The Wedding Game(20)

*

Now they were home and getting ready for bed, it should be possible to relax. Although Amy had seen very little of it, tonight had been a success. Belle had spent the whole evening with Mr Templeton. Ben Lovell had been thwarted yet again in his desire to meet with her.

But she must be more careful in the future. After the few minutes spent with Mr Lovell, her nerves had been frayed to the point where she had been ready to forfeit her own reputation. It was fortunate that he had taken her dismissal of his suit so personally. Because they had begun talking about Belle, he had left angry and far sooner than he might have.

But when it had been just the two of them, alone in the dark and talking of nothing, things had been moving quickly towards a point where they would not have been talking at all. The feel of his kiss on her hand and his touch on her body would be her companions in bed for many nights to come.

Perhaps, when Belle was properly married to Mr Templeton, Ben Lovell might notice that there were other women worthy of his attention. There might even be one in the family he sought to join.

And if pigs flew it would not make them birds. Delightful as it was to be alone with him, she would never be anything more than his second choice. If she decided to marry at all, it should be to a man who loved her above all others. But feelings might change, with time. And it was not as if Ben Lovell had ever really loved Belle.

Then the familiar feelings of guilt rushed in to settle the matter for her. She should not even consider the possibility of her own marriage until she was sure that Belle’s future was assured. There were some things more important than personal happiness. Married or unmarried, her sister was unable to manage without help and it was Amy’s responsibility to care for her.

‘Did you enjoy the music tonight?’ Amy set aside the handful of pins she’d removed from Belle’s hair and reached for the comb, dragging it through her blonde curls.

‘It was pretty,’ Belle said, smiling at her in the mirror.

Amy smiled back and uttered a silent prayer that the risk she had taken was not in vain. ‘Did you enjoy the company?’

Her sister’s face went blank.

‘Did you like sitting next to Mr Templeton?’ Amy said.

‘He said I should call him Guy.’

This was progress. ‘What did you say to him?’

‘I told him he had a funny name.’

Amy winced. ‘And what did he say to that?’

‘He said it was a funny name. And he said my name meant pretty.’

This was much more encouraging. ‘He is calling you Belle, now?’

‘That’s my name,’ her sister agreed, unaware that such familiarity had meaning.

‘Did he say anything else?’ Amy held her breath.

‘We were listening to the singer.’ Belle gave her an impatient look to remind her that a concert was no place for conversation.

‘Of course.’ It was probably too soon to hope for a proposal, but Amy could not help it. She did not know how many more meetings with Mr Lovell she could stand. The man was both unbearable and irresistible.

‘Did you have a nice time with Ben?’

Amy fumbled the comb, nearly dropping it. ‘What makes you think I was with Mr Lovell?’

‘You were not with him,’ Belle said, smiling in surprise that her sister could not understand a simple question. ‘Guy said I was not to worry about you because you were with Ben.’

‘Of course.’ Mr Templeton had seen them in the hall. She must hope that no one else had.

‘Who is Ben?’ Belle fixed her with a bright-eyed stare.

‘He is not who I thought he was,’ Amy said absently. He might seem cold, but he was not without passion. He was ambitious, but if he meant to better the world, it was a virtue, not a vice. And he was not illegitimate. Had he ever claimed to be a duke’s bastard, or did the world jump to a conclusion that he did not correct?

But if he was not Cottsmoor’s son, then who was he?





Chapter Nine

To say that Ben did not like the hubbub of Vauxhall Gardens did not do justice to his feelings on the place. More accurately, he did not want to like it. It was enjoyable, in a plebeian sort of way. If he wished to be seen as the sensible sort of politician who could lead a nation, he suspected a pleasure garden should be beneath notice.

But somewhere beneath the polished fa?ade he’d cultivated, the simple youth he had been before meeting Cassandra was near to fainting with excitement at the prospect of a visit. There was music and dancing. Madame Saqui walked on a wire far overhead as balloons rose and fireworks lit the night sky. Try as he might to be aloof and sophisticated, how could he resist?

It was also a place where pretty, young girls wandered about, loosely chaperoned and eager to test boundaries that could not be breached under the watchful eye of Almack’s patronesses. It was a perfect place to separate Arabella Summoner from her overprotective sister and persuade her that, despite what she might have heard about him, he was the answer to a maiden’s prayers.

But, as usual, the younger of the two Summoner girls was eluding him and the elder was all too easy to find. As he moved through the crowd and conversed with friends and acquaintances, he asked discreet questions about Belle’s location. It seemed everyone had seen her just a moment ago. He remained perpetually one step behind.

And each time he stopped to reconnoitre Amelia was there, smiling in triumph. He would not be surprised to find that she was herding her sister around the grounds specifically to keep them apart. Amy Summoner had far too much time to meddle in the business of others. She needed some occupation other than arranging her sister’s life.