Persuasion (4 page)

keeping with his plans for her to be as facilitating as possible.

A shame indeed that while there was an innocence in her face, there was

also a cynical disdain . . . . That did not bode well for his seduction plans.

Pursing his lips at the thought, William's eyes roved over the crowd and

spotting the ludicrously attired aunt of his target was not altogether difficult.

Eying her all the while, he sank into the crush and aimed for the overlarge,

purple blight on the horizon and entered the hornet's nest of tabbies and

matrons who spent their lives gossiping over the inane.

As soon as he entered the fray, fans were raised and slight titters became

audible the closer he neared them. William was hard pressed not to roll his

eyes, but ever aware that he was being paid close attention to, he plastered

a very faint and very fake smile on his face and stalked towards the mound

of purple in the center of the group.

Why Lady Lily's aunt was wearing purple, he did not know . . . for surely

they weren't still mourning for the late Marquess? Or was it some kind of

bizarre fashion statement of which he had yet to hear? From the little he

knew of Millicent Greaves, he could only assume it was the latter and never

the former!

Making a bow, he greeted the 'Purple lady' with great aplomb. “Good

evening, ma'am,” he said, his voice gently jovial.

As expected, she tittered yet again and fluttered her fan coyly. Bowing her

head slowly, she caught his eye and smiled prettily. “Good evening, sir.”

“May I have a dance with your delightful niece, ma'am?”

“If her dance card is not entirely marked, my lord, then naturally, you may

and with my blessing.” Mrs. Greaves smiled again and then caught the eye

of a footman in full livery, who’d instantly appeared as though requested by

magic. “Wright, would you please inform Lady Lily that I would like to speak

with her?”

The man bowed and went off to do his mistress' bidding.

“I must tell you that your niece is quite the diamond, ma'am.”

“Forgive me for being frank, dear sir, but I know this and have done for

many a year! It was so unfortunate that my dear brother-in-law passed and

at such an important and inopportune stage in his daughter's life.”

“Indeed, very sad, ma'am. Although, I do suppose that it is my good

fortune. For were she to have had her come out before her father's death,

then she would no doubt have a Duke on her arm, who would guard his

Duchess' honor and hold all her dances for himself!”

The purple mound and her avidly listening friends laughed gaily at his sally.

He bowed low and almost as though the polite gesture had summoned her,

Lady Lily swept towards them gracefully.

There was a smile on her face that bespoke of her maturity over the other

silly chits who were being released into society this year and as soon as her

eyes met his, and they bowed and curtsied before one another, William's

earlier prediction came once more to the fore.

It would in no way be as easy as he'd imagined. To the point where he

wondered if he should seek another target!

It was a peculiar way of describing it, but he could only liken it to a wall

slowly being constructed between them, one of her making. And brick by

brick, an impenetrable barrier was raised that shielded her almost entirely.

Damn his luck!

She was a beauty, of that there was no doubt. He'd noticed it as she'd been

dancing and now, face to face, he could admire her form as he would a filly.

A touch of innocence in those pretty emerald eyes, reminded him of his

cousin Camille, yet there was also intelligence, which Dorian's dearly

departed certainly hadn't had, a strong but conversely delicate face, with

rosebud lips and a pert nose. Definitely a beauty and one that were his plan

to work, he would certainly enjoy bedding.

Almost as though the thought pressed him into considering failure, he

immediately discarded that as ridiculous. He was not a man who buckled

easily when he put his mind to something and in this regard, he had no

intention of conceding defeat. The prize was too large to even consider doing

so!

“Lily! Dear, has your card been marked for the next dance? Mr. Wright has

charmingly requested you take a turn with him.”

William watched with hooded eyes as the smile on Lily's face froze

momentarily, she then blinked and turned to him with a charming duck of

her head. “No, indeed, sir, I am free for the next dance.”

“Then it is to my relief that the rest of the gentleman here have not

cascaded upon you and stolen a dance from me, my lady.”

“I'm afraid that I have tended to reject rather than accept the many

invitations I have received tonight.”

“Lily!” Mrs. Greaves spat warningly.

“Did I not tell you, dear aunt?” Lily replied, a mocking twitch playing about

her lips. “I unfortunately overturned my ankle when I danced with Lord

Lycombe and find it a tad too painful to be dancing heartily. I took a break in

the ladies' chamber and feel a touch better, but not enough to take part in

the upcoming dances, I'm afraid.”

Her voice and the spark in her eye decried her words. The naughty girl!

“Such a shame!” William murmured smoothly, “but at least permit me to

parlay you a glass of punch, my lady, or would a turn about the room

perhaps exercise the joint and prevent any stiffness?”

“Yes! Indeed, Lily. I'm sure that would be most helpful and so kind, dear sir.

I thank you on my sister's behalf. Do enjoy your promenade and I hope,

niece, that it ceases any suffering.”

Mrs. Greaves nodded slowly and it was another warning on her part. William

noticed it with faint curiosity and wondered what sort of misdeeds had

happened here. He had noticed a faint glumness on Lily's face and even

though it seemed rather melodramatic, he could only believe that she did

not want to be here so soon after her father had stuck his spoon in the wall!

The thought had him wishing he had the freedom to roll his eyes. For the

love of the Lord, people spent far too much time moping around in their

funeral blacks. To William's mind, life was far too short to be spent mourning

people, who no longer had the ability to appreciate the sacrifice!

Indeed, it seemed rather tedious of Lady Mercer to be such a prig. There

was many a chit who would have loved such a come out as this. Indeed, he

had yet to attend one of this kind where the luxury and opulence could

match such splendor as here. For sure, the bill for this kind of ball could

have paid several of his gaming debts! Not that he was up Queer Street yet!

