Page 35 of How to Tempt An Earl
‘It sounds lovely, Enid, like a dream.’ It did, and in that moment, Celeste wanted that dream—the velvet, the silver bows and Kieran waiting for her at the altar to step into ‘for ever’ with her. Her eyes smarted with the sudden sting of tears.
‘Miss, I didn’t mean to make you cry. We can’t ruin your face.’ Enid hurried to find a handkerchief.
‘I was just thinking about my parents missing the wedding, how much I’d want them there.’ Celeste improvised. As far as anyone at the Hall or in Wrexham knew, her parents were both dead, which was the truth. There’d been no need to elaborate.
Enid passed her a handkerchief and tried to make repairs. ‘You and the Earl will make a new family to love. Wrexham Hall was made for big families.’
If only she could have that and keep her freedom intact. If she could trust in that, then all the world would be possible.
Kieran knocked on the connecting door. ‘May I come in?’
She appreciated how he didn’t barge in and how he asked a question instead of saying, ‘you must hurry, we’re late’.
‘I’m nearly ready.’ She reached for the dangling leaf earrings and screwed them on while Enid fetched her black velvet wrap.
‘There is no rush.’ Kieran took the wrap from Enid and settled it around Celeste’s shoulders. ‘You look beautiful, my darling.’ He placed a kiss on her neck despite Enid being in the room and Celeste felt herself blush.
‘You are looking fine, yourself. The new clothes fit well.’ A little too well to the eyes of someone trying to keep her wits about her. She’d seen him in dark evening clothes before—he’d worn the former Earl’s the first night here—but those had not been made forhisshoulders. There was something undeniably elegant about the way a man wore bespoke clothing.
Kieran tugged at his cuffs, showing off onyx cuff-links that matched the cravat pin. ‘The tailor did well; I am glad you approve.’ There was a twinkle in his eye as he offered his arm. ‘Our carriage awaits. Shall we be off to the ball?’
* * *
In truth, to call it a ball would be an overstatement. It was an assembly, held in the rooms above the largest inn in town in honour of the harvest and the autumn. It was an annual affair and everyone turned out for it, from the merchants who lived in town to the farmers who lived in the countryside. There was a festive air about the streets as the coach pulled up to the door and they joined the stream of arriving guests.
Inside, the inn was decorated for autumn with arrangements of corn sheaves and pumpkins filling corners, and garlands of dried leaves in bright golds and oranges looped about the banister leading up the stairs to the assembly rooms. Downstairs was set up for refreshments and there were tables where people might visit away from the music. There was laughter and loud chatter as friends called out to each other. Women met, exclaiming over each other’s dresses. Men shook hands and greeted each other as if they hadn’t seen one another earlier in the day.
A wave of emotion swept Celeste at the sense of community the event fostered. Kieran caught her eye. ‘It’s not fancy,’ he began, perhaps misreading the expression on her face.
She turned to look up at him. ‘It’s better than fancy. This feelsright.’ No supper or ball she’d ever hosted for Roan had felt like this—the simple pleasure of friends and family celebrating together. Crystal chandeliers and cool champagne were no substitute for joy.
Kieran covered her hand where it lay on his arm, his voice quiet as he read her thoughts. ‘Don’t think of him, and don’t think of the past tonight.’ He flashed her a smile, dispelling her ghosts. ‘I want to dance with the loveliest woman here—will you do me the honour?’
‘And I want to dance with the handsomest man,’ she flirted as he led her upstairs. It took them a while to reach the dance floor. People were eager to meet them and they were eager to oblige. Some of the people they encountered on the stairs were people they’d already met and some were newly introduced. Celeste savoured it all.
‘I’m sorry, that took longer than expected,’ Kieran apologised as they joined a set for a quadrille.
‘I don’t mind. I liked meeting everyone.’ Those moments on the stairs, talking with people, had been a glimpse into a future—a future she could choose if she was brave enough. A future full of more nights like this one, in which she would be part of a community and in which she would be more than a man’s tool, something to be used to manipulate other men.
More than that, she thought as the dance began and she and Kieran bowed to the others in the set, she’d liked watching him greet everyone. He was affable, friendly and interested in what people had to say, even though their small talk afforded him nothing. There was no great intrigue to ferret out here. Kieran took her hands and they sashayed about their set, his gaze smiling at her. She smiled back, remembering the night she’d told him he was nice. She’d not been wrong. Roan gave the appearance of being nice when it got him something. Kieran was nice even when nothing was at stake.
The dance ended and she and Kieran moved off to the sidelines to talk more informally to the group with whom they’d danced. This was further proof of Kieran’s niceness. There was no requirement for him to spend time with anyone and yet he was willing to do it.
‘You will make a fine earl,’ she said once the group had finally broken up. ‘You are patient and giving of your time. You listen to people. You make them feel valued. That’s a great gift.’
He’d been that way with her from the start. She’d just been too wary to appreciate it. She’d seen it as a strategy only, a way to get beyond her defences. This was further proof that he was different from the men she’d known. The hopeful conclusion leapt forward once more—if he was different, then it followed that together they could be different, too. Being with him need not mean committing herself to a social prison. For the first time since she’d promised herself to seek and protect her own freedom, she saw that promise not as a shield for her happiness but as a limitation to it.
The little orchestra struck up a waltz and they took to the floor once more.
‘Get ready to fly.’ Kieran grinned, and fly they did. It was the most wonderful sensation, to feel his hand at her waist, to feel her skirts bell out and to know that, no matter how fast they danced, she would not fall. He would catch her. Kieran Parkhurst would always catch her if she would just let go. Maybe she could, after all.
They were one of the last couples to leave the assembly shortly after midnight. She had a small hole in the bottom of her right slipper and her feet would be sore tomorrow but she didn’t care. After the waltz, she’d danced with the doctor, then with the squire, the vicar and then Kieran again. It had been a wondrous evening full of high spirits, perhaps due in part to her own realisation: Kieran Parkhurst was not Cabot Roan; he never had been. He was a man who deserved to be judged on his own merits. She didn’t have to give him up. She could stay. They could build a life in Wrexham, a good life as the Earl and the Countess. In the euphoria of the evening, her mind was willing to overlook some of the details that went with wanting to claim that life. In the happy moment, those loose ends didn’t seem to matter.
‘Everyone adored you, but none as much as me.’ In the carriage, Kieran put his arm around her and she snuggled against him, flexing her right foot and celebrating the hole in her slipper. Celebrating, too, that she was finally able to put the past behind her. She was not Roan’s ward, not his hostess and no longer his conspirator in crime planning his parties and escorting his guests. She had a new life here if she was brave enough to take it. It was not the life she’d thought she could have. Tonight had shown her otherwise. Perhaps all these weeks had been building towards it and tonight was just the pinnacle. Perhaps not every man would treat her as a partner but, as long as this one did, that was all that mattered.
‘You belong here, Celeste. You belong with me,’ he murmured against her hair.
Yes, she did. For the first time, she believed it. She sighed against Kieran’s shoulder, drowsy from the dancing. Perhaps she would stay after all. Perhaps, the next time he asked her into his future, she would say yes.
