Page 274 of Once an Angel
The first notes of the overture began, and the massive curtain rose. Lily tapped his shoulder. "May I borrow your opera glasses?"
"No," he snapped.
She leaned back in her seat with a wounded sniff.
The chandeliers dimmed and stage arcs flooded the brilliant backdrop with light. Justin was deaf to the musical charms of Bizet'sLa Jolie Fille de Perth. He was too obsessed by another jolie fille.
Using the opera glasses, he turned his gaze away from the stage and back to Emily. She was wearing
the soft shade of rose so complimentary to her coloring; her curls had been caught up in a loose topknot.
Justin adjusted the glasses. A furious breath escaped him as a blazing shock of red hair came into focus. Who else could that be but Richard "Dick" Claiborne slobbering all over her bared shoulder? Someone passed in front of them. He leaned over the balcony, craning his neck. A fat eyeball filled his vision.
He slowly lowered the glasses. The gentleman in the next box was glaring at him. "The stage is that
way," he said gruffly, pointing.
Nodding a curt apology, Justin ducked back into his seat. The door to the box opened, sweeping in the unmistakable scent of lavender.
Suzanne's husky whisper raked over him. "Do you mind if my husband and I share your box? It seems ours has been seized by my visiting cousin and his family."
Without waiting for an invitation, his ex-fiancée claimed the seat next to his while her husband settled in the back of the box. "Deplorable stuff, opera," he grumbled. "Don't know what the women see in it."
Justin grunted an agreement, too distracted to defend his fondest passion. Within minutes the dapper
little man was snoring. Justin cast Suzanne a wry glance, wondering if she was remembering their last disastrous night at the opera when she'd called him a foolish bastard for turning his back on his inheritance.
He shifted in his seat. Studied his program. Drummed his fingernails against the balcony railing. When
he could no longer resist, he jerked up the opera glasses and trained them on Emily's box. Suzanne
leaned curiously over his shoulder, enveloping him in her perfume. Justin found himself staring down
the twin barrels of another pair of opera glasses.
He started. Emily was watching him. As she realized she'd been caught, she dropped the glasses in her
lap and stared fixedly at the stage as if entranced by the trilling vibrato of the plump prima donna. Justin lowered his own glasses, feeling a slow smile spread across his face. He leaned back and dropped a
casual arm over the back of Suzanne's chair.
"I can't see," Millicent whined.
"It's opera, Millie," he said. "You don't have to see. Just listen."
He dared a glance from the corner of his eye. Emily was watching them again. He tilted his head toward Suzanne as if sharing the most intimate of confidences.
As act one approached its majestic climax, there was a stir in Emily's box. Justin snatched up the glasses. Several of the young people were sneaking past the drowsing countess, probably off to seek the more invigorating and forbidden entertainment of the music halls. Emily and Claiborne were left quite alone
in the front row.
Justin stood, ignoring his sisters' protests. The soprano's aria soared, rattling the crystal drops of the chandeliers. Justin's fingers bit into the pearl casing of the glasses as he watched Claiborne loom over Emily. She whacked him with her fan. Undaunted, he grabbed her around her slender waist and planted
a sloppy kiss on her neck.
The soprano drew in a breath, and in that perfect lull of silence between one note and the next, Justin slammed down the opera glasses and shouted, "Dammit to bloody hell! I've had enough!"
Chapter 26
