Seducing the Ruthless Rogue (27 page)

“Don’t you know it isn’t good
ton
to show emotion?” Her father chuckled as he hugged her back.

“I don’t care.
 
I’m just so glad that you are here.”

“Her Grace was kind enough to send me an invitation, and here I am.
 
I couldn’t miss my princess’ big debut, now, could I?”

“No,” Cassie answered.

“Now, let me take a good look at you,” he backed up and indicated that she should spin around.
 

When she did, she stopped and looked expectantly at him.
 
He just stared at her and she thought she saw him blink back tears.
 
“Well?” she asked nervously.

“Beautiful.
 
Absolutely stunning.
 
You look so much like your mother.
 
She would be so proud of you,” he said.

“Papa, don’t make me cry,” she sniffed and blinked furiously.

“No, we will have none of that,” Mikala insisted.
 
“You two come with me.
 
As guests of honor, you get to stand with Gabe and me in the receiving line.”

“Guest of honor?
 
Oh, no, Mikala, you never said anything about this.
 
I think I will return upstairs.”

“No, you won’t.
 
You will come with me.
 
I hate receiving lines as much as anyone,” she whispered to Cassie.
 
“They are a necessary evil when hosting a large party.
 
If you are by my side, it will make the time go faster.”

Cassie allowed herself to be dragged by Mikala to the front of the line.
 
Several of the men already knew her father, which made some introductions easier.
 
There were a few women that seemed snooty, but for the most part they were all very nice.
 
Perhaps she had been wrong about the
ton
in her articles.
 
Remember,
she reminded herself
, this is just a small portion of the ten thousand
.
 
With that thought, she continued to greet people.

***

Mack hated huge parties, but they were a necessary evil.
 
He often found himself forced to attend them due to his position.
 
He had met some incredible beauties at these balls, but limited his female liaisons to widows.
 
Mack refused to touch married women and innocents, primarily due to the stigma attached to him.
 
However, that did not stop the married women from trying to gain his interest.
 
More than likely so they could brag to their friends they had bedded ‘The Scottish Bastard’.

He refused to go through the receiving line and instead slipped in through the garden.
 
Mikala’s “little party” had morphed into the equivalent of a mid-sized ball.
 
His sister-in-law was a strange one.
 
She felt perfectly content both in the country or in town.
 
Even though she knew that half the
ton
talked about her behind her back, she never let that get to her.
 
Instead, she faced it with her shoulders thrown back and head held high.
 
She told Mack on several occasions, that she thought the members of the
ton
that despised her secretly wished they could be more like her.
 
He thought truer words had never been spoken.

As if thinking of her made her appear, he saw Mikala and Gabe standing at the top of the stairs waiting to be announced.
 
She was beautiful and a free spirit.
 
His brother was lucky to have her, lucky to be able to have a family.
 
She looked at Gabe so adoringly, but he knew first-hand that they could also have some terrible rows.
 
Mikala had once told him that they never went to bed angry.
 
By the end of the day, whatever they fought about either did not matter or they had found some solution that suited them both.
 
They were perfect for each other.
 
If he did not have Mikala, he would be a stuffed shirt that never had any fun.
 
Much like what you are turning into
, he thought savagely.

“May I have your attention,” the new butler, Riggs, called from the top of the stairs.
 
“May I present your host and hostess for the evening, the Duke and Duchess of Hawkescliffe.”

Polite applause filled the room.
 
Gabe very solicitously assisted Mikala down the stairs.
 
He will be driving her mad before long,
Mack thought and could not help chuckling.

“And now, for your guests of honor, Sir Graham and his daughter, Miss Cassie Graham.”
 

Again, polite applause could be heard around the room as well as whispering.
 
People were questioning who these two newcomers were.
 

What Mack saw took his breath away.
 
Cassie looked gorgeous in a red, jewel-toned gown with a sheer black overlay.
 
Her hair.
 
Mack’s fingers clenched tightly, because he wanted to bury his fingers in the silvery locks piled on top of her head.
 
Her neck was regal and led to a bosom that would make a man drool like a suckling babe.
 
In fact, he noticed himself doing just that thing.
 
He looked around the room and noticed that there were several single, and married, men present and all of them were reacting to Cassie’s appearance in the same manner.

He wanted to scream,
Stay away!
 
She’s mine!
Instead he remained silent and observed.
 
He had known there was a beauty hidden behind those drab, serviceable dresses that were made for a servant.
 
Mack felt his body reacting to her as she took her father’s arm and descended the stairs into the ballroom.
 
He could tell, even from his position across the room, that she fought nerves in facing all these people.
 
At least Mikala had invited their friends that were in town.
 
They would help provide a buffer.

He desperately wanted to go over, take her into his arms, and sweep her out of the room.
 
Preferably to the dark garden.
 
There he could kiss her and tell her how beautiful she looked.
 
He could show her that she enticed him.
 
He could convince her to quit writing those articles and endangering her life.
 
He wondered what else he could convince her to do.
 
He shifted as the fall of his breeches tightened uncomfortably.

