Page 19

" W orthington Manor is one of the oldest estates in London," James told Victoria as the two of them walked through the front door. "The Worthington ball is something I've been looking forward to. I always enjoy being inside this house."

Victoria nodded, turning slowly to take it all in.

The stonework was beautiful. The foyer was surrounded by tall, thick columns that stretched all the way to the ceiling.

The marble staircase at the far end of the foyer swept upward like a wave, parting down the middle as it neared the top and curving into two balconies on either side, overlooking the foyer.

It truly was a beautiful house, and James felt sure she would have enjoyed being here much more under different circumstances.

Even as it was, though, she seemed more relaxed than he might have expected. Perhaps it was their conversation of the other day that had set her at ease. Perhaps it helps her to know that he was on her side, and that he didn't intend to force her into an uncomfortable situation.

She looked lovely in her gown. James had been right in his selection of the color.

The pale emerald brought out her eyes and set off her auburn hair in a truly lovely way.

Already he could see that she was drawing looks from the other ladies and gentlemen assembled around the room.

As they walked through the crowd, heads bent together, and people whispered about the two of them.

James listened hard to hear what was being said.

"I can't believe she dares to show her face."

"She does look lovely tonight, though."

"What difference does it make what she looks like? The fact is that she's a criminal. Don't you feel that we are all in danger with her here?"

"Don't be ridiculous. What is she going to do to anybody with all of us watching? Even if she is guilty, even if she is responsible for her husband's death, what possible motive could she have to harm anyone in this room? And how could she possibly get away with it with so many eyes on her?"

James turned to look at Victoria, to see how she was handling all this.

She was still looking at the architecture.

If she had registered the voices around her, she gave no sign.

James was sure she must've heard them, because some people weren't troubling to keep their voices down.

The conversations were easy to overhear.

But Victoria seemed to have no trouble ignoring them.

She must've taken what he had said the other day to heart — she was keeping her head up and doing her best to let the comments roll off her back. He had to admit, he was proud of her.

After a moment, she turned to face him. "The house really is lovely," she said.

Look at that chandelier! It's so much nicer than the one we have at home, which is old and rusting.

I think we should talk about replacing it.

We should talk about getting something new and modern like that one.

What do you think of it? Wouldn't it look good in our foyer? "

James raised his eyebrows. "Our foyer?"

"Oh, very well. Your foyer, then."

She was smiling. James found himself laughing as well. "I don't mind if you call it both of ours," he said.

"Well, that's a first."

They both smiled at one another. James felt overcome by her beauty.

It felt very special to have such a lovely young lady on his arm tonight, even though the relationship between the two of them was so unique.

In fact, as he thought of his mission, of what he had come here to do, he felt a stab of jealousy.

He needed to find her husband. It was the right thing, and at this point it was something he had promised her.

He wanted to show her that she didn't need to give up on love the way she had.

But if he was successful, the two of them would have to part ways. He would have to say goodbye.

To his own surprise, it occurred to him that he would've felt happier right now if she had argued with him about the ownership of the house.

He could only assume that she had abandoned that debate because she knew that she would be leaving soon, and she realized there wasn't any point in continuing to dispute it.

It was a strange feeling, like missing a step going down.

He had thought that he wanted her to acquiesce.

But now that she had, now that she was cooperating, he missed the arguments.

Perhaps there was simply no making him happy. She was doing everything right and he was still finding fault. He took a deep breath and looked around the room, knowing that he needed to pull himself together.

Instead, he saw something that rocked him to his core.

Benjamin.

How long had it been? More than a year, certainly. Benjamin looked just the same. He was well dressed, his hair well styled. He was still slightly plump, with an open expression on his face and a friendly smile for all. Benjamin always looked so well taken care of.

Anger and resentment stirred within James. He took Victoria's arm, thinking that he might pull her away, but before he could move, Benjamin made eye contact with him. His smile broadened and he started across the room.

James wanted to walk away. But he knew it would do no good.

As long as they were both at the same party, Benjamin would force this conversation to take place.

The only way to avoid it was to leave the party altogether, and that would probably raise more questions for Victoria than simply facing things.

The best thing he could do was to have this conversation, hope that it would be over quickly, and move on.

