Page 69 of A Night of Desire with a Duke
“Do you? Because you look as though you are being led to the scaffold.”
“I simply… have a bad feeling.”
And she was not wrong. There was a tension in the air, an electric hum of anticipation, as though the entire company had gathered not merely for a ball, but for the unveiling of some long-awaited drama. Fans fluttered too briskly, laughter rang a shade too brightly; every gesture sharpened with expectation.
James appeared almost at once, dark and commanding in his black evening clothes. His expression was grave, though his eyes softened when they found hers.
“Dance with me,” he said without preamble.
“The dancing has not yet begun,” Catherine replied, startled.
“Then walk with me. Stand with me. Just… be with me.”
Something in his tone made her chest tighten. “James, what is it?”
He drew a sharp breath. “Lady Harrington is here.”
The name struck like a blow. Catherine’s blood seemed to chill in her veins. “Your former...”
“Yes.” His voice was clipped, bitter. “Recently returned from Italy. And already making it abundantly clear she intends to rekindle what once was.”
Catherine’s throat constricted. “I see.”
“No, you do not.” He took her arm firmly, guiding her into the shadow of a pillar where their words could not so easily be overheard. His face was carved from steel. “I do not care that she is here. She is nothing to me now. But she is clever and vindictive. And she has allied herself with Miss Worthing.”
“Of course she has,” Catherine muttered, her unease deepening.
“They are plotting something,” James said grimly, his hand tightening over hers as though to anchor her. “I can feel it in the air. And when they strike, they will aim for you.”
Before Catherine could gather her breath, the ballroom doors seemed to part for the lady in question. Lady Harrington did not simply enter—she commanded the space, every head turning as though pulled by invisible strings.
She was everything Catherine was not. Tall and statuesque, her golden hair arranged in a cascade of perfect curls that gleamed under the candlelight, her skin like porcelain kissed with rose. Where Catherine’s frame was slender and unremarkable, Lady Harrington’s was lush and voluptuous, her curves displayed to their most dangerous advantage by a gown of crimson silk that clung scandalously to her figure. The neckline plunged daringly low, a calculated defiance of propriety that had every man in the room sneaking glances—and every woman sharpening her fan.
Catherine, in her midnight-blue gown, suddenly felt drab, provincial, small. Her décolletage, though carefully arranged, seemed modest by comparison. Her dark hair, pinned neatly, lacked the dazzling shimmer of Lady Harrington’s gold. She hated herself for the thought, but the truth bit deep: this was the sort of woman who belonged on a duke’s arm. This was the sort of woman James had once chosen.
“James,” Lady Harrington purred, her voice honeyed venom. She did not walk so much as glide across the polished floor, the crowd parting instinctively as though unwilling or unable to impede her. “How wonderful to see you again.”
James’s expression chilled to marble. “Lady Harrington.”
“So formal!” Her laugh was a low ripple, designed to draw eyes and imaginations. “We were once much more… intimate.”
Her gaze slid, like the blade of a knife, to Catherine. She let her eyes linger in deliberate, insulting assessment, then curved her lips into a smile of triumph.
“And you must be the famous Lady Catherine,” she said sweetly. “I’ve heard so very much about you.”
"How fascinating," Catherine said coolly. "I've heard absolutely nothing about you."
It was a lie, but a satisfying one. Lady Harrington's perfect smile faltered slightly.
"How amusing. James always did like women with sharp tongues." She moved closer to James, close enough that her perfume would reach him. "Among other things."
"What do you want, Clarissa?" James asked flatly.
"Want? Can't an old friend say hello?"
"We were never friends."
"No," she agreed, her voice dropping to something intimate. "We were something much more interesting."
