His Not So Sensible Miss (A Gentleman's Guide to Once Upon a Time - Book 3) (22 page)

* * *

Dillon didn’t want to wake. He was
comfortable and relaxed. Emily was in his arms and all was right
with the world. He wished whoever was bothering him would just go
away. A voice intruded on his conscious. “Wake up, Sleeping
Beauty.”

“
Sleeping Beauty is Emily,
not Dillon.” He heard Phoebe scold Taylor.

Slowly, and against his better
judgment, Dillon opened his eyes. The two stood before him,
smiling. “Who is Sleeping Beauty?” he asked, trying to focus his
thoughts.

With a tilt of his head, Taylor
indicated to Emily, who remained asleep with her had on his chest.
Dillon smiled down at her, his memories coming back. Gently shaking
her shoulder, Emily began to wake. She grumbled something and tried
to burrow back against his shoulder, but Dillon shook her a little
more. Emily simply turned her face further into this
chest.

“
Perhaps you should kiss
her. It worked in the story,” Taylor suggested with a
laugh.

That wasn’t a bad idea. Tipping Emily’s
chin he lifted her face and placed a chaste kiss on her incredible
mouth.

Emily’s eyes fluttered open slowly.
When she finally focused on Dillon, her mouth broke into a smile,
her eyes shown with love. Dillon felt as if he could see to her
soul. Never before had he been given the advantage of being with
her when all her defenses were down. Though she had never voiced
exactly how she felt, the truth was in her eyes. Once again, Dillon
vowed to make their relationship and future work.

“
We’re no longer alone,” he
whispered and signaled with his eyes. Still slightly drugged with
sleep, Emily looked to where he indicated. Standing before them
were Taylor and Phoebe. Emily leapt to her feet, hastily
straightening her gown. “I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to fall
asleep. Are the twins well? I didn’t hear them wake.” She turned to
rush toward the nursery.

“
Emily, the twins are fine.
They rarely wake at night. I just wanted someone here in case they
did.”

Emily kept glancing back toward the
room.

“
Even our nurse sleeps, I
promise.”

* * *

Emily was mortified more at being found
sleeping on Dillon’s shoulder. Thank goodness no one mentioned it.
She could be ruined for this. She prayed Taylor wasn’t thinking
along those lines, especially since he had arranged this
rendezvous.

“
Why don’t you escort
Sleeping Beauty home,” Taylor suggested while Dillon slipped into
his jacket. Emily noted he shoved the soiled nappy further into his
inside pocket. It would not do for Phoebe or Taylor to discover
that item. She would be ruined for sure.

“
I believe I well.” He
smiled. “Thank you,” he whispered as he kissed Phoebe on the cheek
as he took his leave.

Emily just wanted her exit to be as
quick as possible. Could she ever face those two again?

Once the carriage was on its way,
Dillon pulled Emily against him. “I have an excellent
idea.”

Emily tilted her head, looking up at
him.

“
You should go as Sleeping
Beauty.”

“
Where?” The sleep had not
entirely cleared from her mind.

“
The masquerade Janine is
throwing.”

What was he talking about? She really
just wanted to return to sleep and the rocking carriage wasn’t
helping her.

“
Janine, the masquerade
ball,” Dillon reminded her with a smile. “Everyone is to dress as a
character from a fairy tale.”

Slowly, Emily was finally focusing.
“You think I should go as Sleeping Beauty?” The idea seemed
absurd.

“
It would please me greatly”
he pleaded.

Emily couldn’t say no to his request,
nor the look in his eyes. In the end, she capitulated, wondering
how on earth her costume would look.

Chapter 13

Emily’s nerves increased with every
tick of the clock as it came closer to time she would need to
prepare for the masquerade ball. Why had she ever let Dillon talk
her into this costume? Janine thought it was an excellent choice.
Even Her Grace thought it delightful and helped plan the costume
with the seamstress. Regardless, Emily still had her misgivings.
Claresta would be attending as Cinderella pursuant to Sabrina’s
suggestion, who wished she could attend. Instead of a costume fit
for Cinderella at the ball, Claresta dressed as the Cinderella who
cleaned. The costume was still made of the finest material, as were
the silk and satin patches mismatched on the skirt. She even wore a
mop cap over her hair.

At least Claresta wasn’t wearing
anything scandalous, unlike herself. Emily wore a pale gown of the
finest satin. Though the material revealed nothing, it was designed
to look like a flowing night shift, with full, bellowing sleeves
and a ruffled bottom hem. The neck was scooped with a matching
ribbon, tied to hold the neckline in place. At least it gave that
illusion, but the ribbon was only for appearances. Over the dress
was a velvet robe, not unlike one a lady would wear in her boudoir.
Though the clothing was completely modest, Emily couldn’t help but
feel like she would be parading around in her night
clothes.

To complete the effect, the duchess had
wanted Emily to wear her hair loose, as one would in bed. They
finally compromised with Emily agreeing to one braid, tied with a
matching ribbon. Lastly, she’d don a satin mask to match the
gown.

Emily had finished making a final
assessment of her appearance when Her Grace knocked and entered.
She held a box, tied with a ribbon, which also matched her
gown.

“
This was just delivered for
you, dear.”

Emily accepted it and opened the card
first.

Please wear this tonight
lest you prick your finger and fall into a deep
sleep
.

Emily smiled and handed the card to a
curious Her Grace. Inside the box lay a gold thimble, encrusted
with rubies and diamonds. A delicate chain was attached so she
could wear it around her neck. Emily gasped at the extravagant gift
and held it up, admiring the play of light on the
stones.

What was he thinking? A gentleman did
not give a gift such as this to anyone unless she was his wife. He
was courting scandal. What if someone found out? “Should I accept
this?”

