Midnight Angel (Stokehurst #1)(39)

Tasia clutched the handkerchief even more tightly. Her face was expressionless as she watched the pair leave. They were a handsome couple, both tall and magnificent. Stokehurst would be an ideal husband for Lady Harcourt. And it was clear that she wanted to marry him. A bleak feeling came over Tasia, and she set her teeth hard against the wobble of her jaw.

Moving slowly, she picked up the chair in her room, which had been knocked over in her stumbling haste. She restored the icon to its usual place. Her face felt hot and puffy. She touched her tender eyelids and winced at the sting.

“Oh, Miss Billings!” All of a sudden Emma rushed into the room, all flying curls and excited eyes. “Miss Billings, that horrible old witch is gone. I sent her away. Were any of the things she said true? Did you really live in a palace? Oh, you've been crying!” She threw her arms around Tasia. “Didn't my father find you?”

“He found me,” Tasia said, and laughed unsteadily.

As they descended the stairs, Iris kept hold of Luke's arm and looked at him with simmering displeasure. “Well, your shy little governess managed to ruin the evening with her theatrics.”

“I'd say your fortune-teller deserves all the credit.”

“Madame Miracle only revealed what the spirits told her,” Iris said defensively.

“I don't care if the spirits appeared in top hats and danced on the table. Madame Miracle should be shot.” Luke's mouth hardened. “Right along with me. Between the two of us, we managed to make quite a spectacle of Miss Billings.”

“Miss Billings made a spectacle of herself,” Iris corrected. “And what happened tonight is proof that she is dreadfully immature, Luke. You must hire someone of a more suitable age to teach Emma. They're a pair of scheming children. I wasn't going to tell you, but I overheard the two of them the other day, plotting to get you to marry Miss Billings!”

“What?”

“They're hatching a plot. Emma wants you to marry the governess. It's rather adorable, but at the same time, it should make you think twice about the wisdom of hiring a naive girl just out of the schoolroom—”

“You're making too much of it,” he said brusquely. “While I don't doubt my daughter's enthusiasm for her governess, I can assure you that Miss Billings has no ambition to marry me.”

“Being a man, you would be fooled by her facade. She's a conniving creature, and she's trying to manipulate the situation to her advantage.”

Luke gave her an ironic glance. “First she's naive, then she's conniving. Which is it?”

Iris marshaled her dignity. “Obviously that's for you to decide.”

“There's no need to be jealous.”

“Isn't there? What about the scene I just witnessed? Are you going to deny that she means something to you? Would you have touched her like that even if she were a homely old hag? Oh, she's set a neat trap for you. A lovely, helpless girl, all alone in the world, staring up at you with those big gray eyes, asking you to play the white knight and rescue her from her dreary little life…How could any man resist?”

“She hasn't asked for anything,” he said, stopping on the stairs to face her. “And they're blue, not gray.”

“Oh, yes,” Iris sneered, bracing her hands on her hips. “The color of mist on the lake. Or maybe violets touched with morning frost. I'm sure you can come up with some lovely comparisons on your own. Why don't you go upstairs and write an ode? Don't give me that condescending look, as if I'm being unreasonable! I refuse to compete with some scrawny girl for your attentions. I don't play well in a crowded field, and in any case I deserve better than that.”

“Are you working up to an ultimatum?”

“Never,” Iris spat. “I wouldn't dream of making it that easy for you! You want me to make you choose, and then everything will be convenient. I'd sooner cut my tongue out. Just don't make the mistake of coming to my bed tonight, or any night, until you can convince me that you're not pretending I'm her!”

His gaze raked insolently over her voluptuous figure. “It's not likely I'd confuse the two of you. But in any case, you won't be bothered with my attentions tonight.”

“Good!” Iris snapped, and sailed ahead without him, her skirts trailing grandly in her wake.

The rest of the evening was pure hell. Luke didn't ask or care if the guests were enjoying themselves. They had all assembled in the music room, partaking of refreshments while various members of the gathering volunteered to show off their skills at the piano. The group was buzzing with gossip beneath the strains of music being played.

Charles approached Luke, coming to stand with him at the back of the room. “Stokehurst,” he muttered, “what the devil is going on?”

Luke shrugged defensively and set his jaw. “I apologized to Tasia for my behavior. You can reassure Alicia that everything is fine.”

“I can't reassure her when I'm not convinced of it myself!” Charles sighed deeply. “Alicia and I would like Tasia to return to us. We'll find some other situation for her.”

“That's not necessary.”

“I believe it is. Good God, man, I asked you to keep her safe, to hide her…and you exposed her to your guests like some carnival attraction! It's only out of fear of drawing further attention to Tasia that Alicia has refrained from taking her away this very evening.”