"Still so cruel, divine one?" Sir Mar ma duke"s dissolute gaze roved over her familiarly. Lady Polly Sea- grave had never been an accredited beauty, but there was nevertheless something very alluring about her, he thought.
Tonight, in the deep aquamarine which was rather daring for an unmarried lady, albeit one of more mature years than the debutantes, she looked particularly attractive. Her dark hair was up swept and restrained with a diamond studded slide but she wore no jewels other than a string of pearls that had the same translucent glow as her skin.
She did not need adornment.
Sir Mar ma duke"s eyes lingered in lascivious appreciation. Whilst the dragonish Dowager was fully occupied, he intended to take full advantage of this unexpected teteatete.
Polly sighed again. She had far too much a.s.surance to feel threatened by Sir Mar ma duke"s slimy overtures. In a crowded ballroom she was in no danger from him, other than of being bored to death by his unwelcome compliments.
"So your young brother has fallen for the lure," Sir Mar ma duke said, abandoning flattery and pursuing a more scandalous line.
"Never did a lamb go more happily to the slaughter! The on-dit is that the lovely Susanna had a mind to take him away from her foster sister, and what chance did Miss Mark ham"s untried charms have against such a wealth of experience?"
Polly was shocked, but tried not to show it. It had not occurred to her that Peter"s flirtation with Susanna Bolt was anything more than a coincidence.
She knew a little of Lady Bolt"s activities, far more in fact than her mother would have thought proper, and now that she thought about it she remembered hearing of more than one occasion when Susanna had set out to destroy a couple"s happiness. But her own foster sister? It argued a particularly harsh and jealous nature.
"Indeed?" Polly murmured, refusing to rise to Sir Mar ma duke"s bait.
"I do not care for this conversation, sir."
"No?" Sir Mar ma duke"s gaze moved thoughtfully to her empty gla.s.s and he summoned another full one from a pa.s.sing flunkey.
"Your pardon, I was only wishing to warn you of Lady Bolt"s vicious nature."
"I should hope that her ladyship"s diversions would not affect me, sir."
"No?" Sir Mar ma duke said again. There was a look of malicious amus.e.m.e.nt in his eyes which made Polly profoundly uncomfortable.
"Perhaps not. You will not be interested in the most piquant part of the tale, then, which is that young Peter is her ladyship"s second choice, for she first set her sights on Lord Henry March night..."
For a moment Polly"s dark gaze met Sir Mar ma- duke"s, then she looked away.
She took another mouthful of fruit punch without noticing. It was so easy to take refuge in her gla.s.s to avoid difficult subjects. And the drink was so refreshing and unusual. Normally she was only allowed lemonade, which, now she considered it, was ridiculous for one of her age and experience.
The Dowager Countess was such a high stickler, Polly thought. Perhaps it was time she a.s.serted her independence.
"Your squalid gossip is of no interest to me, sir," she said distantly, wishing that more congenial company would present itself.
Unfortunately, Lady Sea- grave was still chatting, glancing across at her daughter with unusual and misplaced satisfaction. It would take a brave soul to interrupt Sir Mar ma duke now that he was so entrenched, Polly thought resignedly. As if to underline the point, the elderly baronet stretched his arm along the back of Polly"s chair and leaned closer. His breath was stale with wine.
"Can I not please you?" Sir Mar ma duke murmured. "When my sole intention is your delight, beauteous lady--" " Your servant. Lady Polly. Shipley. " Polly almost jumped. She felt a quiver of awareness along her nerves even before her hand was taken by Lord Henry March night himself. Perhaps it was the drink, which she was now regarding suspiciously, or perhaps the effect of Lord Henry"s presence, but she felt suddenly lightheaded.
"I am persuaded," Lord Henry said gently, "that you would do so much better dancing with me, Lady Polly. Will you do me the honour? " For a moment, as Polly"s startled dark eyes met Lord Henry"s narrowed, lazy gaze, she had the oddest feeling that he knew she had been thinking of him.
Various thoughts jostled for dominance in her mind. Her first was that Lord Henry never asked her to dance. How could he, when he seldom even spoke to her? The second thought was that this was a waltz and the Dowager Countess would not approve. The third was that she was feeling ever so slightly odd-not unpleasantly odd, but definitely a little adrift. Which no doubt explained how she came to be waltzing in Lord Henry"s arms before she even had chance to think about it properly.