For the moment, he would be merely a spectator.
 
He would watch how she acted at her first London ball.
 
He would savor her triumphs from afar and be on the ready to save her from tragedy, if necessary.
 
Mack leaned negligently against the wall, arms crossed, watching Cassie as a hunter would watch his prey.

***

Cassie kept looking all over the ballroom.
 
She felt she as if someone watched her.
 
Perhaps they were.
 
She had heard all the whispering when she and her father were announced.
 
Even though they seemed polite, members of the
ton
did not like new people.
 
They considered them upstarts and not good enough for the likes of their society.

“What’s wrong?” her father queried.

“I feel like everyone’s watching me.”

“They are, my dear.
 
That’s what happens when something new and beautiful enters the fold.”

“Your father is right,” Mikala added.
 
“The women are sizing you up.
 
They are trying to determine if you are competition.
 
The men are figuring out how they can get an introduction to you.
 
You, friend, are the
beau monde’s
new plaything.”

“I don’t want to be anyone’s plaything.”

“Oh, but it is so much fun,” Mikala laughed, her husky voice caused men to turn and look at her, lust in their eyes.
 
“See what I mean?
 
I am happily married, and yet all I have to do is laugh, and I have men falling over themselves to come to me.”

“Mikala, control yourself, or I will lock you in the bedroom,” Hawkescliffe whispered in his wife’s ear.
 
Mikala said something back that made the man blush and appear feral all at the same time.

“Now, come with me,” Mikala took Cassie’s hand and began to weave through the crowd.
 
“There are some special people I want to introduce you to.”

“Surely I have met everyone.
 
Besides, my head is spinning with names.”

“You can forget everyone else.
 
These people are very special to me.
 
You will enjoy them.
 
Here we are,” Mikala said, stopping at a group of women.
 
“Ladies, I have someone very special I would like you to meet.
 
This is Cassie Graham.
 
Her father is Sir Graham, the famous inventor.”

Cassie studied the group and realized she had met most of these women before.
 
One of the women must have came to the same conclusion because she said, “We have met before.”

“You have?”

“Yes.
 
Aunt Gertrude gave a dinner party about a year ago.
 
Miss Graham and her father came.”

“That’s correct,” Cassie said, feeling just a bit more comfortable.
 
“I met your aunt at a lecture on archaeology.”

“How did I miss this event?” Mikala demanded.

“I believe Diana might have had something to do with it.”

“Ah,” she sighed, a madonna-like smile curving her lips.

At that time, an older woman entered the group.
 
When she saw Cassie, she exclaimed in excitement.
 
“Miss Graham, it is so wonderful to see you again.
 
I have missed seeing you at the lectures I attend.
 
And how is your dear father?”

“Good evening, Lady Greenwood.
 
It is good to see you as well.
 
Papa is well.
 
In fact, he is here tonight.”

“Did you just get here, Aunt Gertie?”

“Yes.
 
I was running behind, as usual.”

“Then you don’t know.
 
Sir Graham and Cassie are Mikala’s guests of honor.”

“Oh, how perfectly splendid.”

“Mikala, you go make your rounds, I’ll make certain introductions are done,” Lady Southerby said.

“Are you positive?”

“Yes.”

“If you start to feel unwell.”

“Justin is watching me like a hawk.
 
The same goes for you.”
 

“Yes, mother,” Mikala winked before leaving the group and mingling with her guests.
 

“Now, I am Lady Southerby, but everyone calls me Clarissa.
 
This,” she placed an arm around the woman standing next to her, “is Tessa Simmons, the Countess of Blackburn.
 
She is married to Mikala’s brother, Derek.”

“It is wonderful to meet you,” Tessa said, and held out a hand for Cassie to take.
 
She had a Scottish brogue that reminded her of another Scotsman.
 
“I still don’t feel comfortable at these gatherings.
 
I much prefer being in the country with the children.”

“How many children do you have?” Cassie asked politely.

“Twins—a boy and a girl.
 
And we will have a new little one towards the end of the year.”

“It must be catching,” Clarissa said, laughing.

“Not you, too?” Tessa queried.

“What did you think Mikala was referencing when she said if I started to feel unwell?”

“I wasn’t really paying attention,” Tessa said, guiltily.

“Every one of you is expecting a child?” Cassie questioned.

“It would seem so.
 
And the newest couple that has been added to our group is not present for that very reason.
 
Rebekah has entered her confinement.
 
Besides, she doesn’t care for this type of thing.
 
She would much rather be in the country.
 
She and her husband, Sir Thorn Wulfe—he was just recently knighted for service to the Crown, are the guardians of twins.”

“My, it seems like quite a group.”

“It is,” a very regal looking woman walked up to the group.
 
Cassie had difficulty judging her age.
 
She had some fine lines around her eyes and mouth, but that did not detract from her beauty.

“Cassie, this is Drucilla Rochester, the Duchess of Thornbrook.
 
She is Mikala’s aunt.
 
Dru, this is Cassie Graham,” Clarissa introduced the two women.