A Promise of Tomorrow (2 page)

Ofcourse, he shouldn’t have allowed her to embrace himat all. She was nineteen now and a full-grown young lady, but he couldn’t help being secretly delighted by her greeting and decided only a gentle rebuke was inorder.

“I see your governess stillhasn’t managed to tame you, mywild little beast,”he said, thoughthe corners ofhis mouthcouldn’t help but quirk whenshe snorted inresponse.

“Oh Uncle, you know it’s been ages since I needed Mrs. Holt to watchover me. I’ve learned mylessons as wellas anyone, I assure you. I will comport myself with utmost decorum when we are in company, but when we’re alone, I had hoped that my favorite uncle might continue to indulge me for a few more years, at the very least,” Anna said, smilingat himcoylythroughher thick brownlashes.

“Imp,”he responded, stoppingjust short ofrufflingher carefully dressed hair. His hand might get caught in all the ribbons needed to tame that same unruly mop of brown curls that he was cursed with, and he might never get free again without the aid of scissors. Looking at the elaborate creation, he didn’t envy her maid the task of taming that tangle every morning and was quite thankful he could keep his owncut short and wouldn’t have to be bothered withsuchnonsense.

“Oh, he’s off with his school chums again, I suppose. That’s all he seems to have time for these days,” she said, and James could hear the thinlyveiled hurt under her feigned disinterest.

Since her brother Andrew had gone away to school, and now to university, James knew they hadn’t been able to spend much time together. As young children, they had been nearly inseparable. But time and duty took their toll on everyone, and it appeared Anna was feelingthe distance betweenthemmore and more.

Her smile brightened a little, and the twinkle came back to her eyes. “He may be home more than any of us cares for, if he isn’t more careful,” she leaned in and whispered. “He’s been getting himselfin a bit oftrouble at the club, losing money hand over fist, and youknow how Father feels about gambling. Another night like he had last week and he’ll spend the rest of the season confined to his rooms.”

“Oh dear,” James said, chuckling. “Let us hope we can save him from
that
fate, at the very least. But for now, imp, I am all over dirt frommy journey and wish to go to my rooms to bathe and dress before your mother sets eyes on me. By your leave of course, Miss Ashton?”

“I will informLadyAshton of your arrival,” she called after him archly before turning with a swish of her skirts to scurry in a most unladylike manner toward the back ofthe house.

James shook his head and smiled as he continued to his rooms. No, his world was just as it should be, and there was no reason to wishfor anythingelse.

A
S
J
AMES
stepped out of his coach and into the crowd in front of the Sutcliffes’ sprawling house, he tugged distractedly at his new waistcoat. Meyer had done an excellent job, as always, and his clothes fit him to perfection, but he couldn’t help feeling uncomfortable in his new finery. He would much rather be in his buckskins and worn wool hunting jacket, sitting comfortably in his library, than dressed up like a dandy on display for the London vultures. But tonight was the Sutcliffes’ annual end-of-season ball, one of the most coveted invitations in town, and Charlotte had insisted he attend and that he look his best. As Lord and Lady Sutcliffe were old family friends and distant relations, he could hardly refuse.

He tugged unnecessarily on his coat and gloves once more before joining the crowd making their way up the steps to the house. He stood nearly a head taller than everyone in the crowd, and, as usual, his size garnered him much more attention than he would have liked. It was damned difficult for him to go unnoticed at the best of times, and tonight he’d have to use every bit of cunning he had if his plans for later that eveningwere to come offwithout a hitch.

He’d been in town nearly two weeks now and had yet to find an evening to sneak away fromhis family to see to some of his more
pressing
needs. Charlotte had commandeered nearly every waking moment of his time with visits and parties, everyone giving a last gasp before quitting London, he supposed. But as much as he loved his family, he hadn’t had the touch of anyone but his own right hand in over a year, and his body was making it quite clear to him that he wouldn’t be able to wait muchlonger.

Tonight would be the night he rectified that situation. With the crush of people attending the ball, he would be able to slip away without anyone from his family even noticing his absence. For the sake of propriety, he would spend a few hours fulfilling his obligations; then, when the streets had emptied a little, he would make his wayto MadamRenard’s and blessed release.

Anticipation made him edgy and impatient, but none of it showed on his face or in his manner as he made it to the front of the receiving line and greeted his hosts warmly. On any other night, he would have been quite pleased to spend the evening visiting with them, but he was much too distracted and they had their guests to attend to, so he merely greeted them briefly and moved on with a promise to calllater inthe week.

He made his way directly to the nearest tray of filled glasses before beginning a randomcircuit of the rooms. The Sutcliffes always served the best wines, and he was in need of something to calm his nerves. He was as edgy as a maiden on her wedding night, and the hours were going to feel like days if he didn’t find something to distract himself. He finished his first glass before he even made it out of the room and retrieved another before continuing on. He spoke briefly with friends and acquaintances here and there, but avoided stayingwithanygroup too long.

The time passed painfully slowly despite the multitude of distractions at his disposal. He must have checked his pocket watch at least a dozen times in the hour he’d been there, and he even held it to his ear once or twice just to make sure it hadn’t stopped on him. It was at times like this that he thought perhaps one trip to London a year wasn’t enough, but then all he had to do was look about himat the throng of idle, bored, pompous, backbiting, dull-witted people milling about the ballroom to remind himself why he stayed in the country. Anymore thana few weeks a year and he’d definitelysayor do somethingthat would scandalize his family.

