Page 51 of So Wild A Heart

Miranda ignored her momentary flash of uncertainty and held out her hand to the woman. “It’s nice to meet you, Lady Vesey. I am enjoying meeting Lady Ravenscar’s friends. If only we had known you were here, we would have sent you an invitation.”

Leona bridled a little at the suggestion that she was of an age with Devin’s mother, but there was no way that she could refute the statement. So she smiled, chalking the remark up to Miranda’s naivete, Miranda felt sure. “Thank you. You look so nice, my dear. Lady Ravenscar must have enjoyed fitting you out with clothes.”

Miranda chuckled. “You conjure up an interesting picture of me before I met Lady Ravenscar.”

“I am afraid I didn’t have enough time to accompany Miranda on her shopping expeditions,” Devin’s mother said, continuing the duel with Leona. “Fortunately, she has a wonderful sense of style and an understanding of what is appropriate and what is not.”

Miranda enjoyed seeing the faint flush rise in Leona’s cheeks. Lady Ravenscar had made a direct hit with her last statement. With great ingenuousness, Miranda went on, “You must come call on us, Lady Vesey. I would so love to talk to you again. I am sure that I will need all the advice I can get from ladies like you, who have been married a long time.”

The same quiver of expression crossed Leona’s face, a mixture of insult and uncertainty whether Miranda knew that she had been insulting or was simply too ignorant to realize what she had said.

“Yes. I would love to call on you.”

“Won’t that be delightful?” the old woman, Miss Vesey, said happily, and Miranda smiled at her with true warmth.

“You must come, too, Miss Vesey.”

“Of course, my dear. I wish you very happy, Lady Ravenscar.”

Leona added, “Yes, of course. Very happy.” She hesitated.

Miranda suspected that Leona had started to say her name as her elderly aunt had, but the words had stuck in her throat. Miranda thought that Leona had come because she had wanted to cause a stir, as well as get a glimpse of Miranda and remind Devin of who he really loved. But Miranda guessed that Lady Vesey had not thought through the whole idea of having to greet and congratulate her lover’s wife.

“Thank you, Lady Vesey,” Miranda replied, making it more difficult for her.

“Lady Ravenscar.” The words grated out of her throat, and then Leona turned and followed her husband’s aunt down the line.

Uncle Rupert said little to Leona, merely gave her a glance of horror, and Rachel favored the woman with a freezing look. Lord Westhampton was perfunctorily correct. To Miranda’s amusement, however, her own father greeted Lady Vesey with the same unrestrained delight he had displayed all evening. He chatted with the aunt and pumped Leona’s hand as he talked to her, chattering on in his amiable way about his daughter, Ravenscar and Darkwater.

Devin cast a sideways glance down at Miranda, gauging her reaction. He leaned closer to her and whispered, “I am sorry. I had no idea….”

“No. I am sure you did not,” Miranda replied equably and gave him an unconcerned smile. She had no intention of giving vent to her jealousy, least of all in front of Devin.

There were not many more guests to greet after that, and when the line broke up, Devin took Miranda’s hand and led her toward the floor. Every eye turned toward them expectantly, and the guests edged back to give them room. Devin nodded to the musicians at the end of the room, and they struck up a waltz. He turned to Miranda and offered her his hand, and she took it, moving into his arms as they began the steps of the dance.

She felt a trifle conspicuous, circling the floor, just the two of them, but it was a wonderful feeling as well, being in Devin’s arms, feeling his hand pressing against the small of her back, following him as naturally as breathing. She thought with a wicked little rush of pleasure of Leona having to watch the dance. Leona, she hoped, had gotten something different from what she had expected when she decided to invade the wedding celebration tonight.

While everyone was watching the newlyweds gracefully circle the room, Lady Ravenscar turned to her daughter and pulled her aside, whispering, “Did you have any idea that woman was planning to come here tonight?”

“No!” Rachel looked appalled. “Of course not. I would have told the servants not to admit her. I didn’t even know she was staying at Vesey Park.”

“She can’t have been here too long, then,” Rachel’s mother replied. “She usually creates a great stir when she does deign to visit the estate. She certainly did the first time she came.” Her mouth tightened, as much of a grimace as Lady Ravenscar ever allowed herself.

Rachel knew she was referring to the first time Devin had met Leona, when he had been only a boy of seventeen and had fallen in love with her with all the heat and urgency of which only an adolescent boy is capable.

“Well, at least the girl doesn’t know anything about her,” Lady Ravenscar said. “I started to give that witch the cut direct, but I knew that would give Miranda a hint that something was up where Lady Vesey was concerned. It was an insult to Miranda, of course, but as long as she does not know it was an insult, it won’t hurt her.”

Rachel, however, was well aware that Miranda did indeed know who Leona was and what significance she played in Devin’s life, so as soon as the dance was over, Rachel moved toward Miranda.

The bride was engulfed by well-wishers as soon as she and Devin walked from the floor and he bowed to her, releasing her hand and turning her over to them. Miranda, coming back to normalcy with some difficulty after the romantic dance, struggled not to look after Devin’s retreating figure to see if he went straight to his mistress. She conversed with the strangers as best she could, relieved when Rachel appeared and tucked her hand through her arm, smiling at the others and saying that she must steal her new sister away.

Rachel led her deftly out of the room to the hall beyond and over to a secluded alcove, which held an empty window seat. “I am terribly sorry,” she told Miranda as soon as they were out of earshot of the other guests. “I had no idea she was even in the area. I wouldn’t have dreamed that even Leona would have the gall to come here tonight!”

“It’s all right,” Miranda assured her with more calm than she felt. “I think it all went well enough.” She smiled at her new sister-in-law. “And the dance was divine. I am too happy right now to worry about Lady Vesey.”

“Are you?” Rachel asked delightedly. “Are you truly happy?”

“I am. Though not as happy as I hope to be in the future.”