Page 25 of Miss Hawthorne’s Unlikely Husband (The Troublemakers Trilogy #3)

It was only now, when Elodia had arrived at the London home Ada was currently sharing with Richard, and saw his expression in response to her presence that she understood she had been party to a shenanigan.

But between his expression and the collection of what she assumed was heiresses surrounding him, Elodia couldn’t imagine who the object of Ada’s trickery was.

One thing was certain, however: Ada was more like her brother than anyone was prepared for.

“Dear Ellie,” Ada said, taking her hands in hers and smiling brightly.

“Dear Ada,” she replied, casting her eyes around the room. “What on earth are you up to?”

“I can’t imagine what you are referring to.”

“It would appear that you intend your brother to find his bride here.”

“He said he wanted to marry. I thought what better way to help him than to draw in the eligible females for him to charm.”

“And what am I doing here?” Who exactly was Ada intending to torture? Richard or Elodia?

“You are an eligible female, are you not?” Ada replied.

So that was the trap. “Not to him.”

“We’ll see.”

“What if he thinks I enlisted you to help me pin him down?” Elodia hissed into her ear, her grip on Ada’s arm tightening. “Oh, Ada, I don’t want him to imagine that I don’t respect his wishes.”

“Of course, but I’m his sister. I don’t need to respect his wishes,” Ada replied, waving off her concerns. “You can engage with him or ignore him entirely, but it is high time he sees you as you are instead of within the role he’s cast you in.”

It wasn’t going to matter in any event. “Ada,”

“Don’t worry about him. You are my friend and you have every right to be here and enjoy this evening.”

“I suppose I cannot hide away forever.” And surely Richard knew his sister was a little devil even if no one else did.

“Nothing about you should be hidden at all. Per our contract, you owe me two piano pieces; after that, you may do as you wish. Do you remember the jade room?”

“Yes.”

“It’s ready for you whenever you wish. There are tea and biscuits, sandwiches and every good thing.”

“To keep me away from unfriendly eyes?”

“For when you decide to deprive these undeserving people of your presence.”

Elodia laughed and nodded, patting Ada’s arm. “Understood.”

It was a strange sensation, being protected by Ada and Gigi, and Elodia wasn’t sure how she felt about it.

It was different being among the ton, knowing the truth of how they felt about her.

She certainly noticed small things she would have blissfully ignored before.

Particularly when it came to how mothers of the ton would speak to her but they rarely pushed their children to do the same.

How often she would end up on her own without her father or Regina and Ada.

It was humbling. There was no way to avoid that feeling.

For so long, she’d assumed that any snubs she’d received were due to her race, but now it was clear there was more to it than that.

There was clarity in knowing where she stood, however, and who her true friends were.

She watched the young ladies flutter around Richard, smiling and chattering away.

Most were white and grasping, some were not.

Flirting. As if they’d just noticed him now that it was clear he had close ties to influential members of the ton.

He was taking it in his stride, though, smiling and charming them all as was his way.

Ada meant well by placing her here. No doubt she believed that by presenting Elodia as a prospect, he would reconsider things between them.

It would never occur to her that there simply wasn’t anything to ponder.

Surely it was better for him to align himself with a girl who was free of all scandal.

Someone who could continue to secure his family’s position within the ton.

If he had decided what they had to offer was more useful to him then who was she to say otherwise?

She played when Ada asked, choosing particularly difficult pieces to show off a little; Beethoven’s Waldstein and Shubert’s twenty-first sonata in allegro .

She cast her eyes over her audience a few times, watching the little strumpets squirm with dismay at the prospect of following her.

Perhaps it was unkind, but at that moment, she didn’t care.

Let those girls follow her and pale in comparison. How was their incompetence her problem?

She told herself that the prickling on her skin was the focus of the guests, not Richard, and even if it was him that it didn’t matter.

He had nothing to offer her and he’d made it clear she had nothing he wanted.

If she was proving to be a distraction, then she would remove herself to the sitting room that Ada had prepared for her.

She hoped he found a good and simple wife among the company to give him the home he wanted.

