Page 31

S eth adjusted his mask as his valet put the finishing touches on his coat, brushing down the soft velvet to ensure it had a high luster.

In general, Seth did not like masquerade balls. He disliked deception and not being able to see to whom he was speaking. But Alicia’s face had lit up at the invitation, so he had been unable to say no.

The damned woman is beginning to usurp my every thought!

“I believe you are ready, Your Grace,” Harper said with his usual stoicism. “Here is your mask.”

The valet handed over the shimmering mask Seth had chosen for the ball. He had opted for the costume of a black knight, and the symbolism of it felt right, what with everything he hoped to achieve.

I shall avenge you, Gordon, even if it takes me my whole life.

If only he knew who to avenge his friend on.

He tugged at his sleeve, nodding to Harper, who looked rather pleased with himself.

Seth had a black cravat around his neck, a black waistcoat and shirt, and a matching tailcoat. His gloves were of the finest leather, with crystal buttons along their length.

Alicia had kept her costume secret from him, but when he had mentioned his choice, she had given him a coy look, as if in quiet approval.

He could hardly wait to see her in her gown. Every time she walked into a room, no matter what she was wearing, he instantly began imagining peeling her out of it.

He donned the mask, the shimmering line of silver down the center making his eyes look an even darker brown as he examined his reflection in the mirror.

Perhaps tonight will not be so interminable when no one can see me. And I will be able to dance with my wife if I so choose.

Pulling his coat against his frame one final time, he left the room, heading down the staircase to wait for Alicia. This time, he was confident she would not keep him waiting.

Since her confession about attempting to repel him, her tardiness had diminished considerably.

I almost miss the anticipation.

Seth had not been in the hallway long when there was a movement above him, and he looked up to be greeted by a vision beyond his wildest imaginings.

Alicia’s costume was that of a swan. Her long, beautiful gown was layered with an intricate sea of feathers at her back, her cinched waist accentuated by a brooch that sparkled in the light.

The sleeves were short, adorned with feathers cascading down to her elegant white gloves. Her white, sparkling mask made her eyes seem all the brighter, the blue shining through like sapphires.

Seth’s mouth was hanging open, and he closed it hurriedly, smoothing his hand down his waistcoat and watching her approach him.

“Is Dove hidden somewhere in the folds of your dress? I would hardly be able to see her.”

She did a spin, making him smile as she posed for him.

“I have left her in my chambers tonight. Do you approve?”

“Very much.”

She ran her eyes over him appreciatively. “A dark knight?”

“The black knight. Come to slay the swan should she stray away from him.”

Alicia giggled. “Well then, I shall have to stay by your side all night.”

“See that you do.”

The ballroom at Almack’s was bedecked in garlands.

Everything around them was ostentatious, down to the glistening silver goblets at the refreshments table.

Lady Sallinger, newly married, fluttered about the room, looking pompous and vain as she fanned herself, flirting with every man she passed. Her husband, already drunk, was talking loudly above the music, spilling his wine on the floor in the process.

Seth held back the urge to roll his eyes. Mask or no mask, he could not be seen openly mocking members of the ton.

“You are very tense,” Alicia whispered to him as they stood in the entryway. “Are you all right?”

“I despise most of these people,” Seth grumbled.

“I thought you said your friends were in attendance.”

“Hm. I can tolerate them , I suppose.”

She laughed. “You are manifesting the mood of the black knight perfectly. I spy Bridget by the refreshments table; shall I get you a glass of wine to ease your irritation?”

“If you must. Hurry back, and don’t speak to any old suitors on the way, or I shall find a balcony to claim you before the night is over.”

He watched her eyes widen in shock before she slipped her hand from his and walked through the crowd toward a refreshments table bedecked with every drink he could have imagined.

Seth could smell the sharp spice of Negus in the air, and he hoped that Alicia would get a glass for herself so he might try it.

As he glanced around the room, bored already with the tedium of the thing, he saw Lucas and Isaac standing on the opposite side. Michael was talking animatedly between them, and they all laughed.

Moving stealthily through the crowd, he kept an eye out for his host, whom he had not yet greeted.

His strides were leisurely and relaxed, and he felt more at ease than he had in an age, aware that it was in no small part due to Alicia’s presence.

I never knew how much I disliked attending these events alone. She is a shield against the hordes of simpering mamas I have fought against all these years.

But she was more than just that. He enjoyed her company and hadn’t smiled so much in years.

People will begin to think I am amiable. How hideous.

“Christ, Radcliffe. Could you look any more terrifying?” Michael’s voice cut through the din, and Seth bowed to the group.

Isaac was dressed as a fox but had hardly made any effort with it. He did not approve of frivolity or public performance, and he had done the bare minimum with his attire.

Lucas, on the other hand, was dressed as a court jester, resplendent in a garish mixture of pinks and purples. He laughed as Seth winced at him.

Michael had golden feathers sticking from his mask, and his attire was all gold and tan. It seemed he had come as a peacock, and was grinning from ear to ear.

“You know, I think your lady wife matches me,” he said, stroking the feathers. “I should dance with her.”

Seth leveled him with a cold look as Michael chuckled at his jealousy. Isaac yawned, looking just as bored as Seth felt.

“ I shall be the only one dancing with my wife,” Seth stated.

Isaac and Lucas sipped their drinks awkwardly at his tone. Michael raised his hands in surrender, chuckling quietly.