“
Yes, dear. I think you
should.” The duchess encourage after a moment of thought. “Besides,
who else needs a thimble?”

Emily turned toward the mirror and
clasped the necklace around her neck. The thimble lay on her chest,
directly above the ribbon. It would be easily seen by everyone. It
was improper for her to accept such a gift from him, but Emily
couldn’t bring herself to reject it. Besides, he probably had it
made special for her, and it would be something she would always
treasure.

* * *

The ball was a crush and a huge
success. Everyone had dressed as Janine requested. The married
ladies were either queens, wicked and nice, or fairy godmothers.
The unmarried ladies were some version of a princess. There were
several Cinderellas, but Emily appeared to be the only Sleeping
Beauty

Dillon found them as soon as they
entered. As was his habit, he first took Claresta’s card and
requested the dinner dance. Noah did the same with Emily and the
two then exchanged cards. Noah selected a country dance with
Claresta and Dillon claimed a waltz for later in the
evening.

Emily hated having to wait that long to
be in his arms but knew appearances must be kept since his mother
was also in attendance. “Thank you for the gift.” She leaned
forward and whispered.

“
Rubies suit you.” He smiled
down at her before he leaned close and whispered, “In retrospect
perhaps that costume wasn’t such a good idea.”

Oh dear, she should have gone with her
instinct and worn something more appropriate.

“
Seeing you in a nightdress
gives me all kinds of wicked thoughts about you being in my
bed.”

Her face heated and she feared it would
burst into flames. She couldn’t believe he just whispered such
scandalous words. What if someone overheard? She quickly looked
around. Nobody seemed to be paying attention to them. Dillon
stepped back, gave a slight bow and turned on his heel and walked
away.

With masks in place, people tended to
be freer in their behavior and Emily’s mood was light as well. Her
dance card was completely full within a half hour of her arrival,
but those other gentlemen didn’t matter to her in the least. She
was simply glad that she’d be occupied until her allotted time with
Dillon.

There was further reason why she was in
a festive mood. Tomorrow they left for the country party. It would
be a small gathering, which included Dillon, but not his parents.
Emily looked forward to the five days she would have among friends
without completely having to hide her odd relationship with
Dillon.

* * *

The next dance was the waltz with Emily
and Dillon began to make his way through the crowd to reach her
side in time. He was halfway to her when his mother grabbed his
arm. He couldn’t believe she waylaid him.

“
I’ve promised this dance to
someone.”

“
Yes, I know.” Mrs. Chambers
did not relinquish her hold.

“
It is the height of
rudeness to leave her standing.” Dillon tried to pull away but her
grip was like a vice around his arm. Had she always been this
strong?

“
Miss Frasier is not my
concern, nor should she be yours.”

Something in his mother’s tone warned
that he should forgo the dance and listen to her. Hopefully Emily
would understand.

Slowly, his mother led him around the
perimeter of the ballroom until they reached an almost vacant spot.
All the while, Dillon grew increasingly impatient while he waited
for his mother to speak.

* * *

Emily’s heart sank when she saw
Dillon’s mother grab him arm and turn him in the opposite
direction. Clearly, she wouldn’t get her dance this evening, so she
made her way to the retiring room. If she couldn’t dance with
Dillon, she didn’t want to dance with anyone. Besides, she needed
to sit somewhere cool and quiet. The pain at the back of her head
began an hour ago and was slowly creeping its way to her eyes. She
prayed she wasn’t developing a megrim. They were to travel
tomorrow. She was just was just coming back through the doorway
when she saw Mrs. Chambers and Dillon stop behind some potted palms
to her left. She knew better than to eavesdrop, but couldn’t help
herself and stepped back into the shadows of the hall where she
could observe and listen.

“
You wished to speak with
me, Mother?” Dillon asked as if he was tired of waiting.

“
I am concerned,” she began.
“Your courtship with Lady Claresta seems to be progressing
well.”

“
Then why the
concern?”

“
If you don’t step it up a
bit, someone else may secure her affection before you.”

Dillon chuckled. “I doubt that’s going
to happen.”

“
Don’t be so sure. You know
what I expect, Chadwick.”

“
I’m well aware of what you
expect of me, Mother.”

Emily had never heard such bitterness
in his tone.

“
Oh, I’ve begun to wonder.”
She leveled her eyes on his. “Your interest in the duke’s ward has
not gone unnoticed.”

Emily stiffened at the reference to
her.

“
Her name is Miss Emily
Frasier.”

“
I’m well aware of who she
is. What I would like to know is what is she to you?”

“
She is both a friend of
Lady Claresta, myself and a number of my friends.”

Mrs. Chambers narrowed her eyes. “Don’t
treat me as a fool. I’ve watched the two of you together and apart.
You watch her, she watches you.”

“
What would you have me say,
Mother? I’ve already confessed a friendship and
fondness.”

“
I want you to assure me
that she will not do, no matter how strong the
attraction.”

“
Will not do?”

His mother stared at him sternly, “As .
. .,” she prompted.

Dillon finally finished the sentence
for her. “As a wife. I already know this. Why do you persist in
reminding me?”

Emily felt the breath leave her lungs.
She always knew their relationship was short lived due to
circumstances. It still hurt terribly to hear Dillon admit he could
never think of her as a wife.

Mrs. Chambers smiled. “I’m glad we
understand one another. Do what you will with Miss Frasier, but you
won’t marry her.”

“
No?” Dillon
questioned.

“
A gentleman takes her kind
as a light of love.”

“
Her father was a
professor.” Dillon reminded his mother, anger dripped from his
words.

“
Then she should hunt among
her own kind if she wants a husband. Though I’m happy to know
that’s all she is to you, I think you shouldn’t be so obvious in
front of Lady Claresta.”