Rescued by the Viscount

Charlotte shivered with what she could only think was sensual delight, though she had never experienced anything like it before. There was something in his tone and his look that made her feel special, as if she were the focus of his attention, of his world. The thought made her feel quite giddy with pleasure and she wished that she might be alone with him somewhere private, somewhere they might make love.

What was she thinking? Charlotte came to herself with a shock. She was allowing herself to be seduced by a man’s smile, by the caress in his voice and the stroking of those compelling eyes... She was reacting like a foolish girl of twelve, instead of a young woman of more than nineteen. Viscount Captain Delsey was a practised flirt and a rake; he thought nothing of breaking hearts and she had no intention of offering hers up as a sacrifice.

His eyes met hers with a quizzical look, as if he sensed her thoughts. ‘Please, make yourself comfortable, Miss Stevens. I see your mama making her way here with the others and I must speak to the waiter.’

Charlotte inclined her head, not quite trusting herself to speak. The viscount was undoubtedly a charming man, but also a heartless flirt, if the gossips were to be believed. She knew that he was regarded as one of the best catches on the matrimonial market, but he was unlikely to cast his hat in her direction. Indeed, most of the matchmaking mamas had given up hope of him. So if he seemed bent on capturing her interest it probably meant that he thought there might be a chance of seducing her into a clandestine flirtation...as he might well think if he’d seen her wearing her brother’s cast-off clothing.

It seemed likely that he’d recognised her as the urchin that he’d helped escape from unwelcome attention in the street—and a girl who would brave the streets at night dressed as a youth might be capable of anything. Indeed, she might so far forget herself as to be willing to indulge in something more than flirtation, might allow herself to be seduced. The thought sent waves of heat rushing through her once more and she struggled to compose herself. She must think of something else...a cool stream trickling through a sunset meadow...

Still feeling a little uncomfortable as her mama joined her, Charlotte decided that she must be careful in future. It would not do to become too intimate with the handsome viscount. Not only could he break her heart, he could ruin her reputation.

Yet when he returned with a trio of waiters, bringing a selection of all the choicest treats and two bottles of chilled champagne, Captain Delsey devoted himself to her mama and engaged her brother for a game of cards, before engaging his cousin for a drive to the park the next day. Since he paid Charlotte no more than polite attention, she was able to school her wayward thoughts, and, by the time he claimed his next dance, she had recovered her composure.

Try as she might, Charlotte could not hold back once he swept her away across the floor, her whole being given over to the joy of the music and the feeling of floating as she immersed herself in the dance. However, she did not let her thoughts drift to the desires that had formed during the first dance and was able to breathe easily and to thank her partner when the dance ended.

‘You dance like an angel,’ Delsey murmured in her ear. ‘I shall wait impatiently for the next time, Miss Charlotte.’

The sound of her name on his lips was like a caress. Such tactics were calculated to make foolish girls fall at his feet, but Charlotte was made of sterner stuff. She must and would resist the spells he wove—she had to for her family’s sake.

‘Thank you, sir. I must always be pleased to dance with such a delightful partner.’

She made him a deep curtsy and then walked away to join her mother, her back very straight, her head high, though every nerve in her body felt as if it were being torn apart by the loss of him. This was ridiculous! She hardly knew the man and she would be foolish beyond anything to let herself be drawn into his net, simply because when she was in his arms she was ready to cast aside the world for his sake. No, no, she would keep a guard between her and the charming viscount in future. She must remember who she was and what Mama expected of her rather than allowing herself to dream of passionate love in the arms of a man who fulfilled all her girlish hopes.

* * *

Three dances later the room began to thin of company and Lady Stevens told her daughter that they should be thinking of leaving.

‘I have promised that we shall take Miss Handley home for it is on our way, Charlotte. Julia is a very pleasant young lady and I have invited her and her mama to dine with us as soon as it may be arranged. She says she would like it if you would walk with her in the park tomorrow afternoon, and I thought you would so she will call for you at two.’

‘Oh...yes, of course, Mama,’ Charlotte agreed, though she seemed to recall that Delsey had made some sort of arrangement with his cousin for the following day. Yet she had not been paying attention and perhaps that had been for another day.

Because both young ladies had danced all evening they had had little time to become acquainted, but sitting in Mama’s comfortable carriage on the way home, Julia told Charlotte that she was looking forward to becoming better acquainted.

‘Mama has many friends in town,’ Julia confided, ‘but some of their daughters are so...well, to be kind, they are silly and have not a sensible thought in their heads. I think you are different, Charlotte. I should like it if we could be friends—and I know Jack likes you.’

Charlotte’s cheeks felt warm and she was glad that it was too dark in the carriage for Mama to notice. ‘What makes you say that?’

‘He seldom dances with very young ladies, but he danced twice with you—and he stood talking with you on every occasion you were not dancing.’

‘I dare say that was so that you might be comfortable with us,’ Charlotte murmured softly. ‘I think your cousin is an accomplished flirt, Miss Handley.’

‘Please, call me Julia. I hope I may call you Charlotte?’ Julia lowered her voice. ‘Jack has a terrible reputation, but he isn’t very wicked. I am sure he would never seduce an innocent young girl as some unscrupulous gentlemen do, but he cannot help it if the foolish ones break their hearts over him. If he takes a mistress now and then...well, all men do it, you know, at least until they marry.’

‘Who told you that?’ Charlotte asked in a whisper with a quick glance at her mother to make sure she was not listening.

‘Mama.’ Julia’s eyes sparkled. ‘She said it was quite the thing for young men and better than picking up...ladies of the night from the street. But of course, it should stop when the man gets married, though she confessed that it doesn’t always do so. My father has been faithful to her for ever, but she says she is lucky—and told me to make sure that I choose a man who will love only me.’

