think we should go down before I am tempted to lock the door and stay here with you instead of entertaining our guests.’
Roxanne’s heart pounded. Her stomach clenched with something she instinctively recognised as desire. The look in his eyes was so hot that she could not doubt he felt desire for her, but she was certain that his feelings were no more than that; he wanted her, but love was not something Luke was prepared to give. His touch would make her flesh sing, but love was the forbidden fruit she must not taste.
‘Yes, we must not keep our guests waiting or the earl,’ Roxanne said, painting a smile in place as she lifted her head. ‘Our audience awaits, Luke.’
‘A performance? Is that all this is to you, Roxanne?’
‘Of course. What else?’ she said. ‘That is what you required of me, as I recall.’
She moved past him into the hall, then turned and waited expectantly. Her composure was perfect, she was ready for the stage.
‘You’re a clever actress, Roxanne. I dare say you will have our friends eating out of your hand, just as you have Grandfather. He prides himself on his judgement, but you have him purring like a kitten.’
She felt as if he had pricked at her with long thorns, but kept her smile in place. ‘If I have the ability to make people like me, that is a good thing, is it not?’
‘I think they will love you. Grandfather certainly does.’
Loved by all, but not by you. The words were in her head, but not spoken aloud.
Lifting her head, she looked into his eyes. ‘His happiness is your main concern, is it not? That is the reason you brought me here?’
‘Yes…’ Luke’s gaze narrowed. ‘I would not wish to see him hurt, Roxanne.’
‘Then we are of one mind,’ she said and took his arm. ‘Come, Luke, need you look so sober? This is meant to be an evening of pleasure for us as well as our guests. You must try to look as if you are enjoying yourself or your friends will wonder.’
‘You are right.’ He smiled suddenly and her heart skipped a beat. ‘I have no right to expect more than you wish to give. We shall dance and enjoy ourselves this evening. More serious matters can wait for another day.’
Now what did he mean by that? Roxanne wondered, but she put the little puzzle from her mind. Tonight she was playing the part of a girl very much in love who was announcing her engagement to the man she loved. It was not a difficult part to play, as long as she did not remember that Luke did not love her.
As Roxanne had imagined, the evening was a huge success. The ballroom was decorated with banks of fragrant flowers from the hothouses and reels of white-silk tulle hung in drapes above the dais where the musicians were seated. Sparkling chandeliers threw out showers of light, which were picked up by the glittering jewels worn by both ladies and gentlemen. They had come dressed in their best finery, prepared to enjoy the celebrations, and laughter reverberated through the rooms, the sound of chattering voices almost deafening.
Roxanne soon discovered that she was the centre of attention.
‘To tell the truth I never expected to see this day,’ Luke’s Uncle Frederick on his father’s side told her as he claimed one of the first dances of the evening. ‘I believe Hartingdon had given up all hope of Clarendon ever doing his duty.’
‘Surely not?’ Roxanne gave him an amused smile. ‘Luke is not in his dotage, I think?’
‘Good lord, no, he’s a young man, but he seemed set in his ways. I always knew it would take an exceptional young woman to catch my nephew and it seems I was right.’
‘Thank you for the compliment,’ Roxanne replied mischievously. ‘I shall do my best to live up to what is expected of me.’
‘You’ll do very well,’ the talkative gentleman said. ‘Beauty and brains, to say nothing of charm. Now that is a combination not often found, Miss Roxanne. Luke is a lucky fellow.’
Since that seemed the consensus of the guests, Roxanne did not find herself left without an admirer at her side all evening. She danced every dance, sipped at, but did not finish, several glasses of champagne brought to her by a string of helpful gentlemen and ate sparingly of the delicious supper that had been provided for them.
‘Where did you meet Clarendon?’
The question had been asked again and again by curious aunts and cousins throughout the evening. Roxanne gave the same reply to all of them.
‘I was staying with a friend and we met by chance when Luke was out riding,’ she told them, embroidering the truth only as necessary. ‘We were mutually attracted and liked each other immediately.’
Surely that much was true. Roxanne had felt an instant liking for the man she’d helped in the woods, despite his hostility. He’d been angry and in pain at first, but later he’d been grateful for her help. That meeting seemed so far away now, her life revolving round the earl and his grandson these days. Sometimes she almost forgot that she had ever known another life.
The Roxanne who had lived with a band of travelling players was someone different. She was Miss Peters and her father lived and worked in India… The story she’d invented for herself was now so real that she believed it must be the truth.
As far as she understood, Luke’s lawyer had heard nothing from the advertisement. Roxanne might never discover whether the ruby was truly hers or the property of another person. Perhaps it was not important. She had become a part of Luke’s family, welcomed and accepted amongst them. It did not matter that she could not remember her own family—at least she must try not to let it matter.
She had danced three times with Luke during the evening. Each time it had been a waltz and Roxanne felt as if she had been floating on air, his nearness giving her such pleasure that she felt she could melt into his body. The feeling was so perfect that she knew she could become his lover easily. There would be no hesitation on her part, because already she felt as if she belonged to him, in his bed, in his arms. He had called her a clever actress, but he gave such a convincing display of affection towards his fiancée that Roxanne might have been deceived herself had she not caught a hint of mockery in his smile once or twice. It was as if he were showing her that he, too, could play his part.
What was in his mind? What did that look mean? Sometimes she thought he was like a cat playing with a bird it had caught in its claws.
‘Have you enjoyed this evening?’ Luke whispered as the hour grew late. ‘I believe you have charmed all my uncles and my cousins have fallen in love with you. Cousin Horatio is quite eaten up with jealousy, though I am not certain whether he envies me you—or my grandfather’s estate, of which he had hopes before you arrived.’
‘Luke…’ Roxanne tapped his arm with her fan ‘…that was not well said of you. Mr Harte was charming to me and told me how pleased he was that you’d decided to marry.’
‘Horatio is charming when he wishes to be, Roxanne, but do not be fooled by him. I dare say he is spitting venom in private.’
Roxanne shook her head
