Prologue
July 1816, London
Lady Althea Egerton fidgeted her hands in her garnet-hued skirts as she hovered near the veranda doors of the crowded ballroom. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected of a demi-monde ball, but thus far, most of the activities had mimicked any Ton fête.
Her ward and third cousin, Beth Jenkins, had been vague when she begged Althea to accept the invitation to this party.
“’Tis from a sponsor of the School of Enlightenment, thus very discreet. All the attendees will be vetted, and ’tis a perfect place for me to find someone to occupy my time so I shan’t be such a burden on you.”
“You are never a burden.” Althea shook her head at her younger cousin. But the girl did have a point. Beth had too much time on her hands and was prone to mischief. She’d only been with Althea a month when she began wreaking havoc without an outlet for her freethinking approach to life. They’d found the school to broaden her horizons and buy Althea some time, but Beth had been home for two months and already had…interactions…with the staff. Althea refused to dwell on how she’d discovered one of them.
“Downstairs will be much like any Ton ball, I promise.”
Remembering that conversation as she stared around the ballroom, Althea’s lips twisted. Beth had downplayed the nature of the fête of course. The men were the same, but most were with mistresses rather than wives, and the women’s gowns were quite different than Ton ladies wore. And Althea had already needed to give her cousin a quick lecture in the retiring room about touching people without permission.
Having very strict parents, followed by an equally austere husband, Althea was ready to embrace widowhood, but not to the extent some members of the Ton did at demi-monde parties like this one. And she probably should have asked Beth about the upstairs.
Beth squealed and grabbed her hand as she stepped forward.
“Oh my gosh, ’tis a reunion,” she said over her shoulder to Althea as she dragged her across the room.
Two women were grinning at Beth’s rapid approach, having turned from a circle of four men. One of the women was a lady, her butter-yellow dress and posture at home in any Ton ballroom, despite the fact that she might have rouged her nipples. The other, in an even paler gown, had a curtain of dark hair and honey-toned skin, making Althea wonder if she had an East Indian heritage.
Beth began breathless introductions. “May I present my cousin, Lady Althea Egerton. Althea, Miss Penelope Wood and Miss Sophia—”
The petite blonde was shaking her head. “Delighted. I am now the Countess of Peterborough, here with my husband.” She gestured.
Beth blinked and nodded. “That’s right. Congratulations, my lady.” She curtsied.
“Come now. We shall always be Sophia and Beth and Pen.” Sophia laughed and waved a dismissive hand, and Althea understood how they’d come to be friends with Beth.
“Lady Egerton.” The dark-haired Miss Wood nodded.
“Lovely to meet you both, Lady Peterborough, Miss Wood.”
Sophia turned to introduce them to the gentlemen. Althea mumbled something to Lord Peterborough and Lord Slade, who seemed to be with Penelope, but her attention kept straying to the tall golden-haired man with amber eyes and a matching waistcoat. While Althea was as tall as the fourth man, a Mr. Orford, and nearly as tall as Sophia’s and Penelope’s escorts, this man’s extra inches added to his appeal.
“…and Evan Gardner, the Earl of Cheltenham. Cheltie to most.” Beth had taken over introductions at some point that Althea had missed.
Oh no. This is the Earl of Cheltenham?His rakish reputation was common knowledge. Any fascination she entertained had to stop. She could not afford to be associated with him.
“My lady. I am absolutely delighted to meet you.” His voice was ardent as he bowed low over her hand, his breath a whisper of warmth against her gloved hand. She wanted to remove her other glove to run her fingers through the lustrous thatch of waves in his hair.
Oh my. That reputation is well-earned.
She curtsied, but before she could find words through her conflicted thoughts, Beth gushed over him. “Cheltie, I should have expected to see you here.” She linked her arm with his and pressed her breast against his bicep in an obvious invitation.
Althea swallowed back a protest she had no identifiable reason to make.
Penelope and Sophia stepped in and gestured them away from the men to catch up with Beth, who cast a lingering look back as they found seats in a corner.
“Lady Egerton, I have heard so much about you,” Penelope started, drawing Althea’s attention from the beautiful earl’s arse as he walked to a refreshment table to fetch them drinks.
When he delivered them, Althea lost the train of the conversation, but as the girls had all attended the School of Enlightenment together, she hadn’t understood much of their gossip anyway. She’d learned what she’d needed after her husband died and left the apothecary to her, but she could see the benefits of the secret girls’ school. In addition to financial and household management, and even lessons in intimacy, it offered the opportunity for lifelong friendships.
Her gaze drifted to Lord Cheltenham again.What point is there to ogle him?He wouldn’t dance or dally with her. He’d choose a woman like Beth as his prey, whose outlook on physical intimacy matched his. Both seemed to view the goal of sex as fun between any number of willing players, which had not been Althea’s experience in her marriage.
Even in the wildly remote possibility that he was interested, Althea could not afford to associate with someone of the Earl of Cheltenham’s prominence and openness about shunning society’s rules. Her store’s success depended on maintaining a sterling character.
