Chapter 3
“Young ladies, they are all alike,” Luke muttered to himself as he leaned back on the stone bench, chuckling to himself as the door closed behind the retreating figure of Miss Storey.
Yes, she is frightened of being in company with a man such as myself and what it could do to her reputation.
Luke had resolved long ago to have little to do with the younger ladies of theton.He told himself it was because of what had happened to his sister, but in truth, there was more to it. Young ladies still had an innocence they wished to hold onto, and Luke had no desire to be the man who would end that.
Tipping his chin back further, he peered up to the sky above the courtyard, seeing a few stars were out tonight, blinking blearily down at him. He tried to take what comfort he could in this moment of peace. Soon, he would have to return indoors to Jemima’s side, and he would have to put up with the curious and withering gazes of young ladies such as Miss Storey.
He chuckled once more at the thought of her retreat from him, shaking his head a little.
I am no danger to you, Miss Storey. None at all.
Finding it was surprisingly difficult to get the thought of the way those dark blonde curls had flicked toward him and how those green eyes had gone wide, he moved to his feet and went back inside.
As he moved into the ballroom, he was not startled to see Miss Storey had man a very hasty retreat from the courtyard and had clearly wished to put as much distance between them as possible, seeking out a position on the other side of the room. He glanced her way, letting his eyes dance over her slender curves, before snapping them upward again, realising what he was doing.
No young ladies. That is my rule.
The thought made Luke seek the crowds gathered for the ball, hunting for a face he knew. With ease, he found ladies staring back at him. It was often the way. They stared for one of two reasons. Either they rather liked the way he looked, or they were intrigued by his reputation and wanted to know more.
Luke walked through the middle of the ball, watching how many pairs of eyes fell upon him. He returned many glances with a smile, and some ladies snatched their gazes away as if burned to have been caught staring at him. Others did not look away. These were the ladies he was interested in.
Despite what the scandal sheets may have said of him, they did not get everything right. They painted him as a rake, but he had some principles. After seeing what had happened to Jemima, he didn’t hold much stock in the goodness of theton.
He had found himself falling into wayward ways, spending a few nights or a few months with a particular lady before they parted ways. Yet, he would never do to a lady what was done to Jemima. Any woman he charmed knew what they were getting into.
“Luke?” a familiar voice called to him. Luke looked round to see his good friend approaching him, Mr Adam Barton.
“Adam? You’re late for an event such as this,” Luke said as they shook hands warmly in greeting. “By now, you have usually charmed three or four ladies, and they are following you around the ball.”
“Am I that bad?” Adam said with a playful grimace.
“Courtesans have less followers,” Luke murmured drily, pulling a hearty laugh from Adam.
“Not tonight. I am under strict instructions that my ways have to change.”
“I see.” Luke nodded, having heard it all before. “Has your mother given you her usual ultimatum?”
“That she has. Marry or forever be known as my shame.” Adam pretended to shudder at the words. “You’d think the lady would come up with a better threat by now.” Despite the laughter, Luke saw something in Adam’s eyes. It was as if it was different this time.
“Did you believe her threat on this occasion?”
“A little,” Adam confessed and made an appearance of looking around the ballroom. “Let us talk of you instead of me.”
“That is not necessary.”
“It is more entertaining for me,” Adam declared, clasping his hands together.
“And more tiresome for me,” Luke added wryly.
“What of the Duchess of Bannerman?” Adam asked with a smirk upon his lips. When Luke didn’t return that smile, Adam’s own faltered. “Oh, has that particular flame become very small?”
“It has burnt to the ashes,” Luke explained. He glanced around to check they weren’t being overheard. Finding some ladies still staring their way, he took Adam’s shoulder and steered him across the room. “Let us say the Duchess and I had our time together, but that is at an end.”
“Did she decide the son of an earl was not high enough for her?” Adam chuckled. “From what I hear, that particular Duchess had ambitions now her husband has passed.”
“Perhaps, but her ambitions do not lie with me.” Luke glanced around the ball, rather glad he could not see the Duchess of Bannerman there that night. She had been the perfect distraction for a few months. They had been like-minded and of a similar humour.