Page 1 of Venus in Disguise

Family Trees

Prologue

Dearest Flo,

I hope you are well and bearing your confinement with fortitude, or ought I pray poor Henry is bearing your confinement with fortitude? The poor man must be at his wits’ end, for I know how vexed you become with the world when you cannot get out and about. Still, only another two months and you’ll have yet another wailing creature to clasp to your bosom. It’s bound to be another girl, you realise. Poor Henry and Oscar will not stand a chance.

As for the gossip you pleaded for, there is little to relate for now. Hart is in alt, having gained a commission to create his first ever garden at Hardacre Hall. Personally, I’d stay as far from Beresford as it was possible to get. A meaner spirited, bigoted old muckworm it would be hard to find. I am biased naturally, but he despises me for my mixed blood and looks at me like I’m tainted. I danced with his eldest daughter once, Lady Fidelia. He told me to keep my filthy hands off her. I exchanged a few words of my own but thank God no one else heard. If Pa had discovered that, I reckon he'd have called the old bastard out.

I’m going to the Duchess of Bedwin’s ball tonight. The male portion of the ton is all in a twitter, for Beresford is bringing his youngest daughter, Lady Narcissa. She came out last year and made quite a stir, not that I saw her. She was only allowed at a few select parties to dip her toe in the shark-infested waters of the ton. Though with a father like hers, I suspect it’s the men who are the catch, and she’s the one with the teeth.

We shall see.

Yrs etc,

Ash

―Excerpt of a letter to Mrs Florence Stanhope (daughter of Lady Helena and Gabriel Knight) from the Hon’ble Ashton Anson (son of Silas and Aashini Anson, Viscount and Viscountess Cavendish)

9th November 1849, Her Grace, The Duchess of Bedwin’s Winter Ball.

“It’s pitiful, really,” Ash mused, shaking his head. “Have they no pride? Look at them, making great cakes of themselves over that little chit of a female.”

His beautiful twin sister, Vivien, regarded her brother with amusement and took a sip of champagne. “So, you won’t be going and introducing yourself, then?” she asked, her dark eyebrows quirking in enquiry.

“Certainly not,” Ash said with a snort. “I never exert myself. She’ll come to me soon enough, and I shall enjoy watching Beresford seethe with fury when she does so.”

Vivien sighed. “Beresford is a loathsome toad. No one likes him, Ash. For heaven’s sake, don’t go out of your way to provoke him.”

“I have no intention of doing so. I shan’t give the girl the least bit of attention, so he can hardly complain of me sullying the sweet little innocent with my contaminating presence, can he?”

“No,” Vivien replied coolly. “But you know as well as I do what will happen if you ignore the girl. You may as well bed her now and be done with it.”

“Vivien, Vivien.” Ash tsked and frowned at his twin. “I never touch innocent girls, you know that. They need marrying.”

“Yes, you’d rather dally with ones who already enjoy that happy state,” Viv drawled, shaking her head. “Really, Ash, you’re worse than a tomcat.”

Ash shrugged and grinned at her, which only made Viv’s expression darken farther. “It wasn’t a compliment,” she said sternly.

With an unrepentant quirk of his lips, Ash replied with a sigh, “Ah well, what else is there to do but indulge in a little love affair? You know I never break up happy homes, but if the husband is a swine and bestows all his affection on tarts and opera dancers… sauce for the goose, my dear.”

“You’ll find your goose cooked one of these days,” Vivien said crisply, gaining herself a bark of laughter. “It’s not funny! It’s high time you settled down. I have four children already, Ash, and you’ve not provided a single playmate for them. Not only will they be grown up before you even consider settling down, but you’re wasting yourself and your talents.”

“Indeed, I am not,” he protested, smoothing a hand over a waistcoat that had received several admiring glances from the young bucks who strove to imitate such leaders of fashion as Ash had become. “I am exceptionally talented at looking beautiful, being adored, and punching great brutes in the nose. So here I am, glorious as ever, Mrs Crawford over there is quite desperate to adore me, and I have a fight at the club tonight. So, you see, sister dearest, I am putting all my talents to excellent use.”

Vivien threw up her hands. “Oh, Ash, you are impossible. I wish you would stop pretending to be such a vain, selfish peacock. You take nothing seriously and you don’t heed a word I say.”

Ash put a hand to his heart and affected a wounded expression. “Oh, but I do, I do,” he insisted, with such insincerity that his sister’s eyes flashed with vexation.

“Go to the devil,” Vivien replied succinctly, and stalked off.

Ash laughed and raised his glass to her as she stormed away. “Oh, I shall, Viv. I certainly shall.”

Ash watched her go and then turned as laughter, sparkling and light as champagne, caught his attention. He turned to see the ton’s newly crowned diamond surrounded by her admirers. The men vied with each other to get closer, each of them trying to capture her attention. Ash studied the girl with an expert eye, from her head to her toes, taking in the thick blonde hair swept back in a simple chignon. A single strand of pearls adorned her elegant neck, her fair skin flawless under the lamplight that touched her satiny flesh with gold. The gown was a delicate shell pink, almost white, and only emphasised her fragile beauty and innocence. It fit to her gloriously curved figure like a glove, splendidly highlighting a remarkably generous bosom for such a slight little thing. Whoever had the dressing of her had done a wonderful job, he had to admit. It was the perfect blend of provocation and artlessness.

His gaze travelled back up and he stilled as he found a pair of impossibly wide blue eyes staring back at him. He felt as much as saw the tremor run through her, the sharp intake of breath. Ah, there she is, he thought with amusement. Lady Narcissa gazed at him, her lush mouth slightly parted. Ash’s lips curled a little, a vaguely mocking smile as he wondered what her father would say if he saw her staring at him with such open interest. He held her gaze for a moment longer, and then deliberately turned his back and walked away.

Chapter 1