“I know you must be as dreadfully embarrassed as we are by Eden and Alex’s elopement. Mother and I may never recover from the shock. I’m certain you can imagine how difficult this is for my dear mother to bear. Her sister created the same scandal twenty years ago, and now Eden has followed in her mother’s footsteps and given no thought to her relatives’ feelings. Oh, we’ve gone to all the parties as though nothing were amiss, but we can’t help but hear the gossip. To elope is so dreadfully common, don’t you agree?”
Common was not the word that came to Raven’s mind, for in Alex’s case he considered it madness. He took a perverse pleasure in arguing with Stephanie, however. “I always thought elopements were regarded as romantic.”
“Perhaps it is when a chambermaid runs off with a chimney sweep, but surely not in this case.”
“An earl is not allowed to be impetuous?” Raven taunted with a sly grin. He knew he should have been agreeing with Stephanie since he was as outraged over the haste of his uncle’s marriage as she was, but he simply could not stop himself from taking the opposite view just to spite her. They might have spent many hours together, but he ha
d not developed any warm feelings for the self-centered girl.
“Of course an earl is allowed to be impetuous if he is in love,” Stephanie admitted reluctantly, “but there are far more acceptable ways to go about it.” She was dressed in dark blue, and nervously brushed a bit of lint from her skirt before looking up at him.
“Is that all you wished to say to me, that you are embarrassed by the gossip my uncle’s elopement has caused? If so, there is absolutely nothing I can do to help you. The damage has already been done and you’ll simply have to live with it.”
Clearly Raven thought her complaint too trivial to merit mention, but Stephanie did not. She was bright enough not to belabor the point with him, though. “No, that was not the primary reason I wanted to see you.” She reached out to pat his knee lightly, but drew her hand away when she felt him flinch. “I, that is, my mother and I, have missed seeing you. We thought if you were unwilling to attend the Russells’ ball this evening alone, that you might consider going with us. I’m sure you’re not the type of man to allow gossip to determine your actions.”
“Is that a dare?”
Stephanie now found herself flinching under Raven’s menacing stare. Until that very moment, she had always thought the darkness of his coloring lent him a wonderfully appealing air of mystery. Now she wished his eyes were not as black as coal when it made his thoughts impossible to read. “No, not at all,” she insisted when she had recovered her poise. “It’s merely that both our families are involved in what appears to be the season’s most delicious scandal and I thought we could comfort each other.”
“I’m not in need of comfort,” Raven declared firmly, or at least not the type of comfort that she could provide he did not add.
Stephanie fussed with her kid gloves, tugging on them as though their fit were not superb. “I have missed you,” she whispered, silently praying he would reply with something sweet even though he had never used even the slightest endearment with her. When Raven appeared to be too astonished by that confession to say anything at all, she quickly moved to his side and threw her arms around his neck.
“Oh Raven, don’t you have any tender feelings for me? I’m so fond of you and I don’t want the gossip Eden and Alex’s elopement has caused to keep us apart any longer.”
Raven turned his head quickly and her wet kiss slid off his cheek. Disgusted she would be so forward when he had given her no indication he would welcome such an affectionate display, he took a firm hold on the distraught young woman’s shoulders and forced her away. “Stephanie, please. I can understand why you’re upset, but it really has nothing to do with me.”
“But it has everything to do with you!” she exclaimed, the carefully constructed façade of her ladylike demeanor now ripped to shreds. “You enjoyed my company, I know that you did. Now Eden has ruined our chances to find happiness together, and I’ll never forgive her for that. I wish she had stayed in Richmond where she belongs. She ruined all our lives by coming here!”
Stephanie’s hysterical accusations failed to move Raven. He eyed her coldly as she withdrew a lace handkerchief from her reticule and continued to sob as though she had suffered some terrible tragedy. She obviously blamed Eden for the embarrassment she and her mother had suffered and despised her for it. While he still doubted Alex would have thought of eloping on his own, Raven was repelled by Stephanie’s spiteful condemnation of her American cousin. Not about to take Eden’s side, however, he remained silent until they reached the Lawton home. He then escorted Stephanie to her door, but when he refused the loan of her carriage to return to the docks, she again grabbed his hand to detain him a moment longer.