But then, the Mercers' fortune was reputed to be larger than Prinny's

himself! Not that Prinny had a fortune! Rather the state funded his

extraordinary tastes, but still, the point was that the Mercers could afford

such a ball and their only daughter should have at least had the damned

decency to enjoy it!

In fact, were it not in his best interests and a point of pride to take both

Dorian's wealth and title, he would have made a play for the chit himself. He

could easily see himself as her groom and while she had not inherited the

fortune as had her brother, she was bound to have a pleasingly substantial

dowry.

Holding out his arm for Lady Lily to take, he smiled at her gently when she

slipped her gloved palm atop his. She was obviously very hesitant, not out of

fear, he'd have been able to sense that, but out of disinterest.

William had never believed himself to be a vain man, but to say that her

disinterest piqued him was an understatement.

“Are you enjoying your come out, my lady?” he asked suavely, hiding his

annoyance with aplomb.

“Yes, very. Thank you, Mr. Wright.”

“Nay, indeed. The pleasure is mine. I am just aggrieved that you have hurt

your ankle. Considering what a night this is and how important to a young

lady a come out is, you must be most disappointed, my lady.”

“Yes, it is a shame. But I only hurt my foot a little. I'm afraid since my

father's death I have not danced as much as in the past. I was . . . out of

practice,” she murmured with a smile and elegantly nodded at an

acquaintance who lifted her fan and waved it Lily's way.

“I was terribly sorry to hear about your father, my lady.”

“I thank you. It came as a great shock. My mama is quite overcome still.

She is at sixes and sevens at our country estate with my brother.”

“The new Marquess is in residence at your estate? He is not in London to see

you out?”

“Mama needed him more than I,” she demurred.

“Such a selfless daughter!” he complimented. “Regardless of your mother's

absence, I'm sure your aunt shall do you proud. And, may I say, how

beautiful you look this evening.”

William felt almost like pouting when she failed to even blush or titter at his

quite obvious adulation. She was a peculiar chit, he'd give her that.

The gal merely blinked her eyes at him - that was the sum total of her

reaction. “Thank you, Mr. Wright,” she answered woodenly.

Thereafter, the conversation was quite stilted and even though they took

two turns about the large room, very little else was said. Lady Lily asked if

they could desist from their promenade momentarily and speak to one of the

other girls, a rather ugly looking, green girl named Anna. On their part,

there was very little conversation. Merely some sort of code, whereby they

looked at each other, a twitch of the lips followed and then a nod of the head

and they then curtsied farewell to each other.

He returned her gladly to her aunt and made his retreat to the gaming

rooms with an elaborate bow that had Mrs. Greaves more aflutter than his

intended target. This, combined with their turn about the ballroom had

taught him something and he was not altogether certain that he liked it. In

fact, he knew for a fact that he did not. It had been a very long time since a

woman had failed to succumb to his charm and that Lady Lily hadn't, was

most annoying.

For two reasons. One, it pricked his pride. But secondly, and far more

importantly than his damaged vanity, it meant that he would be unable to

manipulate her into helping him.

As his eyes cast over the tables of his peers, some foxed as they played faro

and others as they played loo, William knew that he would have to take this

to a completely different level and one that he hadn't contemplated in the

past.

He'd always considered his ability to charm as heaven-sent. It meant that he

could have any woman he wanted, from the grandest ladies to the Cyprians

and bit o' muslins that could be found about town. But in regards to his

ambitions to accede to his cousin's title, William had always known that it

would be most handy in this instance for persuading a good lady of the ton

to assist him.

Where Lily was concerned, he knew that it would be difficult enough to

persuade her to take a ride in Hyde Park with him, never mind to coaxing

her into seducing his unstable cousin into marriage!

Feeling most angered, for his plans were almost up in the air, William swiftly

realized that he did not necessarily need her to willingly comply with his

wishes. He could always force it. Persuade her into behaving in a manner

that was quite out of character simply to protect her good name.

Indeed, that her bastard of a father had died was actually quite handy for

him. It meant that her mother was distraught and on the edge, for had Lily

not said that her mama was still grieving and after almost two years? And

that her brother was residing at their estate simply to watch over her in her

state of mourning?

If William could compromise Lily in some way and then use that as leverage

to enlist her into assisting him, then he was sure she would agree simply to

protect her mother. He would have no brother to avoid and no duenna, apart

from the bacon-brained aunt, who could easily be maneuvered around . . . .

Smiling into the fire place, he held out his hands and felt the licking warmth

against his palms. It was a cold night, but the crush in the ball had warmed

him nicely and now the fire did the same. Jerking his chin at a footman to

his left, he asked for a brandy. Moments later, with a balloon neatly in his

hand, William attempted to calculate the fine details of his plan.

With any other woman, it would have been much simpler. But even though

she did not look like a blue-stocking, the woman was very intelligent. He

would have to do something to compromise her so totally, that she would

feel as though she had no choice but to go through with his plan.

Tapping his blunt nails against the crystal glass, he smiled grimly at his

thoughts. Spying Lord Simean's ascent from one of the fireside armchairs,

William took a seat and spent the following hours detailing his plan to the

most minute degree.

Dorian was coming up to London soon, so whatever he planned, would have

to be in place before then. He fully intended to inherit his cousin's Earldom

and the wealth that went with it and if pushing Dorian off this mortal coil

decades earlier than the good Lord had intended, then William was more