not been a lifetime,” she contradicted her sister, Purity, who looked as much like her as to be a twin in height and coloring. Both had the dark hair and blue eyes of their father and their Irish ancestors.

In other regards such as their innate dispositions, the sisters were very different, with Clarity being the more whimsical of the two despite being older. In fact, she was the eldest of all the five Diamond children.

“It’s only been ... let me think. Gracious! I believe it’s been a decade since last we saw him. Longer, actually. I wonder why.” At first, she’d missed him terribly but gradually let him slip from her thoughts.

“He was always such good fun,” she added.

“Perhaps that is why,” Purity said. “Too much fun and too much trouble. Although I remember little of him as you were his companion, I recall hearing our parents and his parents complain about what mischief he was up to.”

Clarity smiled at her own memory of what an amusing playmate he’d been. She’d been in awe of the boy who was older than herself and clever as Tommy-tit. Their mothers were great friends, and their families were often together at the Diamond country estate in Derby.

In truth, Alex was in her memories from the first she could recall, maybe at age three or four. Sadly, by the time she was nine, he had vanished.

Regardless, Purity was correct about the mischief.

“It wasn’t solely him,” Clarity said. “I believe I helped in most of his wicked capers.”

Her fond musings stopped as she remembered what had happened to her childhood friend’s parents.

“I suppose there was no reason for him to come after the coach accident.”

Purity shook her head solemnly. “I guess you’re right. Poor Alex, having to live with that stuffy aunt. Even I remember her, and I was quite young when I last saw that dour woman.”

Suddenly, Purity’s eyes widened. “Oh my! The last time I recollect seeing him and his parents at Oak Grove was when he dressed up one of the dogs in his aunt’s gown.”

Clarity nodded, and she couldn’t help smiling again. They’d gone without supper after they’d finally returned to the house. However, her mother was so relieved to see them, she had snuck them each a mug of broth and some warm buttered bread. His parents also weren’t too angry by the time she and Alex reappeared.

Only Lady Aston had still been livid, wanting her nephew to be thrashed with a cane. His aunt remained furious until she left along with Alex and his parents, Lord and Lady Hollidge.

Clarity had never seen any of them again.

Now, according to the newspapers, Alex, who’d been the Viscount Hollidge for over a decade, would be at the first event of the new social season, following the opening of Parliament the month before. Since January was wretchedly cold, the first ball was occurring in February, which was hardly any more pleasant.

“Maybe he’ll stop by before the ball,” she mused, thinking how lovely it would be to see her old friend in the private setting of their townhouse rather than the noisy hustle of a cavernous room at Devonshire House.

Would he recognize her? She’d been chubby in her youth, enjoying too many cakes and sticky buns.

Purity frowned. “I doubt he’ll suddenly stop by for tea and crumpets, as if it’s been a fortnight instead of twelve years.”

Clarity laughed. “You are probably correct, but we could ask Mother to send him an invitation.” She picked up the book she’d been perusing on paper folding, always hoping the secret of creating beautiful works of art from creasing, crimping, and bending paper would come clear to her. Thus far, she had failed to make anything other than a square.

“Or we could simply wait until the ball,” Purity said. “He might be a toad now or a swell. Either way, it would be dreadful to have to take tea with him, unable to escape.”

Clarity doubted Alex could ever be other than his amusing self, yet her sister was probably correct about waiting. After all, everyone knew the residence of the Diamond family on the exclusive west end of Piccadilly. If he wanted to visit, he could come calling any day during visiting hours, just as her suitors did.

Still, she could be secretly excited to see her old friend without any harm done.

When Clarity saw him in person a few days later, she wished she had seen him previously if only to be prepared. For while she knew him by his face, she barely recognized him by his nature, and when she understood the man he had become, she wasn’t at all pleased.

Alex was a fish out of water from the moment he entered Devonshire House through its recently renovated entrance hall and up the crystal staircase. In the gilded ballroom, people were dancing, chatting sociably, and laughing. It made his skin feel a size too tight. Worse, it made him think a sturdy birch cane was ready to come thwacking down upon his flesh should he so much as crack a smile.

