Chapter11
Engaging in an affair this season hadn’t been Aurora’s plan, but it was harder to forget about Sullivan’s passion when they were apart than she’d ever imagined it could be.
It had been almost two weeks of secret meetings with Drew, of sly touches, stolen kisses and those glorious afternoons making love as if they were the only two people in the world. Never in a hundred years had Aurora imagined such a perfect arrangement could be hers with a gentleman of the ton. Drew had even stopped asking her to marry him, too. That made their time together utterly perfect in her opinion.
When they were alone, Sullivan barely resembled the man she’d once thought him to be. Gone was the proper, serious lord concerned with keeping up the appearance of a respectable man of society. In private he was playful, affectionate, and usually naked…or at least half dressed. He made her crave his hands on her body every moment of every day they were together, which was why it was so hard to say no to him every time he asked to see her again.
But they only planned so far as their next meeting, the next day, which suited her purpose. She could not give him more than one day at a time.
She carefully fluffed out the skirts of her new sky-blue silk gown she’d chosen specially to wear for the night’s amusements. She was looking forward to showing it off to Drew without anyone ever realizing she wore it because he liked the color on her. Every time she wore blue, Drew became particularly amorous. She wanted to see if she could tempt him to misbehave, or at least think about doing so.
She had not spotted him yet, but he had mentioned he would be attending Lady Rothwell’s ball tonight. Aurora’s attendance would be a surprise for him, having been a last-minute decision by Eugenia to attend, and take Aurora along, too. If Aurora had known she would be here tonight, she would have arranged a rendezvous to meet Drew in some secluded, out-of-the-way place. There were certainly enough dark corners in the poorly lit home, to her eye.
Aurora tripped along behind the Duke and Duchess of Exeter, nearly bouncing on the balls of her feet in her excitement to see Drew’s face again. She had to suppress a groan each time the duke or his wife stopped to speak with someone they knew. The pair were quite tall, and blocked her view farther into the ballroom.
She glanced sideways at Eugenia as her cousin was introduced, and then waited impatiently for it to be her turn to meet another society stalwart.
At the mention of her name, she offered her best smile, but it faltered when she heard the man introduced as the Duke of Northport.
Drew’s father.
She dipped a curtsy, her mind in a whirl. This man had harassed his oldest son to marry again before he was truly ready. She knew a great deal about him, and not much she considered good. If not for familial pressure, Drew might have been a lot happier, and might never have needed to meet her and her cousins, either.
The older man nodded. “Well, Exeter, I see you’re still a draw for beauty despite your recent marriage to this remarkable woman,” Northport said as he gestured to the duchess. “Young women still flock to your side.”
“They hardly ever flocked,” the duke replied with a dismissive laugh. “But the younger lady is not here for me, but is a guest of her cousin, who you might recall married my heir this past year. Miss Hillcrest has beauty to match her older cousin, Mrs. Berringer, and is possessed of a great wit and intelligence to go with it,” the duke murmured with a fond nod in her direction.
Northport was shorter than his son, and rather stern. He had the most amazingly wild eyebrows though. They dominated his face, and made Aurora want to laugh and tease him about them. But she knew from Drew that Northport wasn’t the sort of man who would tolerate any sort of playfulness.
His brows drew together in a frown as he looked upon her smiling face. “Miss Hillcrest, did you say?”
“Yes, Your Grace,” she answered, but her skin began to crawl as he continued to stare. She began to worry that he might know something about her, and she feared Drew had mentioned her by name as a potential bride. But she lifted her chin, determined not to reveal any distress over that possibility. “Miss Aurora Hillcrest.”
His gaze flickered from her to Eugenia and back again. When he looked at Aurora, she saw utter disapproval. “How do you do?” But he said it dismissively. Coldly. As if he’d stumbled upon someone unpleasant he was forced to acknowledge anyway.
She kept a smile fixed on her face. “Very well, thank you.”
Northport turned back to Exeter immediately, and the two arranged to speak later, though about what he didn’t say. Then with one last glance her way, he stalked off into the ballroom.
Exeter stared after him. “That was odd.”
“How so, my love,” the duchess murmured, running her hand up her husband’s arm affectionately, as she so often did.
“I don’t know. Something is certainly on his mind tonight,” the duke said quietly, and then patted his wife’s hand with a smile. “But this is neither the time nor the place to question him about it. I’m sure to find out later, never fear, and then I’ll tell you all about it. It’s probably nothing of any importance.”
“Yes, most likely nothing important at all,” the duchess agreed.
Aurora gulped again, and prayed it wasn’t about her and Drew meeting in secret. She had not told Eugenia yet, and Sylvia was still away from Town, so she didn’t know either. She had not meant to keep her affair with Drew a secret from them, but how could she say anything at all without getting their hopes up? Her cousins wanted her to marry, and they liked Drew very much, knew too well that he was looking for a bride. Arguing with them about why she refused Drew’s repeated proposals was something she’d like to avoid.
Aurora sought to recover her excitement in the evening, but it wasn’t quick in coming. Though finally, she could see beyond the Exeters to the milling crowd.
The dancing had already started, couples farther in twirled together elegantly, and Aurora still hoped to join them. She owed Drew a dance. She hadn’t forgotten her promise to dance with him at the next ball they both were attending. This was meant to be the night to put him first on her dance card for once.
But with his father here tonight, and the way he looked at her, she was anxious about giving her interest in Drew away now. If they danced together, would anyone notice that perhaps they might look at each other with too much interest?
Tonight, her empty dance card burned in her hand, and she lowered her eyes so as not to encourage anyone to approach her. She had assumed to see Drew first and quickly, so he might claim any spot on her dance card the following sets. Unfortunately, they had arrived so late, and the ball was well underway.
It seemed to take an eternity to reach the ballroom perimeter at the slow pace the Exeters moved.