watch the presentation. The women all looked jealous, while the men seemed relieved. It wasn’t often a man stayed in mourning for his wife as long as Griffin had. Audrey supposed he made the other widowers look bad for marrying again or taking on new mistresses within weeks of their wives’ deaths.
“You’re quite the catch, aren’t you?” she teased. “All the women look like they want to scratch my eyes out for being on your arm.”
Griffin helped her settle into a chair, then took his place beside her. “Or perhaps they are jealous because you are the most beautiful creature in the room.”
The pleasure from his comment warmed her from the root of her hair all the way down to the tips of her toes. The fact that Griffin found her beautiful was still a shocking one. When Audrey pictured herself, it was still as the gangly young girl who’d nearly tripped over her own feet to get close to the man at her side.
“You’re a flatterer,” she said, trying to look as if the comment hadn’t affected her so much.
“I tell the truth.” His tone didn’t return her teasing. Turning in his chair, he looked at her straight on, forcing her eyes to meet his. “You are beautiful. And there’s no one in this room I would rather be with than you.”
As he moved to sit properly in his chair again, Audrey turned her face away. Being around Griffin was confusing. Part of her was thrilled with his attentiveness and caring toward her. The other knew their association would come to an end and leave her yearning all the more for him.
“There’s Ellison,” Griffin whispered into her ear.
She spun around to look in the direction he was indicating and found herself locking eyes with Douglas Ellison. For the first time since she’d been introduced to him three months before, the man looked furious. He was staring at Griffin with a deadly glare. Audrey recognized what Noah had told her was true. Ellison thought of Griffin as a competitor for her affections.
Her first reaction was terror. Griffin was in far more danger now than she’d suspected, for Ellison would do whatever it took to get what he wanted.
Then, slowly, the fear dulled, leaving her with the realization that this was exactly the situation she needed. If she was to manipulate Ellison into a proposal to bring her closer to him and to his secrets, using Griffin might just work.
***
“It was a lovely ceremony, don’t you think?” Lady Charlton leaned closer to Noah with a breathy sigh as she twirled a strand of blonde hair around her finger.
“Lovely,” Audrey’s tone was flat as she arched an eyebrow at her brother and rolled her eyes.
Griffin nearly laughed as her brother flashed her a grin in return and looked down at Lady Charlton with a smile. “You always find the right words to describe such an event. Always eloquent.”
The woman dissolved into girlish giggles that grated on Griffin’s ears, but he nodded in polite agreement. Noah was awful, the way he teased his sister.
“What a happy foursome we make.”
Griffin stiffened as he turned, for he already knew who he would find behind them. Douglas Ellison.
Noah beamed as he straightened up a bit. “Ellison, where were you? My sister had begun to droop without your presence.”
Audrey smiled as if nothing could be truer, sending a shot of possessive anger through Griffin.
Ellison gave Griffin a pointed, irritated glare. “Somehow I doubt that. She and Lord Berenger looked very cozy when they came into throne room.”
Audrey stepped forward to touch Ellison’s arm. “You must have been mistaken. Noah here had become… involved…” She shot another glare at her brother. “With Lady Charlton. Lord Berenger was simply kind enough to escort me in his stead. I was looking for you all over. You cannot imagine my pleasure when I saw you across the room.”
Griffin clenched his teeth as Ellison’s stern face began to soften at her lies. The man truly believed Audrey cared for him, that she was his to claim. The thought was a sickening one.
“Then I wish you’d seen me earlier so we could have been seated together. I haven’t seen you since your unfortunate disappearance at the Trafalgar reenactment.” Again, he sent a cold glare in Griffin’s direction.
Audrey smiled as she took Ellison’s arm and leaned a fraction closer to him. “Yes, I do apologize about that unfortunate incident. As I explained in my note, I began to feel a bit ill. Lord Berenger was merely being overprotective of me by taking me home.”
She slanted a quick glance in Griffin’s direction and he saw a brief apology appear in her eyes.
“Is that what happened?” Lady Charlton asked with a blank giggle. “Some people have been gossiping about it.”
Griffin clenched his teeth as Audrey’s face paled just a fraction before she smoothed away the anxiety. “Well, you know how it is, Lady Charlton. People will make up a story if they can’t find a real one, won’t they?”
Griffin couldn’t help but stifle a smile as Lady Charlton’s dim expression suddenly became aware. Of course she was thinking of the rumors that had circulated after her latest husband’s death. Some of the crueler gossips even called her the Very Merry Widow.
“Yes, that’s very true, Lady Audrey,” the blonde woman said, blinking a few times as her cheeks reddened.
Noah arched an eyebrow at his sister. “Well, I see the dancing has begun. Perhaps you would do me the honor, Lady Charlton?”
“Of course.” The young woman smiled as if there had never been a problem.
“Idiotic woman,” Ellison growled as the pair disappeared into the crowd only to reappear on the dance floor a moment later.
“She’s only repeating gossip,” Audrey said with a small sigh. “As the
Griffin noticed the slight waver at the corner of her lips and wondered if she was thinking of the rumors five years ago. The rumors his wife had created. It stoked his anger even further, and his resolve to do the right thing when it came to Audrey and her future.
Ellison nodded with a triumphant grin in Griffin’s direction. “I would love a dance with you. We could continue our discussion… in
“Of course,” she said with a smile even Griffin would have taken as sincere. “If you’ll excuse us, Lord Berenger.”
He gave a quick nod, unable to speak for fear he’d say things he would later regret. Her assignment was dangerous enough without him adding his choice comments about the safety of spending time with blackguards and traitors.
As they moved out onto the dance floor, he scowled. It was even harder to watch Audrey in the arms of a madman now that he’d held her in his own. He didn’t want Ellison to have any claim on her, real or imagined.
Holding back a colorful curse, Griffin headed across the ballroom to the back where the porters were handing out champagne. It wasn’t exactly a strong brew, but it would do to take the edge of the rage boiling in his chest. He took two glasses and skulked to the back of the room. The last thing he wanted was to be noticed by the straining Mamas and hauled out to dance by a string of tittering, foolish girls.
Just as he reached the back corner of the room, he heard a laugh. It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary in a crowd, but the sound froze him mid-stride. As he slowly turned to face the noise, his mouth came open in shock. There, not ten feet away from him, was his mother.
Chapter Fifteen
Griffin didn’t remember walking across the room, but found himself at his mother’s elbow nonetheless.
“Mother?” he asked, interrupting her conversation. The women she was with moved away with smiles and brief greetings for him.
“Griffin!” She turned to give him a quick hug and a kiss on his cheek. “There you are!”