Sighing, Alex tried to release the tension in his shoulders with a gentle rolling motion. Standing up straighter, he surveyed the room from the vantage point of his impressive height.

How to begin? he wondered.

And then he saw her, a gorgeous, dark-haired vision in lavender. Not a namby-pamby version of the hue either, but a rich, deep color like the flowers in full bloom. The woman herself seemed in bloom, too, the way she was laughing and gesturing with her hands, the blush of color on her cheeks. Even from a distance, he could see the merriment upon her face.

Unthinkingly, he moved in her direction, beginning to notice a few people stopping to look at him with undisguised, blatant stares before fans went up to hide whispers.

Lord Hollidge had finally entered society.

Ignoring them, Alex continued around the edge of the dance floor toward her. When he was a mere few yards away, he took in the small group of which she was a part.

She conversed with two other people, a young man and a more subdued young lady who greatly resembled her in looks. With them were two people he abruptly recognized. With a jolt, he realized they were the Earl and Countess Diamond, if memory of his youth served him correctly.

Then the younger people must be their children. Despite their similarity in looks, he had no trouble discerning which female was Clarity and which was Purity, for his old childhood friend had to be the exuberant one.

Before he took another step, Adam Diamond, the only male child and the heir, caught sight of him. Plainly, the young man had no recollection of Alex since Diamond had been in leading strings when last Alex had seen the family.

“I think we have someone who wishes to claim a dance,” Adam said.

The rest of the family looked Alex’s way, and he was captivated again by the lavender-clad female whose sparkling eyes flickered over him. Her mouth opened slightly, and then she was the first to speak.

“Alex!” she exclaimed, breaking all boundaries of propriety by closing the last few steps and peering into his face. “It is you, isn’t it?”

He feared she was about to embrace him publicly. Therefore, he took her gloved hand and bowed over it.

“It is I,” he agreed, “Lord Hollidge.”

Apparently, that tickled her funny bone. She grinned widely, her pretty lips parting slightly to show white teeth. She also displayed her attractive dimples.

“ Lord Hollidge,” she mimicked. “I’m sorry, but to me that will always be your father while you are Alex Ashley.”

Alex startled. Not two minutes in mixed company, and he was already reminded of the man whose death he’d caused and with whom it would be better if he could change places. His throat clogged, and he swallowed.

Her smile died. “Are you well? Oh dear. I shouldn’t have mentioned your parents. I’m sorry. Since it has been over a decade, I didn’t think —” she interrupted herself, looking ruffled and glancing at her parents.

Alex had a feeling she often acted or spoke without thinking. He dropped her hand and turned to the countess and the earl.

Lady Diamond gave him a smile as warm as her daughter’s. She held out her hand to him, which he took.

“I am glad you came, my lord,” she said. “It has been far too long since we’ve seen you.”

He bowed over her hand and released it. His mother had adored this woman as her best friend. Thus, Lady Diamond was another person injured because of him and his careless actions. Another reason he deserved the night-terrors that had plagued him both at Eton and at Oxford, terrible dreams of carriages and helplessness and death.

Wishing he had stayed on the other side of the room, he continued with a bow to Lord Diamond. Surprising him, the earl expressed great affability by sticking out his hand to shake Alex’s. It was an unexpectedly warm gesture.

Following suit, the heir to the Diamond earldom also shook his hand and introduced himself. Then the earl introduced his eldest daughter.

“Undoubtedly you recall Clarity, though she might have been in pigtails at the time. Not to mention she was a plump little thing.”

“Father,” the glorious creature in lavender groaned, rolling her eyes. “I agree I might have been chubby, but I am sure I was not in braids when last I saw Al — Lord Hollidge.”

Then her glance caught his. “Was I?”

