The Black Lotus (Night Flower) (4 page)

“Overwhelming,
” She breathed, troubled by the shift in conversation. “It’s not what I expected.”

“
Are you not finding it exhilarating?” He smiled again and she was once again struck by the perfection of his teeth. It was not something she was used to, most people had severe decay or had lost their teeth to rot and were sporting replacements. Even those who had most of their own teeth could not claim such well kept specimens.

“I suppose it is.” She answered honestly, disconcerted by his glimmering smile and perfect teeth. “
Or it was at the start of the evening,” A couple swept past her and she followed their movements, tearing herself from his visage. Behind him and to the left she could see her brother; he was wearing his court face, a mask of false pleasantry and laughter. The sight made her shudder, Marcus at court was different to that at home, his voice was louder and sentiments cruder.

“And now?” Justin’s voice prompted, dragging her from her reverie. She glanced back at him, at the curiosity that she now saw in his eyes.

“Now?”
Her voice was small, a thousand leagues from the poised responses of a few moments ago. “Now I feel as though I’m in a charade, that no one here is what they seem,” Katherine Devereux drifted across her vision, her arms locked about the form of Walter Pilkington, a fixed rictus of a smile clued on her face. Behind them stood Emily Saint-Clair, the young blonde widow of Lord Edward Saint-Clair. With puzzlement, Melissa noted that Emily’s gaze was fixed on them.

“You’re quite right there,” She blinked at the softly spoken words
and returned her attention to Justin. “None of us here are real.” He waved an elegant hand at her. “Take yourself as an example, you are not what you seem, you primp and smile and make polite conversation, but it is all an act.” He moved closer, his words soft, compelling as he leant in. “You can never show your real face and I wonder,”

“What?” Scarcely breathing, she stared up at him. “What is it you wonder?”

Carefully he reached forward and captured her hand. “I wonder,” His voice was soft, compelling and she raised her eyes back to his. “Just what lies behind your
smile?”

“Do you?
” Disconcerted by the strangely direct gaze, she pulled back slightly. “Do you really wish to know about my thoughts?”

“I do,” He drew her hand to his mouth and gently kissed the tips of her fingers. “I wonder what lies behind that polite, perfect
façade you present.”

Melissa drew her hand away in flustered confusion. Even with the overcooked declarations of love she had been receiving all night, she was still unsure of how to handle such seduction. His desire to know her seemed sincere, yet
she knew of his reputation. Her fingers tingled where his lips had pressed and she spoke rapidly, nervously.

“I feel like a prime specimen of beef at
a meat market.” Unbidden and dangerous, words spilled from her lips. “One that’s about to be sold for slaughter." She shook her head and stopped speaking, aware that she was crossing the lines for polite behaviour. One did not discuss innermost feelings at such soirees. He glanced at her swiftly as though daring her to continue with her words.

“
In a way you are.” He replied finally, sipping the drink slowly as he sized her up. “So you dislike the court then?”

“Oh not really… it’s just so big.” She answered softly, trying to bring words to her sense of bewilderment. She shook her head and pushed away the introspection, such behaviour was not considered seemly in a lady. “So what brings you to London?” Once again she retreated to the norm, her words mild and polite; the expected behaviour for a lady in society. Justin lowered the glass from his lips and regarded her carefully, his dark eyes flashing in brief disappointment before a mocking gleam slid over their surface.

“The court, the
King and beauty such as yours.” He answered carelessly as he swirled the canary in his glass. Melissa felt her stomach clench as his manner changed. Gone

was the gentle questioner of a few moments ago and in his place was an insincere cad.
Anger at his inattention and her own failure to see his manipulation made her blood boil.

“My
, how insincere of you,” Without stopping to think, her words sizzled between them, angry at his flippancy and superior attitude. “And is this how you speak to all the women?”

“And is this how you address your suitors?”
He retaliated, startled by her boldness. “Not the way to find yourself a fine match.” He quaffed the rest of his drink in a single gulp and smiled at her, a charming smile that further stoked her anger.

“Ah yes, the fine match,” her words hissed between clenched teeth. “the ultimate goal of my life because of the misfortune of being born a member of the fair sex.” She moved closer, her voice dropping lower as she leant forward. “So I should be grateful for the insincere flattery of a philanderer and happy with being passed about like a prize for the highest bidder?” A sweet, sickening smile flowed across her features. “Such an honour don’t you think?” She pulled back, her voice dripping with sarcasm and repressed anger. “If you will excuse me, I shall find other company and leave you and your insincerity to amuse someone else.” She stood and started to walk away. With the speed of a striking snake, Lestrade’s fingers found her wrist.

