Page 53 of Elixir of a Duchess' Passion
“Why would you seek to keep this from me?” Elijah asked, taking the invitation from his mother. He did not need to look at it. He knew she would have already taken in every detail.
“I know that you know how much I enjoy musicals, and I knew you would insist upon our going, but I wanted to be certain you were feeling well enough before I …”
Elijah cut her off with a shake of his head. He had had quite enough of his mother’s pussyfooting around him since he had become ill. Now that he was feeling markedly better, it was time to put an end to all that.
“We shall attend,” he announced, and even as he said the words, he couldn’t help thinking,and perhaps Lady Belmont shall be in attendance.
Maybe there, surrounded by other members of theton, he could think clearly enough to fix whatever wounds he had caused between himself and the duchess.
The musical was just as Elijah had anticipated, an event he would have much rather missed, though his mother seemed quite pleased with finally being able to attend something at his side. Several times during the evening, she had mentioned just how pleased she was to see him looking so well again, and though he could still sense her probing and concern that he wasn’t quite as well as he seemed, he was relieved to have a brief respite from her near-constant insistence that they invite Doctor Redditch back to check up on him.
Harold’s presence at the event was another relief he was surprised by. After so many weeks of putting up with his cousin and his lengthy lectures on how he was supposed to be keeping himself out of trouble and taking care of himself, it was good to find that the man had finally eased off. Another thing that Elijah had to thank Lady Belmont for.
And yet, the longer he looked at the faces of all those around him, the harder it became to accept that not one of them was her.
The pomp and extravagance of the entire evening was clear to Elijah, and for once, he found it next to impossible to enjoy himself. Things might have been different if he still had the death sentence hanging over his head. He might have contented himself with getting to know whichever young lady took his fancy for the evening. But this evening, none of them could match up to the lady he truly wanted to see standing before him.
“Elijah? Are you certain you are feeling well?” Harold asked him for the second time during intermission.
Elijah clutched his wine glass just a little harder than before and quickly glanced over his shoulder, glad to see that his mother was not within earshot but instead talking quite animatedly with their hostess, Lady Beaufort. The widow had been glancing at him out of the corner of her eye all evening, and though she had not said anything directly, Elijah sensed that she might want something from him.
It would not surprise him. He had heard the rumours of her enough, the ones that suggested the widow was not at all cold and lonely as she made herself out to be during her events. It was no secret that her bed was never cold. In fact, in the gentlemen’s clubs back in London, he had often heard talk of her bed manners and how she had taken many a young nobleman beneath her sheets, giving what some of them would refer to as one of the best nights of their life.
Had it been a few weeks earlier, Elijah might have sought out such a night from the beautiful and experienced widow. But this night, there was only one widow he wished to see, and without answering his cousin, he turned his attention back to the room in search of her once more.
“Lord Spurnrose,” Lady Beaufort’s voice caught him off guard, and when he turned to find her standing beside him, he realised he had entirely missed her approach along with his mother’s. The two women of similar age were looking at him with friendly smiles. “I was beginning to wonder whether you and I would ever meet.”
“My son has a way of being quite aloof when he wishes to be,” his mother explained to the woman, and the two of them laughed together, sounding as though they were already very good friends. Elijah could imagine that they had been at one time or another before Lady Beaufort took to spending most of her time in the countryside after the death of her noble husband.
“I am not attempting to be aloof, Mother,” Elijah said through gritted teeth. He had always hated his mother’s need to talk for him regarding women, no matter their age. Perhaps she thought he could not talk appropriately to the feminine members of theton.No doubt, she had always worried about his making a good match for himself.
Elijah was glad that since his diagnosis, she had at least stopped trying to shove reputable and wealthy young ladies at him to try and catch his eye. Though he couldn’t imagine it would be long before she began to do so again when she realised he was well.
When Lady Durham looked at him with a suspiciously raised eyebrow, he added, “I was looking for someone.”
Heat rose into his cheeks at the admission. Interest piqued upon his mother’s face, and she glanced about them as if she hoped to figure out just who might have caught his eye.
“Perhaps I might better help you find them if you were to tell me whom you are looking for?” Lady Beaufort suggested with a sly and cheeky yet friendly grin.
“It does not matter,” Elijah sighed, shaking his head, unsure whether he should even utter her name. His heart clenched at the thought of having come all the way to Lady Beaufort’s residence only to find the one guest he wished to see was not in attendance.
“Oh, please, humour me,” Lady Beaufort insisted, and as though she would not take no for an answer, she slipped her arm into his and gave a gentle tug, suggesting she would not release him until she had got an answer out of him.
Elijah glanced over his shoulder at his cousin, and as if Harold believed he was helping matters, he said, “I do believe that he is trying to locate Lady Belmont.”
The gasp of horror that erupted from his mother’s lips told Elijah all he needed to know about what she had been told of the duchess. “Why ever would you be looking for her?”
“Do not fear, Auntie,” Harold put in before Elijah could even open his mouth to attempt to defend himself.
Lady Durham seemed not even to hear him as she said, “Practically every reputable member of thetoncurrently residing in Oxfordshire is here tonight …”
Elijah was well aware of the words she barely refrained from saying, that he did not need to look for a woman like Lady Belmont.
He opened his mouth finally to defend Lady Belmont rather than himself, but again he was beaten to it, this time by Lady Beaufort herself.
“Lady Durham, you have nothing to fear from Lady Belmont,” the woman announced, glancing at Elijah and Harold as if to judge their reactions to her words before continuing. It was clear she wished to be sure she was among friends of Lady Belmont’s before speaking in her favour. Determined to be sure she saw it that way, Elijah gave her a discreet but firm nod. “She is a fine young woman indeed, and I had invited her here this evening, but it appears she had a better offer.”
Relieved by the woman’s easy defence of Lady Belmont, Elijah gripped the widow’s hand and pulled it to his lips, kissing her knuckles before he said, “I can’t imagine any offer better than spending time in your company, Lady Beaufort.”
