Page 53 of Eight for Losing, One for Loving

Chapter 14

Dear Cat,

I have received a letter from Lady Belinda Madox-Brown commanding me to attend her regarding a business matter, the details of which I am not to know unless I appear. Yet I am to arrive in the guise of a morning caller, so her father, the earl, does not know what I’m about. Apparently, you have vouched for my trustworthiness and discretion. What the devil have you got me into, you wretched creature?

The Earl of Keston is not a man I wish to make an enemy of. He’s a wicked old devil who likes to control everyone and everything. If I come a cropper, I shall murder you, and so you may tell that husband of yours, too.

―Excerpt of a letter from Mr Felix Knight (son of Mr Gabriel and Lady Helena Knight) to The Most Hon’ble Catherine ‘Cat’ St Just, Lady Kilbane (daughter of The Most Hon’ble Lucian and Matilda Montagu, the Marquess and Marchioness of Montagu).

25th June 1850, Mrs Fanshaw’s Modiste Shop, Newmarket, Suffolk.

Leo was enjoying himself enormously, Vi thought with a sigh. Having already put her to the blush by choosing a variety of undergarments and nightwear which Vi considered nigh on indecent, he was now compounding matters with his ideas on appropriate gowns.

“It’s red,” she replied, stating the obvious. It was also daringly low cut and clung to her curves in a way that made her look like someone she hardly recognised. Good lord, she might be his mistress in this getup!

“It is.”

Vi turned away from the looking glass, unable to read the strange note to his voice. It became clear as she met his eyes. Oh. Vi swallowed, turning back to the looking glass and surreptitiously studying Leo in the reflection. He looked… hungry, she thought, with an odd sensation uncoiling low in her belly. Heat rushed over her skin, and she felt suddenly breathless. Goodness.

“Well, Mrs Hunt, will you take the red gown? I know it’s a rather daring choice, but—”

“Yes!” Vi said before the woman had the chance to persuade her. Her voice seemed alarmingly high and squeaky and so she cleared her throat and said a little more calmly, “Yes, I will take it.”

She glanced nervously back at Leo. He was smiling at her, but it was a somewhat alarming, predatory smile that did not help her with the sudden lack of air in the room.

“If you would help me, Mrs Fanshaw, I believe I have enough gowns now.”

And I believe my corset is laced too tightly, she added silently, hurrying from the room to change her gown.

Leo chuckled to himself as Vi fled. She was such a darling. Bold and brave enough to tell him he was an idiot and put him in his place, he had only to look at her without disguising the desire in his eyes, and she turned into a blushing schoolgirl. It was quite delightful. Not that he wished for her to be made uncomfortable, or afraid, certainly not that, but he did not believe it had been fear in her eyes. She had ordered the red gown.

He congratulated himself on having bribed Mrs Fanshaw an extraordinary amount to change whatever orders she had made for other clients to fit Vi. There were going to be a few annoyed ladies who would have to wait a little longer for their orders, but it had been worth it. He’d have paid five times as much just to see Vi in that red gown, never mind the other things he’d bought for her. Happily, the redoubtable Norton had brought Leo’s own belongings back from town with him, so he needed nothing himself.

Sitting back in the comfortable chair provided for husbands or protectors, Leo sipped the surprisingly decent glass of brandy. No wonder Mrs Fanshaw was popular. She was not only clever with her designs, but she made every effort to make the male visitors to her shop welcome. The latest racing journals lay in neat piles on the table, alongside scandal sheets and a tray bearing pastries and sandwiches.

Leo ignored the journals, more interested in considering Vi. God, to see her in that gown only confirmed everything he had known and yet underestimated, for she had taken his breath away. She had been hiding her light under a bushel. Oh, she had always dressed beautifully—elegant and with style—but she was not as bold as she might be. Her choices always trod the line of what she deemed proper for a woman ‘past her prime’ as she insisted on believing herself. What tosh. He had never seen Vi look more beautiful. As a young woman she had been pretty indeed, lovely in fact, but now, with a little more maturity and her figure a touch fuller, she was stunning.

He took another sip of the brandy, his thoughts drifting to the lovely bits of nothing he had insisted she buy as nightwear. Leo grinned, aware he had shocked her but entirely unrepentant about it. In his opinion, it was time Vi woke up and realised just what kind of woman she was. Somehow, despite being loved and cosseted by Kitty, who was a woman of fiery passions herself, Vi had come to see herself as something less than she was. Leo intended to change that view entirely, and he was going to thoroughly enjoy himself in the process.

The time passed pleasantly enough, though he was getting impatient to see Vi again when a rustle of expensive fabric made him look up. He almost gasped when he saw the vision before him.

There she stood, the woman he was to make his wife. His heart gave an uneven thud and for a moment, his legendary charm deserted him. He could only gape. The walking dress was a spectacular deep yellow gold. He had known it was perfect for her the moment he’d seen it and asked Mrs Fanshaw to persuade Vi into it. The gown hugged her figure perfectly, and Mrs Fanshaw had paired it with delicate yellow kid half boots and gloves and a charming bonnet framed with yellow silk roses. “Good God,” Leo finally managed, which was a mistake.

Vi’s face fell. “I told Mrs Fanshaw it was too much,” she said in dismay. The glow that had been visible in her eyes just moments before faded at once. “It’s too dashing, too—”

“Shut up, you darling idiot,” Leo said, pushing to his feet and crossing the space between them. He took Vi’s hands in his, raising each in turn and kissing her knuckles. “Though I admit it was not my most eloquent comment, that was a compliment, love. You look splendid, glorious—” He paused, moving away a step to give her a slow, lingering look up and down. “Edible,” he added in a low, provocative voice.

She blushed scarlet but he could tell she was pleased all the same.

“You really like it, you don’t think—”

“I do not,” he said firmly. “I do think you are the most ravishing creature I have ever seen, and I have never been prouder of anyone or anything.”

“Thank you, Leo,” she said, meeting his eyes properly now, happiness shining there. Leo suddenly felt quite winded. He had put that look in her eyes. Him! How extraordinary! He was going to make her happier still before the night was over, though he rather suspected that would shock her a good deal, too. It was all in a good cause, he told himself, squashing any concerns about propriety. Kitty would certainly give him her blessing and they would be married as soon as they returned to Tadlow… though he had not yet asked Vi properly. That needed dealing with in style. Vi deserved the best of everything when she had missed out on such a lot of fun by keeping herself out of society.

“Ready to return to the inn?” he asked. “I’d love to show you off about the town, but I think we’d best keep a low profile for now.”

“Indeed, they might mistake me for your mistress,” she said mischievously.