“
Wait,” The smile had gone from his face now and in its place was a strange mixture of apology and interest. “I’m sorry for my inattention. It was rude and beyond the pale.” He got to his feet and stared at her full in the face. “Give me a chance to make up for it.”

She looked down at his fingers locked about her wrist and then up at him. When she spoke, her voice was coolly polite and devoid of the anger that had fuelled her earlier words. 
“Release my arm sir.” With a reluctant nod, he slowly retracted his hand and she pulled away. “My brother appears to have been right about you sir, it would be foolish of me to associate with you further. Good eve, Mister Lestrade.”

With a flounce of her head, she moved away from the table and into the gaming rooms.
Behind her Justin stared after her as though confused and across from her, Emily Saint-Clair watched her leave with a bemused smile. She moved through the throng in a cloud of anger. Trying to forget Justin’s behaviour, she joined a game of Quadrille and in her flustered state, proceeded to lose in a spectacular fashion.

“I’m sorry,
” A low, contrite voice at her elbow drew her away from the game and she stared up into green flecked hazel eyes. “I was terribly rude,” Justin murmured, oblivious to the stares and chuckles from the dames around the table. “Forgive me,”

Melissa stared
up at him, her own anger reducing as she heard the utter truth in his voice.

“I forgive you for your attitude,” She said finally, collecting her tokens and playing the next hand. “But I know little but ill of you sir and forgive me but you have not shown yourself to be courteous.”

“All I can offer is my apology and this,” He tilted his fingers somehow and a small flower appeared between his fingers. Melissa looked at the bloom, smiling despite herself as she took it from his fingers and held it to her nose, sniffing the delicate scent with pleasure.

“It’s lovely,” She conceded finally, “but it’ll take more than a conjuring trick to adequately apologise for your behaviour.” His fumbling attempts at an apology were a start, but she was not ready to forget her impressions of him.

“I was unforgivably
rude,” He said, crouching down to her level. “And I apologise for any hurt I may have caused you.” His voice was soft and entreating and she felt herself smile despite her anger. “I have no excuse for my behaviour and you have no reason to offer forgiveness, but I do ask it of you.”

“My forgiveness will not be immediate, for you were extremely offensive,” Steeling herself against his charms, she finally fo
rced herself to speak. “Particularly as this was our first conversation.”

“Then
may I make it up to you?” He implored, “Perhaps a dance and maybe we can start again?” He held out his hand and against all her better judgement she felt a strong desire to take it.

“I am committed to this hand,
” She nodded at the table and smiled apologetically. “And my father would still kill me if I danced with you,”

“Perhaps,” He answered, “but I think you dance to your own tune. I would like your company lady.” With a soft smile, he left her side and moved back into the room, leaving Melissa to stare after him in some shock. In a strangely preoccupied mood, she played the rest of the hand. She didn’t know why she thought of him, he had just insulted her and he had a reputation that could not be denied and yet, she looked dreamily at the counters on the table, he haunted her. He had not called her ‘his angel’ or compared her beauty to jewels or the morning sun, like so many others had this evening. His eyes were unfathomable and mysterious; she could see depths in them that he seemed to take pains to hide behind wit and sarcasm. Despite his seeming inattention, she knew he had meant his apology. She drew the next card and played it without comment, her thoughts on the strange, beguiling nature of Justin Lestrade.

“You should go after him dear,
” One of the women at the table said as she picked up her winnings and stood. “So he may be a poor choice for a husband, but for a night’s dancing, you could do worse,”

“I don’t know who you m
ean,” Melissa blurted out, shocked that her daydreams were so apparent.

“Of course you do.. just as long as you believe nothing he tells you and keep your head. I see no problem with just a dance. As long as you know
that he is overly charming rogue.”

Melissa nodded, watching as her small group returned the cards to the deck and prepared to deal again.

“Are you in on this hand?” She shook her head, watching them smile as they returned to their cards. Moving away from the card table, Melissa smoothed out the creases in her skirts and walked back into the ballroom, her eyes alive as she searched for the
midnight blue coat. The small voice within her wondered why she was looking for someone with such an unsavoury reputation and one who had clearly dismissed her, but uncharacteristically she ignored it and continued to navigate the floor.

It didn’t take long to locate Justin. He was walking through the one of the doors to the gardens beyond, his arm locked together with
Mary Westbury, a known flirt. Justin was leaning close to her and they were both laughing. Melissa stood stock still for a few moments, cursing herself for a fool; of course she was no one special to him. It hadn’t taken him too long to throw himself at the pretty, silly and generally annoying Mary. Trying not to allow irritation to show on her face, she picked up another drink and headed to the buffet.

Chapter 3

“Melissa.
” She turned at her name being spoken and looked directly into a pair of laughing clear blue eyes.

