had been dining alfresco beneath a tree, and the beast had not been able to take his eyes off Mary. Darling Mary.
They had been approaching that tender age, when a come-out season and balls were most important. They were already well past the age that most young ladies made their debut, but he hadn’t the blunt to provide a season for them. He had wanted to, but he was so heavily in debt. And to give all four of them a season at once was beyond what his pocketbook could allow.
The wretched faery had known his weak spot. His daughters. And coin.
“'Tis Beltane, Lennox. Your daughter is now three and twenty. I want my bride.”
“Yes, yes, of course,” he murmured as he tried to put aside the memory of their meeting, and the fact that despite his love, he had given one of his daughters away for coin. Of course, he hadn’t known what Rinion was then. He’d thought him one of those kind, benevolent faeries, not a member of the Unseelie Court. He’d never have made the bargain if he’d known the bastard was a Dark Fey.
“Tonight. At the end of the Great Hunt. I will claim her then. She is to wear this,” he said, waving his hand toward the settee beneath the window. Magically, a sheer gown made of white faery silk and trimmed in silver appeared. Atop it, a silver and crystal mask glittered in the sunlight. “Make certain she is ready to become my bride.”
Lennox found himself nodding like a fool. Thankfully the arrogant bastard took no notice of his agitated state before leaving the room.
“Midnight, Lennox,” the fey reminded him as he departed, “or I will be forced to come after you.”
The library door shut, and Lennox dropped his head into his hands. Christ, what a mess he was in. But there was nothing to be changed now. He’d been crafty in his dealing with the fey, and once the bastard discovered the truth of their bargain, there would be hell to pay.
His mind, which had been blank, suddenly began calculating and figuring. He thought of a way out of this debacle, and knew it would work, for at least as long as it would take him to remove his family to the capital.
“Salisbury!” he roared as he slammed shut a drawer in his desk. “We’re leaving for London.”
“London, Your Grace?”
“Yes. Within half an hour. Inform my daughters’ maids that the girls are to be ready. And take this.” He thrust a folded missive into the butler’s white gloves. “Have a footman bring this and the clothing on the settee to the seamstress in the village.”
God help him, he thought as he gazed out the window, if he and his girls were not long departed before the Dark Fey discovered his deceit.
“I don’t know why Papa was in such a hurry to leave Glastonbury,” Prue muttered, her mouth pursed with distaste. “It’s most unseemly. People will talk. And poor Mama—” she sighed “—she was fit to be tied.”
“Hmm, he did act as though the devil were on his heels, didn’t he?” Mary said as she looked around the crowded ballroom, watching the masked dancers glide through a minuet. “But Mama is a forgiving soul, she has doubtless forgotten all about it by now. Look …” Mary nodded to the corner where her mother was busily chatting with friends. “She seems rather happy, don’t you think?”
“I was worried the coachman was going to kill the horses,” Mercy added. “I don’t think we’ve ever made it to London so quickly.”
“It all seems very indecorous,” Prue admonished. “Poor Robert and his wife were astonished to find the entire family standing on their doorstep, hours before their ball. It sent the whole house into a flurry.”
“Robert didn’t mind,” Mercy murmured. “He loves us and was quite happy to see us in the threshold, rumpled from our hasty journey.”
With one ear to the conversation, Chastity listened to her sisters chatter on as they stood beside the table housing the punch bowl and champagne. She caught Mary smiling at a masked stranger who had caught her eye. A delicate pink blush painted Mary’s already lovely cheeks.
Quizzically, Chastity wondered what it was that caused such a reaction in her sister. Certainly the stranger was handsome, but nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing that would make her blush.
“What do you think? “ Mary whispered to her. “He’s fascinating, isn’t he?”
With a delicate shrug, Chastity studied the man who had started to make his way most diligently to where she and her sisters stood. “How can you tell? His face is covered with a mask. In fact,” she said, looking around at the opulent setting of the ballroom, “everyone is masked.”
“Yes,” Mary said, her voice breathy. “It makes it that much more exciting, does it not? Can you not feel it, Chastity, the excitement heating your blood when your gaze locks on a man?”
Chastity studied the pearl trim on the lace cuff of her sleeve. “No, I cannot.”
Her voice was intended to be firm, censoring, but instead Chastity detected a note of bitterness. No, she felt nothing when her gaze skated over the numerous gentlemen who were at the ball. She did not feel warm, or excited, or—
“Look for someone,” Mary instructed, “when you find a man that is pleasing to your eye, let your gaze linger. Imagine pulling the mask from his face, slowly revealing his identity. Imagine that you are the only two in the room. Two strangers, eyes locked, skin burning to be touched, lips aching to be kissed.”
Mary’s voice had dropped to a seductive purr, clearly entranced by the provocative words she used to paint her sensual image. Yet, Chastity had not fallen victim to any warmth or feeling, most especially the awakening of anything amorous.
“Imagine, sister, what it would be like to sample a forbidden taste of sin.”
Frowning, Chastity had always believed that sin would taste rather bitter, not the sweet delight Mary made it out to be.
“My lady, will you do me the honor?”
The stranger was reaching for Mary’s hand. In her other hand, Mary slowly waved her fan, allowing the lace edge to whisper over her exposed skin, making her heavy perfume rise up and linger between them. The man inhaled delicately, his dark eyes closing behind his mask for the briefest second.
“I would be delighted,” Mary said in a sultry voice before snapping her fan closed, allowing the masked gentleman to lead her to the floor.
Prue and Mercy had retreated to the wall, where they were talking with Ruth, their new sister-in-law. Chastity chose to stay where she was, unable to take her eyes off her sister and the man she was dancing with.
Mary’s color was high, her lips parted in a coy little smile that Chastity had never perfected—had never bothered to try. The mask she wore gave her some measure of privacy, and she used it to study the couples dancing before her. The wine and champagne was flowing freely, and the hour had grown late. There was a certain lack of inhibition growing amongst the crowd. She could feel it now, like a seductive fog hovering low on the floor before slowly rising and wrapping around them.
She smelled it, the desire in the air. It was thick, drugging in its mixture of sweetness and spice. It clouded her head, drew her in, made her feel languid and sleepy and immensely relaxed.
Through