“I could come to your ship again tomorrow. If only we could be alone for an hour or two, I know you’d realize how much you really care for me.”
Stephanie was quite blatantly offering herself to him, but Raven was merely annoyed rather than intrigued by the possibility of making love to her. An affair with her would not provide the escape he sought when she would undoubtedly demand marriage in exchange for her favors. Perhaps she was attempting to lay the same trap Eden had, but he was far too cautious a man to be caught as easily as Alex apparently had been.
“I think we should count ourselves fortunate if we never meet again, Lady Stephanie.” Raven reached around her to open the front door, and placing his hand in the center of her back, he propelled her into her home. He pulled the door closed behind her and turned away, hoping that a long and tiring walk would help him to get a better night’s sleep than he had had in a long while.
Lydia heard her daughter race up the stairs and slam her bedroom door. Curious as to the cause of that dramatic return, she looked out the window in time to see Raven striding down the walk. His features were set in a sullen frown and she guessed instantly what Stephanie had done. Hurrying to her room, she found her daughter lying across her bed, convulsed with tears.
“Have you taken leave of your senses?” Lydia began in the harsh tone she reserved for criticizing her only child. “Of what possible use is Raven Blade to us now? Do you think I would allow you to marry him now when it will be Eden who will be running Alex’s household? I was a fool not to realize that Alex could be tempted to remarry. He could have been yours if only we had guessed how vulnerable he was before Eden did.”
“But I don’t love Alex,” Stephanie insisted in tear-choked gasps. “Raven is the one I want.”
“So you paid him a call at his ship?” When Stephanie did not reply, Lydia assumed that she had guessed the truth. “I’ll not have you down on the docks chasing after men who haven’t the manners to call on you here. You’ll not leave this house again without a responsible chaperon. You knew better than to throw yourself at men before Eden came here to live. Your actions today are clearly the result of her influence rather than mine.”
“I’m nothing like Eden!” Stephanie shrieked. “I hate her, I hate her! Raven would have married me had she not interfered, I know that he would have.”
“Forget the man. He’s of no consequence now. Rest with a cold compress on your eyes until it’s time to dress for the Russells’ ball. We’ve already wasted too many nights on the wrong man. We can’t waste tonight as well.”
“I don’t want to go to the Russells’,” Stephanie complained in a hoarse sob.
“You’ll not only be there, you will be so charming none of the other girls will receive even half the attention that you do. We must begin to use the scandal Alex and Eden have created to our own advantage. You will not only draw attention, but use it to increase your popularity. Now stop carrying on so. There may be few men who are as handsome as Raven Blade, but you know which ones can equal the Clairbourne fortune and it’s one of those men you must enchant now.”
Stephanie had been tutored from the cradle to know she had to marry well, not only to ensure a comfortable life for herself but to uphold her family’s reputation. Because her mother’s plan offered the only way to salvage the pride she had sacrificed in declaring her feelings to Raven, she gave in and wiped away her tears. “Yes, Mother. I’ll go tonight, and I’ll try to impress everyone.”
“You’ll not merely try, my dear. You’ll succeed.” Lydia closed Stephanie’s bedroom door behind her and returned to her own room. She needed to take a nap herself after that scene. With Eden now a countess, Stephanie had to do at least as well. Lydia simply would not allow Sarah’s daughter to outshine her own. As she drifted off to sleep, she ran through a mental list of eligible bachelors until she was satisfied there were several who would find her daughter absolutely irresistible that night. She was determined that they would soon have another wedding in the family, and this time an appropriately elaborate one that would be the envy of all her friends.
It was dark by the time Raven reached the Jamaican Wind. He went to his cabin to clean up before supper, but found he had little appetite despite the long walk Stephanie had caused him. At every party he had attended, she had always been surrounded by eager admirers so he could not honestly believe she had actually missed him.