“I saw Sheringham at my club yesterday,” Isaac interjected, and Seth’s spine stiffened. “He said you went to see him. I didn’t know you two were friends.”

“I have not done a good job of keeping in touch with him,” Seth admitted carefully. “I should have called on him a long time ago. He was a great support to me after my father’s death.”

“Is that why you visited him, then?” Isaac’s eyes were sharp and curious in the candlelight.

“I suppose marriage has made me more predisposed to make connections.”

Michael laughed—a loud bark that grated on Seth’s nerves.

“I haven’t seen him in an age,” Lucas said. “I was never overly fond of Sheringham.”

“That is because he always beat you at Jackson’s. You were never able to spar very well,” Isaac drawled.

Lucas looked genuinely affronted.

Seth glanced between them, a thought coming to the fore before he could fully process what he was about to say. The words were out before he could retract them.

“We spoke of Gordon,” he muttered, and three pairs of eyes swiveled to him. “Reminiscing about the good old days.”

There was a long silence, and then Michael made a strange noise at the back of his throat.

“They were never close, no matter what Sheringham might say,” he said, drinking deeply from his glass.

“Perhaps not,” Seth conceded. “But it was good to talk about him.”

What is the matter with me? My friends are going to believe I have become sentimental.

“I was thinking of him today, actually,” Lucas spoke up. “He would have been appalled at my waistcoat. No one could criticize a man’s attire so earnestly as Fern.”

Seth smiled as Lucas met his gaze, a warmth in his eyes that he appreciated.

“I say, Lucas, why don’t you ask the good Duchess to dance?” Michael chimed in, waving his glass in Alicia’s direction.

She was still at the refreshments table, and there were far too many men in her vicinity for Seth’s liking.

He glanced at Michael irritatedly.

Why is he so fixated on other men dancing with my wife tonight?

“As I told you before, I am the only man who will dance with the Duchess this evening, Grant.”

Michael scoffed. “Worried about Lucas’s reputation, are you, old man? I don’t blame you.”

Lucas rolled his eyes, but Seth felt his anger flare.

What the devil is the matter with him?

Michael’s grip on his glass was white-knuckled, and his eyes were continually darting over Seth’s right shoulder.

Seth turned, as subtly as he could, to see what had his friend so distracted. But all he could see was a woman speaking to a man in a chair at the far end of the room. Her back was to him, a deep blue gown trailing across the floor behind her.

The man in the chair was old, holding a cane in his hand, and it looked as if they were having an argument.

When Seth turned back, Michael was finishing his wine. Isaac offered to refill his glass, and the two of them wandered away.

Lucas already had his eye on a blonde on the other side of the room and excused himself to go after her. And just like that, Seth was left alone.

He stepped back toward the wall, allowing himself to blend into the background. But it was difficult at over six feet tall, particularly with the dark color of his costume—he was attracting several curious looks.

His eyes scanned the room, wishing Alicia would come back. There were already dozens of people milling about the room and yet more arriving through the door. The air was hot and saturated with perfume.

Giving the crowd a final glance, Seth had just decided to go and find Alicia when his heart stuttered in his chest.

The woman in the dark blue gown had turned around, and she was now facing him for the first time.

He would know those wide, worried brown eyes anywhere. She was older, to be sure, but he recognized her as if it were yesterday.

Gordon’s conquest, the ‘Nicole Forsythe’ he had been searching for for so long, was suddenly standing before him.

What had Sheringham said?

“Her father wanted her to marry a man much older than her…”

Seth looked at the gentleman in the chair behind her. He was probably thirty years her senior, with a hunched back and a sour expression.

His gut churned, and bile rose in the back of his throat. Clenching his fists, he forced himself to remain where he was, desperate to go and talk to her.

But they had not been introduced, not formally.

Maybe she will not even recall who I am.

“Port, old chap?” Michael suddenly stepped in front of him, obscuring his view of the woman.

Seth almost snarled in frustration until a chill raced down his spine at the memory of Michael staring at her.

Are they acquainted?

Michael passed him a glass, and Seth took it automatically. His friend began chattering about the heat in the room and how Almack’s had gone rather downhill under the new management.

Seth barely heard a word of it. Something about his friend’s demeanor, the way he had been behaving that evening, was odd.

Michael’s shoulders were stiff, his stance odd, as if he had deliberately stopped him from staring at the woman.

Seth leaned around him to look at the other side of the room and held back a curse. The young woman and the man he presumed was her husband were leaving. And they seemed to be in a hurry.

“Who is that?” he asked, watching for Michael’s reaction.

It was a risk to bring it up so plainly, but he had waited long enough.

Michael glanced behind him vaguely, his stance completely wrong, all forced indifference when his body language suggested he was brimming with nervous energy. “Who?”

“The lady leaving the room now, the one in the dark blue gown. Do you know her? I saw you looking at her earlier.”

Michael barely spared her a glance before looking back at Seth, his lips trembling a little as his teeth came out to bite his lower lip. “I don’t believe so.”

Seth brought his port up to his lips, fighting to remain calm.

There is no doubt that is Nicole Forsythe, or the woman who called herself by such a name. Michael would recognize her as much as I would, so why is he pretending he has not seen her?

As he watched her leave, she turned, her eyes landing on Michael.

Michael did not see the look she threw his way, but Seth did. He would never forget it for as long as he lived.

It was horrified .