“I don’t believe so,” he said, feeling tongue-tied and vaguely recalling the hair of the little girl who’d been his playmate. It had usually been in a snarled mess if memory served him. He knew his mother was always reminding him to comb his own.

At that moment, he nearly lifted his hand to smooth his hair but stopped himself, knowing his valet had combed it perfectly.

In any case, most of what he recalled about Clarity, besides her dimpled round cheeks, was her willingness to get into trouble with him. They had been a bad influence upon one another, although he had been older; hence, the blame rested on him.

“It’s a pleasure to see you,” she added.

Alex realized he was supposed to have said that, but this was as new to him as flying.

“And you,” he said. Then, because looking at her was like staring at the sun, he glanced away to the other young lady who shook her head, appearing quite exasperated.

“Father should have introduced her properly.”

The earl chuckled. “And our next oldest daughter, Lady Purity,” Lord Diamond continued, this time with decorum.

Without the same eagerness, this dark-haired young woman offered her hand, which Alex held briefly while bowing over it, this time muttering a timely, “My pleasure.”

Thank goodness all the greetings were finished. He didn’t know what had possessed him to walk over to this group except for the certainty he knew them.

Now he could wander off into obscurity again. The last thing he wanted to do was—

“Find him a place on your cards, girls,” Lady Diamond advised.

To his dismay, both daughters looked at the cards dangling from their wrists like tacky price tags in a milliner’s shop window.

“Is there a dance you are particularly fond of performing?” Lady Clarity asked.

“No,” he said abruptly. Dancing was not something he did. Ever. However, he had taken the trouble to learn, which didn’t help stave off the dread of actually stepping onto the dance floor.

“Then I shall choose for you,” Lady Clarity continued.

Producing a pencil from some mysterious hiding place, she wrote his name onto her card.

“Please return for the ninth dance,” she informed him.

He nodded. “As you wish.” Alex could not manage any genuine enthusiasm. While holding a woman in his arms was not a hardship, twirling her around the polished floor without bumping into others or stepping on her toes was going to be a nerve-wracking chore.

She didn’t look offended but was a little curious at his demeanor. Then Lady Purity offered him the fourth dance before he took his leave of the family.

Alex intended to do his duty as a single man at a ball and dance, no matter his wish to go home or to his club and drink brandy. Not wanting to be a wall-prop, awkward and unsocial, he sought out any chums from school, pleased to find a few.

Bachelors like himself, they were in better spirits than he, actually looking forward to the evening, so Alex endeavored to copy them.

“In the card room,” one swell advised, “there’s brandy instead of the insipid lemonade.”

“I thought most were drinking champagne,” Alex said.

The man shrugged. “Same. Watered down champagne or full-strength lemonade. Give me brandy, any day.”

“Never mind that, Brennon,” said another man whom Alex vaguely recollected from university. “Not all of us have a lovely lady on the end of our fishing line, as you do. If we’re stuck in the card room with the married men drinking brandy, then we won’t be able to enjoy the ladies. And that’s what most of us are here for. Right, Hollidge?”

Hating to admit it, for it sounded extraordinarily calculated, that was precisely why Alex had ventured out from his luxurious townhouse. It was time. He had an estate and multiple households to run, and he needed a capable, organized, and helpful wife. Then he needed children, or at least one male child.

While it had been practical and satisfying to have a long-time mistress, he had let her go without regret. She’d been discreet, with the good sense not to produce any by-blows he would have been compelled by his sense of honor to claim and support. And while he had never become emotionally entangled, she’d made it possible for him to avoid rushing to snag a wife. Nor had he waited too long. The time was perfect.

Glancing over at the Diamond girls, he instantly dismissed the eldest. Lady Clarity had an air of frivolity and disregard for decorum. She smiled too much, always displaying her dimples, and called him by his first name. They wouldn’t suit one another at all.

Lady Purity, on the other hand, had demanded a measure of propriety, at least when it came to introductions. He looked forward to their dance and to exchanging a few private words to determine whether they might suit one another.