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Sara had twisted Quinn's curly locks into an intricate knot on the top of her head but left a few tendrils hang to frame her face. Lady Scarcliff lent Quinn a necklace of pale gold and diamonds in so delicate a pattern that it looked like a dazzling spider web gracing her neck. Diamond drop earrings hung from her ears and silver slippers covered her feet. Long silver gloves reached up past her elbows and her silver beaded handbag sparkled with diamonds. It was all very decadent but Quinn couldn't deny she felt like a princess.
At the front door, Thaddeus, Lady Scarcliff, Rosalind and Cecilia awaited her. Thaddeus was dressed in a black silk overcoat and long breeches that hugged the muscles of his thighs. In contrast to the black was his crisp white shirt and silver waistcoat with aquamarine buttons. His long blond hair was pulled back into a queue and that combined with the devilish grin on his face, he looked like a refined pirate.
Lady Scarcliff was dressed in emerald-green silk, her full skirt embroidered with a vine pattern along the hem. Rosalind wore a wine satin gown with a gold embroidered stomacher, tight sleeves and a full skirt. Cecilia looked stunning in white silk, her hair piled high on her head. She looked so much like an angel that Quinn could barely control the burst of anger towards the Danvers thinking of what they attempted to do to this girl when she was just a child.
Thaddeus must have noticed the look when he stepped forward with a concerned expression. "Sorry, just had a thought. I'm fine. You all look so beautiful."
Lady Scarcliff took Quinn's arm. "Are you ready for this?"
Quinn answered honestly, "Ready as I'll ever be."
Lady Scarcliff laughed and said, "Good. Anything can and does happen at these balls so it's best to be on your toes."
Chapter Six
Quinn took a break from the dance floor drinking lemonade, which didn't taste at all how she imagined it when she read about ladies doing the same very thing in her romance novels. It wasn't nearly as sweet as modern lemonade and the tartness was actually quite refreshing, especially when one was dancing the night away, which was exactly what Quinn was doing.
Her dance card -- oh yes, she had a dance card -- was completely full. The little book wrapped around her wrist with a silk cord was filled with names of gentlemen who wished to lead her in a dance. She really didn't know any of the dances of the time but she was excellent at allowing her partner to lead so she hoped she didn't look as silly as she felt.
Another practice in this time that she had read about in her romance novels that she was able to witness was the announcing of guests. She was almost unable to hold her laughter when the butler announced her as Miss Quinn Shaughnessy of Tattoonie but the quizzical looks of those she walked passed certainly helped to stifle her merriment.
What were even more surprising were the mothers. They really were vapid creatures, like soccer and cheerleader moms on steroids. It was with a single-minded determination that they sought to get their daughters married to the most eligible bachelor available. It didn't matter if the man looked like a toad, or had too much flesh stuffed into his ridiculously expensive attire, had the personality of a hubcap. All that mattered was that their daughters married well and "well" meant as high up on the nobility ladder as possible.
There were no thoughts at all for happiness in the marriages, and in fact, Quinn had overheard a few mothers in the resting room explaining to their daughters that once they were married they could always look for whatever their marriage was lacking outside of it. Actually promoting adultery. Who knew?
And the men were definitely romanticized in her books because outside of Archer and Thaddeus, she had yet to see a wickedly handsome man. Most were bloated from too much alcohol and overweight due to the belief that men of society shouldn't work. Hell, they even had valets that dressed them in the morning.
Another observation Quinn quickly made was that they did not like her at all. The unveiled looks of animosity that were leveled at her all night long were startling. They knew nothing about Quinn but she was seen as competition and that was reason enough to dislike her. Having a parent like Lady Scarcliff, who was more interested in her children's happiness, was very rare and the Scarcliff children were lucky to have her.
Quinn took a much-needed break from dancing because her feet felt as if they were going to fall off at any moment. It was because she was standing on the sidelines, watching, that she heard the commotion coming from the direction of the entrance.
There was definitely a situation brewing and then, quite suddenly, Archer appeared at the top of the stairs. His long, hard body was dressed in all black except for the white of his shirt and his hair was down framing his magnificent face. It was his green eyes though that held Quinn's gaze because they were almost glowing from the emotion that was burning in them, an emotion that Quinn easily identified: the man was livid.
Thaddeus stepped up next to her and reached for her hand before he whispered, "I underestimated him."
Quinn looked to the man at her side. "What did you do?"
He looked sheepish before he replied, "I may have sent him a note telling him that you were getting betrothed."
"What?!" she practically screeched which brought the attention of not only those around them, but of the furious male who was currently stalking toward her like a predator hunting his prey.
"He's going to kill me," she whispered nervously.
Thaddeus couldn't help the grin. "No, he's not going to kill you."
"I'm glad you find this all amusing. And what about Katherine?"
"Taken care of," Thaddeus responded proudly.
"What does that mean?" she asked.
"Lady Scarcliff and the girls returned home to retire for the evening and so naturally the Danvers followed suit."
The idea of having Archer to herself for the night, of dancing with him as she had with the other gentlemen, made Quinn almost lightheaded.
"It's your first ball, Quinn. It should be special," Thaddeus said warmly.
At that moment, Archer appeared before them and he was so mad that a muscle tick had started under one eye. He was conscious that he had gained the attention of everyone in the room so he turned to Thaddeus and greeted him with far more civility than he was feeling. He wasn't quite as successful in hiding his fury when he regarded Quinn before he lowered his head and bowed deeply at her. She curtsied as was proper but it was the expression on her face that almost had him lifting her up over his shoulder and taking her some place private so he could bellow at her; then kiss her senseless.