“Sarah
.” She reached forward and greeted the other girl with a genuine smile, their families had been friends for many years and they had practically grown up together. Sarah had been presented several months previously and had been designated incomparable, which of course meant that she gained a vast array of admirers. “I didn’t know you were here.”

“I was ta
king the air with John Hansombe,” Sarah replied with a demure smile as she tucked her arm in Melissa’s. “He’s declared that he will shoot himself if I don’t accept his suit.”

“Oh dear,
” Melissa replied with a smile, it was the kind of offer that she had been hearing all night, as though she would like nothing better than brain matter for proof of love.

“Oh, don’t worry I don’t think he means it, I think he just wants to follow the mode,” Sarah replied as she reached forward and snagged some food from the buffet table. “I think he’s rather sweet.”

“Oh you would,
” Melissa answered readily enough, yet her eyes were drawn to the parlour doors and the darkness outside. A strange hot feeling was coursing up and down her spine.

“Forgive me for wanting to have fun, you’re just going to stand here and mock it all, whi
ch I think is incurably dreary.” Sarah looked closely at her friend and a puzzled look crossed her face. “What are you looking at?” She exclaimed suddenly as she realised that her friend’s attention was strangely wandering.

“Oh.
..” Melissa jumped guiltily, wondering how to explain herself, she had always been the more mature of the two. For several moments she struggled to find an explanation only to be caught on the hop as Emily and Justin walked back into the room.

“Oh ho,
” Sarah crowed as she took in the direction of Melissa’s glance and comprehended the situation. “You’re mooning for Lestrade.”

“No…” Melissa protested feebly, wondering why Sarah had chosen this particular moment to join her. She would invariably lock onto the most insignificant detail and magnify it out of all proportion. By the end of the evening, Sarah would have her eloping with Justin on a black charger.

“I’m not mooning for him,
”

“Don’t lie, I ca
n always tell when you’re lying because your nose wobbles.”

“That’s because I’m speaking idiot, it always wobbles when I talk. There is nothing between me and Lestrade.”

“But you want there to be?” That was Sarah all over; she couldn’t let a subject lie. She was only lucky that the older girl hadn’t marched over to him and announced that Melissa was missing him. “I mean he is extremely attractive and he definitely knows it.”

“No! I just…” Melissa sank into a nearby chair and tried not to panic. If Sarah had her way, the news that she liked Justin would be all over the room in minutes. She could just hear her brother
’s fury to the news, he’d probably haul out his pistols and that would be that. “Look you can’t just say that. You don’t know anything about it,”

“Well I would if you told me
,” Sarah said with immense practicality as she sat opposite and stared at her friend. Her fingers smoothed down her gown of periwinkle silk and she looked at Melissa with a stern, querying look on her face. “So.. are you going to tell me why you’re taking a break from being sensible and mooning after the most unsuitable man in the room?”

Melissa breathed slowly and then began to speak. She left nothing from her story, even though there was not much to tell. With rare patience, Sarah left her to finish before jumping onto her tale.

“So.. he insulted you and then handed you a flower by way of a conjuring trick straight out of the theatre as an apology. Is that about it?” Her voice was full of interest and outrage, interest because her friend was notorious at thinking things through and outrage that she had not witnessed the event.

“I think you’ve covered it.” Melissa sat back, hoping that Sarah wouldn’t fly into a creative frenzy about this. Her friend had been known to concoct bizarre, unworkable plots to attain the heights of romance that she felt her friend was lacking, or, more simply put, she interfered wholesale in Melissa’s life.

“And you’re fascinated why?” A look of complete incredulity crossed her face as Melissa looked at her shoes. “I mean, he didn’t promise to fight a duel for your honour, he didn’t threaten to kill himself. He didn’t even call you his moon and stars and I got that from the most romantically inept person in the room. And you fall for that?” Melissa looked at Sarah in shock; she had not anticipated this response. For the last few months any pretty face made her friend into putty. When overwrought declarations of love were flying about, Sarah made certain that she caught them. Love and related drama was meat and drink to her, it felt strange that she wasn’t concocting vast plots to get her and Justin alone and for the briefest of moments she felt upset that she wasn’t getting this response.

“I didn’t fall for him, I’m just interested. I don’t like all that over the top stuff. I’m not a prize to be wooed like that.”

“So instead you prefer a boorish fool who insults you. Well that makes perfect sense to my romance addled brain.”

“I didn’t say I preferred him, I just said he interested me
,” Melissa was getting angry now; she’d supported Sarah through far worse choices. Twisted a piece of the green taffeta between her fingers, she stared at the gold embroidery for several moments, taking the time to calm herself down.

“I wasn’t contemplating matrimony.”

“Oh I’m glad to hear it. He has a terrible reputation. He seduces women, he ruins them,” Sarah’s voice was getting louder and angrier as she spoke. “Not only that, he is a gamester and a cad.”