He downed the rest of his glass and plastered on his best smile as he was hailed by one ofthe aforementioned gentlemen, Sir William Archer, a tedious but relatively harmless friend of his brother-inlaw’s. He allowed himself to be drawn into a discussion on horses and the results oftheAscot earlier that summer. As he dabbled a little in breeding, it helped distract him for a time, but when he found himself checking his watch again, he decided it was time to move on to another distraction.

Putting his watch firmly back in his pocket in disgust, he selected another glass of wine froma nearby tray, made an excuse to Sir William, and set out for the parlor, where tables had been set up for games. He should probably slow down on the wine or he’d be staggeringout ofthe ballinstead ofjust sneaking.

James hovered about the parlor for several moments before giving up on the idea of joining the play. He was much too preoccupied to be able to do anything but fill the purse of one of his peers, and the thought didn’t appealto him.

Instead, he decided he should seek out his family and see how they were enjoying the evening. They’d come separately, as the Ashtons’ barouche only held four comfortably, and James had yet to spot themin the crush. The twins were young enough that balls ofthis kind were still a source of great excitement, so perhaps some of their enthusiasmmight rub off on himand help keep his mind off what was to come.

After a bit of hunting, he finally spotted bothAnna and Andrew on the far side of the ballroom and began to make his way toward them through the press of bodies. It took every ounce of grace and agility he had to make his way through the crowd without spilling his wine or treadingonanyone. A manhis size, eveninslippers, could do a great deal of damage to delicate, flimsily clad toes if he weren’t careful.

He lost sight ofthemtwice and had started to sweat bythe time he was able to finally close the distance enough to see their smiling faces. He couldn’t help but smile himself as he saw Anna laugh merrily and bring her fan up in front of her face to cover her blush, though his smile quickly turned to a frown when he realized it was a stranger she was flutteringher eyelashes at.

James was a little startled at her behavior. Feeling protective and a little jealous all at once, he looked to see who could have inspired such behavior in his niece and nearly dropped his own wine glass at the sight that met his eyes. Standing in front ofAnna, not ten feet away from him, was what had to be the most beautiful young man James had ever seen, and he couldn’t help but halt in his tracks and stare stupidlyat him, allthoughts ofhis niece flownfromhis head.

Good God, who are you? And would you take it greatly amiss if I threw you over my shoulder and carried you off to my carriage?

Shocked by his own thoughts, he took a step backward and shook his head. Unfortunately, the move brought him into contact with several other party guests, and this time he
did
spill his wine, forcing him to take his eyes off the vision across the room and apologize profusely to the injured parties. After the appropriate amount of groveling had been seen to and he’d wiped the wine from his hands, he looked up to find the cause of his difficulties walking away behind a tall, blond man. Anna and her brother had moved on as well, leavinghimtornas to whichdirectionto follow.

His feet, however, had no trouble making up his mind for him. Oftheir ownaccord, they turned and followed the young man and his companion out of the room. His mind reasoned that, as a protective uncle, he was only following so he could find out more about the young man who had captured his niece’s attentions, but deep down, he knew that that was onlyanexcuse.

Eventually, he caught up with the two men near the card tables. They were conversing with a small group and apparently awaiting their turn at play, giving James a perfect opportunity to study the young man without being noticed. He skirted the edge ofthe roomso that he could watch without making a spectacle of himself and leaned back against the wall, partiallyconcealed bya column.

Closer examination only confirmed his earlier reaction. The young man was absolutely stunning. Black curls, longer on top and clipped close to an elegantly arched neck, caught flashes ofblue from the dozens of lamps and candles in the room. He wasn’t tall, perhaps the same height as Andrew, and his lean frame spoke more of grace than strength, in better keeping with the current fashion than James’s hulking build. His pale, flawless complexion showed only the smallest hint of shadow along a delicate jaw and pointed chin, and his slender brows arched above a small, straight nose and sculpted cheekbones. James was reminded of the stories of fairies and elves his old nurse used to tease himwithbefore puttinghimto bed.

As he continued to watch, the object of his less-than-innocent regard accepted a glass of wine froma passing footman and brought it to his lips, causing James to bite back a groan. Those lips…
good God they were sinful
. Full, pouting lower lip topped by a slender, bow-shaped upper, bothofwhichjust begged to be nibbled on.

James quickly looked away before any sign of his thoughts could manifest onhis person, and his eyes landed on the young man’s companion. The other man was older than his friend, taller and broader too, though nowhere near James’s size. His face was somewhat pinched and hard to James’s eyes, and, after a moment, James realized he recognized him.

Victor Weir
. The name rose from his memory, bringing with it little pleasure. They’d only met once or twice in passing. He was a gentleman of some means and considerable connections among the peerage, if rumor could be believed, but James had never warmed to him. He’d always thought of him as a bit of a cold fish, and the manner in which he was ignoring his beautiful companion didn’t improve James’s opinionofhiminthe slightest.

Deciding that the thought of Weir had cooled his blood enough to risk another look, James turned his attention back to the young man at his side, and a pair of startled green eyes met his own. The moment their eyes met, he felt himself fall into a sea of emerald and gold, and he couldn’t have looked awayevenifhe had wanted to.

James didn’t know how long their gazes remained locked before the young man jerked and turned his head to the man next to him. Looking down, James could see Weir had taken his companion’s elbow and was staring angrily in James’s direction. He was fairly certain the man didn’t recognize him, for the scowl remained on his face, and he made no attempt to cover it. He knew if Weir could see himclearly, he would never have dared to show open hostilityto a manofhis rank.