'Oh,
John finally gave up trying to arrange his cravat and yelled out, 'Wheatley!' Then he turned to Belle and said quickly, 'I value our lives more highly than your parents' opinions, and you'd do well to remember that.'
'John, I really think we'll be fine as long as we stay near Alex and Dunford. Maybe we'll even have a chance to trap-oh, hello Wheatley. His lordship seems to be having a bit of trouble with his cravat. I'm afraid his foul mood has drained the dexterity from his fingers. Do you suppose you could aid him in this endeavor?'
John's countenance turned quite black.
Belle returned his scowl with a bright smile and stood up. 'I'm going to see if the carriage is ready.'
'You do that.'
Belle turned to the door and took a step forward.
John sucked in his breath. 'Good God, woman, what are you wearing? Or rather, what aren't you wearing?'
Belle smiled. She had donned the midnight blue velvet gown she had bought a few weeks earlier when she was plotting to seduce him. 'Don't you like it?' she asked, keeping her back to him so that he couldn't see her grin.
That was a mistake, for the dress had no back, or at least very little of one. 'It's indecent,' John spat out.
'It is not,' Belle said, unable to work her voice into a properly protesting tone. 'Lots of women wear gowns like this. Some even wear light fabric and then damp it to make it transparent.'
'I will not have other men looking at your back. And that is final!'
Belle decided she didn't half mind his possessiveness. 'Well, if you put it that way…' She darted from the room and made her way to her own chamber, where Mary was waiting with another freshly pressed gown. Belle had had a feeling she'd be changing her attire. But she had accomplished her goal. She'd gotten John's mind off of Spencer for a few minutes at least.
After changing, she headed downstairs, arriving just as the front door opened to admit Alex, Emma, Dunford, and Persephone. The quartet was chattering very loudly.
'What are you doing here?' Belle asked.
Emma looked behind her to ascertain that the front door was still open and yelled, 'WE'RE TAKING YOU TO THE BALL TONIGHT!'
'You are?'
'OH YES!'
'But why?'
Emma saw that the butler was about to close the door. 'Don't shut that yet,' she hissed before turning to Belle and replying, 'BECAUSE YOU ASKED US TO!'
'Oh, of course. How silly of me.'
Lady Worth wandered into the hall. 'What on earth is all the commotion?'
'I haven't the faintest idea,' Persephone muttered, shooting an odd look at Emma.
'WE'RE TAKING BELLE AND JOHN TO THE BALL!' Emma bellowed.
'Fine. Be my guest, just stop shouting about it.'
Alex shut the door quickly and said, 'I've been urging her to get her ears checked. She's been doing this for three days.'
Emma took Belle aside and whispered, 'I just wanted to let our, er, enemy know that you're riding in our carriage tonight.'
'So I gathered.'
'He won't try anything with all of us in the carriage.'
'He could always cut an axle or something like that. Then we'd all be in trouble.'
'I don't think so. Too much of a chance that John wouldn't be the one to get hurt. He'll wait until later.'
'What are you two whispering about?' Caroline demanded. 'And what happened to your earache, Emma? I thought you could only shout. Come over here where it's lighter. I want to look in them myself. They probably just need a good cleaning.'
Emma grimaced but allowed herself to be led off to the next room.
'I think I'll follow along,' Persephone said. 'She's been acting curiously all evening.'
'Thank you,' Belle said as soon as her mother was out of earshot.
'Don't mention it,' Alex replied with a wave of his hand. 'Although we've been having a devil of a time keeping all this from Persephone.'
'She's very bright.'
'So I'm learning.'
'She's not going to let you pack her off to Yorkshire after having so much fun in London.'
Alex shrugged his shoulders before turning to more pressing matters. 'Where is your husband?'
'Upstairs scowling.'
'Trouble in paradise?' Dunford asked with a quirky grin.
'Don't even think of taking joy in my distress, you wretch.'
'Consider it a compliment. Nobody else's distress causes me nearly as much joy.'
'I thrill for you, Dunford.' She turned back to Alex. 'He's a little irritated at having to go tonight. He doesn't think it's safe.'
'It's not. But you can't remain a prisoner here forever. The Tumbley bash is probably the safest outing we could arrange. If Spencer tries anything we'll have a hundred witnesses. It will be easy to put him away.'
'I tried to explain that to him, but he wouldn't listen. I think he's worried about me.'
Alex smiled. 'Husbands are supposed to worry about their wives. It's a lesson I learned very quickly. There's nothing you can do about it besides refrain from excessively stupid behavior, of course. Now, when do you think he'll be down? We really should be on our way.'
'Any minute now, I should think.'
As if on cue, John appeared at the top of the stairs.
'Oh good, there you are,' Belle called out.
'Don't look so damned cheerful.'
Belle offered her companions an apologetic look to try to make up for her husband's surliness. The two men looked heartily amused, and so Belle simply shook her head and waited for John to join them. Stairs always slowed him down. Once he reached the bottom, however, he moved across the hall with surprising swiftness.
'Ashbourne. Dunford.' He greeted his guests with a quick nod.
'We thought it might be safer for you to come with us tonight,' Dunford said.
'Good idea. Where's Emma? Isn't she coming?'
'She's off getting her ears checked,' Belle replied.
'What?'
'It's a long story.'
'I'm sure it is,' he drawled.
Belle grabbed his hand and gave it a firm yank, pulling him to her side. 'I'm getting tired of your attitude, John.'
'Don't expect me to be pleasant for at least a week,' he hissed. 'You know how I feel about this.'
Belle clamped her mouth shut into a resolute line and turned back to Alex and Dunford. Alex was looking up at the ceiling and whistling to himself. Dunford was grinning from ear to ear.
'Oh, shut up,' she finally said.
'I didn't say a thing!' This came from both Dunford and John.
'Men. I'm sick of the lot of you. Emma! Emma! I need you! Now!'
Emma came tearing out into the hall with amazing speed. 'So sorry, Aunt Caroline!' she yelled over her shoulder. 'Belle needs me.' She didn't stop moving until she nearly barreled into Belle's side. 'Thank the good Lord and you, too, Belle. I thought she was going to kill me.'