At the end, she stood and curtseyed to enthusiastic applause before taking a seat at the back.

She waited until the next girl, a blonde, uninspiring little thing in a perfectly tame shade of pink, began to play The Bluebells of Scotland while she warbled along.

Her eyes drifted to Richard and noticed the smile curving up his mouth.

So he enjoyed it. She fixed her gaze on a spot on the piano forte until the girl was finished.

Then, on the next set of applause, she made her way to the hallway and her sanctuary.

She was in the room for perhaps ten minutes, nibbling on sandwiches and scones before she decided that the tea provided was not going to give the comfort it usually did.

She needed alcohol and silence.

In that order.

She began looking through the cabinets one by one until she found what she was looking for. Almost. She wanted sherry, but he only had brandy. Any port in a storm.

She didn’t question why it was there, in a random sitting room. Richard wasn’t, after all, the type to leave liquor around in any room of the house. She picked it up and made her way out to the garden.

*

As Richard farewelled the last of Ada’s guests, he decided it had to be studied, how a five hour party could seemingly last five years.

He’d never had so many inane conversations in his life.

He couldn’t blame the young ladies; they were the products of their upbringing after all.

He had known that they were there chasing connections.

He knew that their focus was on his family name at best or his connection to the Viscount Sterling or Leo, and again, he couldn’t blame them for being tools of their parents.

But did they have to be so blatant about it?

Was it unreasonable to expect… not so much dishonesty but tact?

It was impossible not to compare them to Elodia.

She had been a vision that evening in a gown that suited her to the ground, confident and so skillful it was almost unfair to the young ladies present.

She had made them seem small and flavorless, like half steeped tea.

He knew he hadn’t imagined the small smirk on her face as she played Waldstein.

He’d noticed more than a few disheartened looks from the other attendants at the idea of following in her wake.

When she played, it had been impossible to look at anyone else but her, but all too soon it had been over, leaving him scrambling to concentrate on the people around him instead of the woman who was gone like a flash of summer lightning splintering the sky.

“Brother,” Ada walked up to him and took his arm. “How did you like it?”

“Will I have to do another anytime soon?” he asked as they walked back to the parlor where the servants were cleaning up the detritus of the evening and Leo and Basil were in the middle of a talk. Richard sat on the chaise with A’wei and leaned his head on his hand.

“That depends,” she replied with a delicate shrug. “If the next few balls produce the needed result, then no. If it doesn’t, then needs dictate we must host a dinner next.”

“That sounds interminable.”

“Chin up,”

He rolled his eyes, but patted her hand. “Thank you. It was exquisitely done, A’wei,”

She leaned her head against his arm. “Thank you for allowing me to.”

He couldn’t help but tease her a little. “I hope you enjoyed it because—”

“—Where is Ellie?” Lady Starkley asked, walking into the room. “Did she leave already?”

Richard couldn’t help it. His head came up at the mention of her name.

“I haven’t seen her for some time,” Basil said.

“Is she not in the jade parlor?” A’wei asked, as Leo walked out the door to the corridor.

“Why would she be there?” Richard asked.

“I set it up for her to stay there if things became too much.”

Too much. How stupid of him to assume she was well just because she was a better actress than most. Had she simply removed herself to a quieter place or had something happened to her? With so many people there, so many debutantes with their parents, it was impossible to keep tabs on all of them.

“Her carriage driver is still here,” Leo said, sticking his head in the door. “Wherever she is, she didn’t leave.”

“Search the house,” Richard said, rising to his feet. “I will check the grounds.”

A’wei nodded and he took off out the back door, hoping she was somewhere obvious. It was a mercy that they were in town. The gardens here were less expansive. Thunder rumbled low in the distance and the wind picked up slightly which meant only one thing. Rain.

His gut began to swirl with fear. How long had she been out there?

What if she was hurt? Why had she gone there when she had a place to escape to within the house?

Was she that determined to escape him? Had he unwittingly hurt her again?

He walked past the small gazebo where his mother used to play the guqin, the roses his father prided himself on keeping alive and the tree swing he used to push Ada on when she was a child.

Where on earth was she?