Beauty Tempts the Beast (Sins for All Seasons #6) - Lorraine Heath Page 0,128

were about to go through the doorway. It was obvious the countess caught sight of her. Her eyes widened just before the woman wrinkled her nose as though she’d smelled something foul and hurried into the manor.

As far as cuts direct went, it wasn’t one of the worst. At the moment she was less concerned with how people were treating her and more concerned with how they were treating Benedict. A ball, especially one that it appeared most of London would be attending, could be overwhelming at the best of times. She’d been prepared for her first ball and still had found it unsettling as she’d struggled to find people she knew, to become comfortable with all the strangers she’d yet to meet. Almost everyone in attendance, except for his family, would be strangers.

And here was his brother, someone he truly needed inside that room, showing him a familiar face, a mischievous grin, helping to put him at ease with his surroundings.

Although the evening was cool, she hadn’t bothered with a wrap so had nothing to leave with the waiting footman as they crossed the threshold into the grand and beautiful foyer. Another footman was directing people down a hallway that no doubt led to the ballroom.

But Aiden didn’t follow the others. He directed her toward the sweeping staircase. At the bottom, standing about, was every other Trewlove sibling and their spouses. Benedict was alone in there, facing all these people for the first time. She was horrified by the realization.

Gillie smiled at her. “You came.”

“Why aren’t you all in the ballroom?”

“Because Beast asked us to wait out here for you.”

Idiot man. He truly didn’t understand what it was like to circulate through the aristocracy, how hard it would be if he knew no one else in the room. Although his parents would be with him, the people he truly needed were out here—waiting for her.

“Let’s go, shall we?” Mick asked.

Yes, quickly. She needed to get them into the ballroom, so they could be there for him and demonstrate their support for him.

Selena approached, and Aiden released his hold on Althea in order to tuck his wife in close.

“Lead the way,” Aiden said to Althea, “and know we’re here if you need us.”

Only she didn’t need them watching out for her. She needed them standing at Benedict’s back. She needed him to know he wasn’t alone.

While his siblings had attended balls, even hosted a couple, Beast had managed to avoid them. He’d never felt as though he belonged. His heritage said that he did, yet still he felt out of place, like a sprawling weed in a flower garden. He kept expecting someone to come along, pluck him out, and send him on his way.

He stood beside his parents, greeting the guests who were announced and ambled down the stairs. Fancy had gone through something similar the year before when she’d been introduced into Society and had advised him not to keep count of the introductions because it would only make the night seem longer.

What made it seem longer was the manner in which all the young ladies gazed at him as though he was a newly discovered dessert they were looking forward to sampling. He met pretty ladies, plain ones, short ones, tall ones. Some appeared bolder than others. Some shyer. He was certain many of them were delightful.

But none snagged his attention the way Thea had when he’d first laid eyes on her.

He’d promised himself he wouldn’t think about her tonight. He’d kept the promise for all of two minutes. He wasn’t certain how much longer he could live with the hope that she might show. That her presence would make this night bearable.

They were more than an hour in, and the ballroom packed with the glamorous, the elegant, and the arrogant. It seemed the duke and duchess were favorites among the ton. Which he fully understood. Even if they weren’t his parents, he’d have liked them. They were kind, generous, and thoughtful. Once he’d wondered how different he might be if he’d been raised by them, but it was pointless to speculate. He couldn’t imagine a life any better than the one he’d had, in spite of its hardships. His life would have been absent his brothers and sisters and his mum. He wouldn’t have wanted that.

“Miss Althea Stanwick!” The majordomo’s booming voice rang out, and it was like the pealing of a thousand bells at Christmas.

She’d come. His heart soared, everything within him came alive, even