Mistletoe and Mayhem - Cheryl Bolen Page 0,357

to see you this evening.” Before he could reply he saw Lady Harriet give a shake of her head and the beaming smile faded.

“Lady Ariane, you look as pretty as a picture this evening. Now, if you’ll excuse me, ladies, I have business to attend to.” He bowed to both ladies but couldn’t help adding to Lady Ariane as he moved off, “Don’t let her wonder off again.”

“Before you ask, no, Blade did not take me out to the terrace. He rescued me from Lord Fallon.” Harriet was having a miserable night. She’d stupidly played into the hands of a known rake and to top it all off, the one man she wanted to impress above all others, had seen it and had to rescue her. “What are you smiling at?”

Ariane slipped her arm through Harriet’s and leaned closer. “He must have been watching you if he saw you go out onto the terrace.”

Hope flared, then died. “He could have simply wanted some air. It is awfully hot in here.”

“The duke doesn’t seem to be a man who needs to be propped up by cool air.”

“Stop making excuses for him. It’s obvious he’s not interested in courting me. It’s halfway through the season and I’ve talked to him once. Once! Tonight is the first time he’s bothered with me, and it was only because his honor made him come to my rescue.”

The two ladies made their way around the edge of the ballroom towards where Ariane’s mother, Lady Cuthbert, sat. It was nights like this Harriet wished her mother was still alive.

“Just face it, Ariane. Our silly childish dream will not come true. We won’t have a double wedding. You’ll marry next spring and I’ll likely become an old maid.”

“Don’t be dramatic. You have plenty of men chasing you.”

She sighed. “Not the man I want. Love’s out of reach. Well, for me anyway. Kingsley is absolutely smitten with you.”

Ariane glanced across the room at her beau. George Fogel, Viscount Kingsley, was the Earl of Southerby’s eldest son and heir, and Ariane had loved him with all her heart since the first time they’d meet two years ago. And to her delight, this season, it appeared he was keen on a match.

The two girls had pictured a duel wedding. Ariane and Kingsley, and Harriet with Blade. Harriet had been so sure Blade would come calling. A few months ago, he was by her side more often than her ladies' maid. She’d known him since childhood and he was all she thought about for five years, since the age of fifteen. She’d thought he liked her too. Now her pride and her confidence had fled because of his lack of pursuit.

“Perhaps it’s time you take some of your other suitors more seriously. That might bring Blade to heel.”

She glanced toward the other end of the room and she could see him as he stood head and shoulders above the crowd. To her surprise, he was glancing her way. Was he keeping his eye on her as Ariane thought? Perhaps she could try Ariane’s suggestion and favor some of her suitors. It might make Blade wake up to the fact she would not wait for him forever.

Yes, you would if you thought it would do any good.

Just then she saw a flash of glittering light through the gap of bodies. Princess Charlotte’s diamonds were setting the room alight at Blade’s side. Harriet gritted her teeth. Being the daughter of a earl saw her as a sought after marriage prize, but there was no way she could compete with a princess. Princess Charlotte would win this game if Blade wanted more power and position.

Just then Lord Punting arrived to claim his dance. She smiled brightly and let him lead her onto the floor, even though her heart was shredding in her chest.

She gave Lord Punting an encouraging smile. She would not think of Blade for the rest of the night.

As she’d expected, and to her dismay, that was much harder to do than she’d hoped.

Chapter One

Yorkshire, England,

Six months later, December 22nd 1814

“Let’s slow down, Ghost, and give the carriage time to catch up.” Blade patted his horse’s neck as he reigned in his stallion. While he was looking forward to his stay at Hearthstone House, if he arrived too far ahead of his carriage he’d have nothing to change into, and the smell of horse was not a fragrance he wanted to linger on his person for too long. He’d been traveling for several