“Sarah please.
” Melissa finally held up a hand to forestall the flood of words. There was nothing in that speech that she did not agree with and her friend was right, Justin Lestrade had one of the worst reputations in London, especially worrying since he was so young. He frequently had to leave the capital through one scandal or another. Duelling, wenching or gaming, he was reputed to be quite the terror and yet Melissa could not stop thinking about him. Despite her anger earlier, there was something about him that called to her.

“I know all this about him and I don’t love him or anything silly like that. For heaven’s sake there wasn’t enough time for any of that to happen. I just feel I should know him better.”

“That’s the way it starts,” Sarah murmured with a wisdom that seemed strange coming from her lips.

“Well. I don’t think I will get to know him better. He couldn’t even wait for me to finish a hand of Quadrille before he found another.” Her voice was hard, determined, and so different from the clamouring in her heart. Yet she had to say it, there was no other way of putting Sarah off. “So you have nothing to worry about, I doubt I will be eloping with Lestrade at any point in the future.”

“Hmm,” A suspicious glance swept over her, before Sarah sighed and decided to let the subject drop. “Anyway, did you note Anna’s dress? It was positively indecent; I swear that her abigail doesn’t like her one bit.”

Melissa sighed with relief as life returned to a more regular footing, she still thought about those hazel eyes yet, as Sarah pointed out, why would she be attracted to a boorish fool with a terrible reputation.

“You d
id well with your dress tonight, green suits you,”

“It’s just a shame about the powder, I prefer my real hair to this powdered mummery
,”

“I’ll tell the court that shall I
,” Sarah laughed at the look on her friends face. “This is only the height, nay the pinnacle of fashion and you scorn it. For shame girl,”

Melissa shook her head at the mock outrage on her friends face and joined in the general sense of laughter. “So I saw the
King tonight,” she finally stammered out, desperate to draw the subject away from Justin and any other men in the room.

“Yes, I saw him to
o, he’s barely awake half the time!” Sarah said with a lightly bored tone. “There are far more interesting things to look at.” She unsheathed her fan and lightly tapped her hands with it. “So.. have you heard about the murders?”

“Murders?” Melissa queried wondering at the change in conversation but not overly shocked by it. Sarah’s mind flittered sometimes from subject to subject and it was hard to keep up unless you were used to it.

“Yes the murders. I heard
Papa talking about them to Lord Turnville. Apparently there’s been a rash of murders in the lower districts…”

“Sarah there’s always killings amongst the lower district.”

“Ahh but not like this,” Sarah said with a distinctly annoying tone of voice. “A fair few of them are of our class. Apparently they were taken from their beds and brought to London. My father’s spent a fortune putting locks on my shutters. It’s almost impossible to sleep at night.”

“Sarah,
” Melissa exclaimed, an incredulous note to her voice. “That can’t be right surely. I’d have heard from Papa, The talk would be all over the capital. I would have heard something,”

“You would have heard if they news was being spoken of openly, but its not. You see most of the girls were…” She considered and drew Melissa closer, lowering her voice to a confidential whisper. “Well not particularly modest or well brought up. Known for indiscretion they were, just the type to leave their beds in the dead of night and follow a rake. My father believes that they leave home and run into trouble on the stre
ets.” Sarah gave a wry smile. “My father’s using it as an object lesson in following the rules of good behaviour.”

“Sarah,” Melissa protested with a smile. “You’re not overly silly, you wouldn’t sneak out to follow some foolish gallant.”

“Oh and how would you know?” She gave a careless toss of her head, making her wig wobble dangerously
. Throwing a would be mysterious smile at her friend, she continued. “You don’t know all my secrets,”

“Really?”  With a bark of surprised laughter, Me
lissa stared at Sarah. “Do tell,”

“Not on your life,
” Sarah glanced over Melissa’s shoulder and smiled broadly at the sight behind her before turning an apologetic glance towards her friend.

“I’m sorry but I promi
sed Lord Carlson the next dance,” she was already moving as she spoke to reach the side of her latest flame. “We’ll talk later I promise,” And with that she was swept back into the crowd, leaving Melissa alone in the corner watching the dancing couples with a wry smile on her face. She might have known that Sarah would not stay with her long.

“May I have the next dance?” A richly dressed young man held out his hand toward her and after a moment’s hesitation, she took it. Leaving behind her thoughts about Lestrade for the time being, she threw herself back int
o the ball. She danced, flirted, smiled and accepted invitations. At least twice she saw Justin on the edges of the crowd, yet he was talking with Mary and did not look towards her. Irritated by his lack of regard, she moved away from him and inwardly fumed at his attitude and her willingness to see good in him.