One Night for Love

them and he was on the verge of declaring himself. She tried not to think about him. She had a life to live. But that life was so very dreary at present. She looked forward to the evening party Elizabeth had been planning for several weeks. It was expected to be a large gathering. Lily's fame had reached new heights after the incident at Vauxhall. Besides, invitations to Elizabeth's select parties were always coveted.

Lily dressed carefully for the occasion. She intended to enjoy herself and to acquit herself well. She was to be in the nature of a hostess since she lived here, and that was an entirely new venture for her.

'What do you think, Dolly?' she asked her maid before going downstairs. 'Am I beautiful or am I beautiful?' She pirouetted, her arms held gracefully to the sides.

'Well, I don't know as how either word would describe you exactly, my lady,' Dolly said, her head tipped to one side, one finger against her chin—Dolly had never stopped addressing her as if she were a countess. 'If you was to ask me—which you are doing—I would say you look beautiful.'

They both laughed, tickled at the sorry joke.

'You always look lovely in white,' Dolly continued. 'And lots of ladies would kill for all that fine lace. You need some jewelry, though.'

'Shall I wear the diamonds or the rubies?'

They chuckled together again, and Lily fetched her locket from the drawer beside her bed. She had not worn it since Vauxhall—that very special occasion that had gone all awry. But she would not be superstitious. She touched a hand to it after Dolly had clasped it about her neck. Oh yes, he had been right, she thought, closing her eyes briefly. The locket made her papa seem closer and reminded her of her mama. But most of all it made her think of him taking her to the jeweler's to have the chain mended so that she could wear it again.

'He will come back, my lady,' Dolly said.

Lily looked at her, startled. Her maid was nodding sagely.

'Gracious,' Lily lied, 'I was not even thinking of him, Dolly.'

'Then how do you know which him I was talking about?' Dolly asked saucily, and went off into peals of laughter again.

Lily was still smiling as she went downstairs. The guests began arriving almost immediately, and she had no time for further thought or brooding. She concentrated on her posture and smiles, on listening and on saying the right things. It was not so very difficult after all, she was finding, to mingle with the ton. And most people were kind to her.

She was in the book room about an hour later with Elizabeth, the Marquess of Attingsborough, and two other gentlemen. Mr. Wylie had asked her in the drawing room if she had taken out a subscription to any of the libraries, and the marquess had informed him that Miss Doyle could not read but they would not hold that against her as she was certainly one of the loveliest young ladies in town. Lily had been unwise enough to protest indignantly that indeed she could read.

Joseph had grinned at her. 'People who tell fibs, you know, Lily,' he had said, 'go straight to hell when they die.'

'Then I shall prove it to you,' she had told him.

That was why they were in the book room. Lily had challenged the marquess to withdraw any book from any shelf and she would read the first sentence aloud.

'Are there any books of sermons here, Elizabeth?' he asked, looking along the shelves.

'I say,' Mr. Wylie told Lily, 'I would take your word for it, Miss Doyle. I am sure you read very prettily indeed. And I cannot see that it matters if you don't. I was merely making conversation.'

Lily smiled at him.

'Gallantry to ladies,' Elizabeth said, 'was never Joseph's strongest point, Mr. Wylie. There are no sermons, Joseph. I hear enough at church on Sundays.'

'A shame,' he muttered. 'Ah, here, this will do—The Pilgrim's Progress.' He made a great to-do about drawing the leather-bound volume from the shelf and opening it to the first page before handing the book to Lily.

She was laughing and feeling horribly flustered at the same time. She felt even more embarrassed when someone else appeared in the doorway and she saw that it was the Duke of Portfrey. He must have just arrived and had come to greet Elizabeth.

'Ah, Lyndon,' she said, 'Joseph has insulted Lily by claiming that she is illiterate. She is about to prove him wrong.'

The duke smiled and stood where he was in the doorway, his hands clasped behind him. 'We should have had a wager on it, Attingsborough,' he said. 'I would be about to relieve you of a fortune.'

'Oh, dear,' Lily said. 'I do not read very well yet. I may not be able to decipher every word.' She bent her head and saw with some relief that the first sentence was not very long; neither did it appear to contain many long words.

' 'As I walked through the wild-er-ness of this world,' ' she read in a halting monotone, ' 'I l-lighted on a cer- tain place where was a den, and I laid me down in that place to sleep; and, as I slept, I drrr-eamed a dream.' ' She looked up with a triumphant smile and lowered the book.

The gentlemen applauded and the marquess whistled.

'Bravo, Lily,' he said. 'Perhaps you are bound for heaven after all. My humblest, most abject apologies.' He took the book from her hands and closed it with a flourish.

Lily glanced toward the Duke of Portfrey, who had taken a couple of steps closer to her. But her smile died. He was staring at her, all color drained from his face. Everyone seemed to notice at the same time. An unnatural hush fell on the room.

'Lily,' he said in a strange half whisper, 'where did you get that locket?'