The lilt of the music was very seductive and Lord Henry was an exceptionally good dancer. After one circuit of the floor, Polly realized with some incredulity that she felt rather delightfully abandoned, like thistledown floating on air. Lord Henry was holding her at an entirely respectable distance from his body, but nevertheless the strength of his arm about her, the unfamiliar brush of his thigh against the slippery material of her dress, was peculiarly exciting. Polly blinked slightly, aware that she was not feeling quite normal, but the thought slid away, out of reach. Normal? She felt marvelous.
"You are keeping dangerous company tonight, Lady Polly," Lord Henry said in her ear. The thought of his lips so close to the sensitive skin of her neck sent a delicious shiver through Polly. She tried to pull herself together.
What on earth was wrong with her this evening?
"Are all the Sea graves courting scandal?" Lord Henry continued.
"First your brother sets himself up as Lady Bolt"s new..." he hesitated "new flirt, then you grant Sir Mar ma duke Shipley a tete-a-tete and compound your daring by dancing with me! " Polly looked up fully into his face for the first time. His words crystallised the thought which had entered her head when first he had whisked her from under Sir Mar ma duke"s nose. Sir Mar ma duke liked to consider himself a rake, but Lord Henry was the really dangerous one, a marauding tiger loose amongst the innocent flock of debutantes.
Whatever was she about, to be dancing with him with such abandonment?
Across the dance floor, she could see that the Dowager Countess had finally finished her conversation and was glaring at her most meaningfully. Polly felt exasperated. Why had her mother not objected to the unwelcome attentions of the odious Sir Mar ma duke and yet had immediately perceived Lord Henry"s arrival? It was most unfair. She deliberately looked the other way.
Lucille had once said, without an iota of partiality, hk that Lord Henry March night was the best-looking y man that she had ever seen.
Polly could certainly un; understand what she meant, for Lord Henry had the cla.s.sical regularity of feature beloved of all sculptors and } ; painters. His thick fair hair, immaculately ruffled in W , :. c the Windswept style, made ladies long to run their 5 "%! fingers through it. The lazy appraisal of those grey ; ;%S s? ; eyes could, as one infatuated maiden declared, positively cause one to swoon, and his sporting pursuits "H."." f, had given him a physique envied by those less fa- s.
;T";!-i: : . voured.
"Are you really so dangerous then, sir?" Polly heard herself say.
Surely that could not be her voice, so light, so teasing? She never flirted!
"I am accounted dangerous, certainly. " Lord Henry ,})m pspnpul ". , " ,1 . . given her a quizzical glance, no doubt as surprised by Polly"s flirtatious ness as she was herself. : I ;- "A real tiger, then, not merely a p.u.s.s.ycat?"
This time Lord Henry"s look was rather more searching.
"Have you been drinking the arrack punch, Lady Polly?"
"Certainly not." Polly said with dignified aplomb. "I had some delicious fruit cup, but what is that to the " Ah, the fruit cup," Lord Henry murmured with a slight smile.
"It is so refreshing, is it not? I see the Dowager Countess is looking daggers at us," he continued indolently.
"I must shortly redeem myself in her eyes and return you to her unscathed!"
"Oh, no!" Polly had suddenly remembered that she had promised Lucille that she would speak to Lord Henry about a matter of importance. She frowned in concentration, trying to remember what exactly the issue had been. It was something potentially difficult. embarra.s.sing. but she did not feel embarra.s.sed at the moment, only marvellously liberated.
Her mind was a little fuzzy at the edges, perhaps, but she had not felt this confident in a long time! It was a moment before she realised that Lord Henry was looking at her with amus.e.m.e.nt.
"I beg your pardon. Lady Polly?"
"No, do not take me back just yet, sir!" Polly tried to grasp the appropriate words.
"I... there is a matter I need ... must discuss with you!"
"Indeed!" A faint smile touched Lord Henry"s firm mouth once more.
"You intrigue me, madam! I am at your disposal, of course!"
The music was ending. Lord Henry gave her a mocking bow, taking her arm to escort her through the crowd and across to one of the silk-draped alcoves.
It was sufficiently far from her mother to make Polly feel much more confident. She could deal with this matter without the Dowager Lady Sea grave even realising!
Lord Henry stood aside for her to sit down first, but she made no move to do so. He raised an eyebrow.