Page 7 of Oddity of the Ton
As soon as the words came out of his mouth, he regretted them. His mother plagued him, but he’d always prided himself in never stooping to his father’s level of cruelty.
“If you had a heart, Montague, you wouldn’t behave in such an unfeeling…”
He raised his hand. “Mother, I’m tired, and you’ve taken too much punch. I suggest we call a truce. You’re in need of far more congenial company than I can give you, and I’m in need of air.”
“So you wish to run away—into the arms of a doxy, I’ll warrant.”
“Perhaps.”
“Mrs. Delacroix will break your heart.”
Monty’s breath hitched, and he stared at her. How the devil did she know he’d been spending much of the season parting Daniella’s thighs?
Her stricken expression dissolved—proof, if he needed it, of her subterfuge—and a sly smile curled her lips. “Mr. Moss was seen entering her establishment last week—or so Lady de Witt told me.”
“Many men enter Mrs. Delacroix’s…establishment,” Monty replied. “That’s the point of her. And, as you so beautifully pointed out just now, I have no heart. Now, please excuse me.” He inclined his head and turned toward the doors.
“You cannot leave!” his mother said. “How willIget home?”
“In the carriage,” he replied. “I shall walk. I may be a disappointment to you, but I’m not such a bad son that I’d leave you with no means of getting home. I’ll see you in the morning.”
He strode across the dance floor, navigating his way around the couples. An uncomfortable sensation prickled the skin at the back of his neck—as if he were being watched.
His gaze fell on Lady Howard and her daughter. No—they were deep in conversation, admiring some trinket around the vain little debutante’s throat. And the maiden aunt with them…
He caught his breath.
She was looking straight at him.
She lowered her gaze, and her body stiffened. She slipped what appeared to be a bracelet off her wrist and twirled it aroundher forefingers in a rhythmic, repetitive pattern, the candlelight reflecting off the plain gold band.
Had she been watching him?
Then Lady Howard spoke to her and she cringed, then nodded obediently.
No wonder he preferred the company of thedemimondeto the savagery of Society ladies! And though Monty set little store by what his father told him, he’d taken one adage to heart.
Son, if you wish to understand what a woman will turn into after you marry her—you only need look at her mother.
Which was why, when he eventually married, the last woman in the world he’d choose would be a daughter of Lady Howard.
Chapter Three
Eleanor’s lover presentedher with a rose. Then warm, strong arms circled her waist and drew her into an embrace. She leaned against his broad chest, relishing the faint heartbeat against her body.
“Eleanor—my darling!”
“Montague…”
“Beautiful creature,” he murmured. “So unlike the others.”
“Why do you pay court to them?”
“Because it’s expected. But when the time comes, I’ll declare our love to the world.”
She tipped her face upward and met his gaze, relishing the softness that he revealed to no one.
Except her.