Benjamin was upon him. "James!" He enthused, holding out a hand. "How long has it been since we've seen one another?"

James shook his hand. "I wasn't aware that you would be here tonight."

"Well, I just returned to London," Benjamin said. "I've been in Rome for the past year. It such a beautiful city. You should go sometime. Both of you should," he added, including Victoria in the conversation for the first time.

"I'm sorry," Victoria said, blushing slightly. "I don't believe we've been introduced."

"No, we haven't, but I know who you are of course," Benjamin said. He offered her a slight bow. "You may call me Benjamin."

Victoria's blush deepened, and James understood exactly why. Benjamin was being shockingly forward. To introduce himself by his first name like this… Well James might have expected it. Benjamin had always turned up his nose at the expectations of society.

"It's good to meet you," Victoria managed. "Any friend of His Grace is a friend of mine."

James could see that he needed to put an end to this interaction as quickly as possible.

It was likely that Victoria was thinking of Benjamin as a possible suitor, someone James might want her to consider as a husband.

For reasons too numerous to mention, that wasn't an option and never would be.

He put a hand on Victoria's shoulder. "It was good to see you again," he said to Benjamin, even though it hadn't been.

"The duchess and I have many people to greet this evening, so you will forgive us for moving on. "

Benjamin took a step back. He looked rather startled, but less surprised than he might have. James was sure that he had been expecting their interaction to be brief. Their interactions always were.

"Of course," Benjamin said, giving them each a nod. "It was wonderful to meet you, Your Grace. And it's always good to see you again, James."

James nodded back, took Victoria by the arm, and led her away.

"Who was that?" Victoria asked him. "He was so direct with me. Asking me to call him by his first name when we had only just met — I can't think why any gentleman would do such a thing."

"Benjamin has never been that keen on social graces," James said. "He knew that he was being forward. But such things don't matter to him. I think he doesn't like the idea of being bound by the rules of society. He thinks he should be able to make his own rules."

Victoria hummed thoughtfully. "I suppose I can see the appeal in that," she said. "I think I would be much happier if I had the power to make the rules for myself."

James can see what she meant, of course. If she had had that power, it would've been unnecessary for her to marry. She could have gone on as she had been, living the life of a happy widow alone in the late Duke's house.

"It's different for Benjamin," he said. "He doesn't have a story like yours. There is no trauma in his past — nothing he's trying to escape, nothing to frighten him. He's just difficult for the sake of being difficult."

"But who is he?" Victoria asked him. "How do the two of you know one another? You seem to be very old friends — as if your connection goes back a long way. He seemed very familiar with you, and you seem to know a great deal about him. Who is he?"

"Nobody important," James said dismissively. "Put it from your mind."

Victoria looked as though she might struggle with that.

Her eyebrows were knitted together, and he could see that she still had many questions about Benjamin, his identity, and what he had meant by approaching the two of them.

But she seemed to think better of asking any more questions for the time being. James was grateful.

"Come," he said let me introduce you to Lord and Lady Worthington."

Victoria was suitably distracted. "I didn't realize you knew them," she said.

"Of course I know them. Haven't I just been telling you that I come to this party regularly?"

"You said that, but I know that you've been away from London for many years. I suppose it's not clear to me which friendships you've maintained."

"Well, I confess I haven't seen Lord or Lady Worthington since I've been away from the city," James told her. "But I'm eager to reconnect with them. And, of course, they are both very excited to meet you."

"You mean they're excited to decide for themselves whether the rumors they've heard about me are true or not." Victoria gritted her teeth.

There was no point in lying to her. "I suppose that's true," James agreed. "And aren't you excited to show them?"

"I don't know that excited is the word for it," Victoria said. "Most people don't need to go around reassuring everyone that they aren't guilty of violent crimes."

"And neither will you once this season is over," James said.

He was pleased to see her show some concern for her reputation for once.

It was definitely a change from the young lady he had met the first day he had come home, who had insisted that she cared not at all for what other people thought of her.

But the fact that she had begun to care about this meant that his responsibility toward her had increased. He had to ensure that her reputation was repaired. He could not let her down now.

She was depending on him.