‘What are you two girls whispering about?’ Mama asked. ‘I believe we have arrived, Miss Handley. Pray tell your mama I should be happy if she will call and then we may all be comfortable together.’

‘Mama will be grateful to you for taking care of me this evening,’ Julia said. ‘She was worried for my papa or she would not have let me go alone with Jack—and he did not truly wish for it, but he’s such a dear that he could not refuse her.’

‘In future your mama may send you with us, should she be unable to attend a function to which we are invited.’

‘You are so kind,’ Julia said, thanking her again as the carriage stopped and a groom came to open the door for her, after first knocking at her house so that her footman had the front door open and waiting for her. ‘Goodnight, Charlotte. I shall see you tomorrow.’

‘Yes. I shall look forward to it.’

Charlotte sat back against the squabs after Julia had gone and closed her eyes, thinking of the evening she had enjoyed—and the partners who had given her the most pleasure. Captain Young and Captain Viscount Delsey—both of them were excellent dancers, but very different in other respects. Of the two, only Jack Delsey had made her lose control of her senses for a short time, though Christopher Young had come to her between dances and asked if he might take her driving one day.

‘I know we are not much acquainted,’ he’d said, ‘but I feel as if I have known you all my life—and I should like to know you better, if you would like it?’

‘Thank you. Yes, I should be happy to drive out with you one day,’ Charlotte had said, smiling up into his blue eyes. ‘You must call on Papa, sir. I am sure he would invite you to dine with us one evening.’

‘You did very well this evening.’ Mama’s voice interrupted her train of thought and Charlotte opened her eyes. ‘Sir Percival seemed quite taken with you—and I believe you danced every dance, my dear.’

‘Yes, Mama, I did,’ she agreed. ‘It was the most enjoyable evening.’

‘Did you know that Captain Young is the heir of Lord Sampson?’

‘No, Mama, I did not realise that,’ Charlotte said. Lord Sampson was a neighbour of Papa’s in the country, but the estates were some fifteen miles distant and Charlotte saw little of the elderly gentleman, who was something of a recluse.

‘Neither did I until Papa told me,’ her mama said with a look of satisfaction. ‘Lord Sampson is quite comfortably off, Charlotte—wealthy, in fact. His heir will be in possession of a large fortune in the future...but I do not imagine that he personally has the funds to settle Papa’s debts. Sir Percival is not as wealthy as one might like, but at least his fortune is his own. Not every gentleman is as fortunate, my love.’

‘No, I imagine not.’ Charlotte realised what her mother was telling her. The charming officer had prospects, but if her marriage was to ease her father’s burden of debt, she needed someone already in possession of a fortune: such as Sir Percival.

Turning her face aside, Charlotte swallowed the little lump that had formed in her throat. She had liked Captain Young very much...almost as much as Captain Delsey, but while the one might perhaps offer her marriage she was fairly certain that it was far from the mind of the other. Sir Percival was a pleasant gentleman, but he had not made her flesh tingle when he held her as they danced.

Tears stung her eyes for a moment as she wished that her father had not wasted his fortune and obliged her to think of such things. She longed to be free to follow her heart, but knew that in the end she might have to settle for less than she wanted.

Chapter Four (#ulink_272120bc-334c-5a0d-9acb-c676a3deff43)

Jack yawned over his brandy as he relaxed in his boldly patterned silk dressing gown, his feet stretched out before him, his head back against the soft leather of the comfortable wing chair in his private sitting room. What he had expected to be a tedious evening in the company of his cousin, of whom he was fond but not in the least enamoured, had turned out to be more promising than he’d imagined.

He had no idea what had made him flirt so outrageously with a certain young lady. Jack’s aversion to becoming emotionally involved with a beautiful girl ran deep and was of some years’ duration. Normally, he reserved his flirting for older—married, or widowed—ladies, who understood that nothing serious was meant or offered. After all, even if he was considering a marriage of convenience, he had no intention of ever allowing a woman to take over his heart and mind, to inflict the kind of pain that he knew could result from loving too much. He knew from experience how disastrous that could be, for he had learned it when very young and seen two people dear to him nearly destroyed by a love that was too powerful.

However, Miss Charlotte Stevens was a revelation. He’d known from the first that she was a bold minx, because of that escapade when she had narrowly escaped being abused by a pair of rogues. Though, in fairness, what was a man to think when a young woman went about dressed as a youth—and, according to one of the men, had been seen climbing out of a window?

Whose window might that be? Jack pondered the mystery, a half-smile on his mouth. Had she been visiting her lover—or was there more behind her reckless behaviour?

Having spent some time in her brother’s company, Jack was inclined to think that her mission might have been in some way related to him, simply because he was not the kind of young man to acquiesce to his sister behaving loosely. Indeed, Jack had seen him frown when Charlotte danced with a man who was known to have questionable morals. He’d been waiting to let her into the servants’ quarters that night, so he must have known where she’d been—but surely he could not condone his sister going out alone in the guise of a youth? It was far too dangerous!

Jack had seen enough of the girl at their first meeting to be intrigued, for she had a mischievous twinkle in her eyes and a way of laughing that caught one’s interest. There had been nothing in her behaviour then, or that evening, to suggest that she was wayward or indeed wanton. Yet in his arms she had seemed to become a different girl. Light and nimble, she moved with him instinctively and he did not recall having felt so swept away by passion while dancing ever before. When their waltz ended and she seemed a little dazed, he’d known an overwhelming urge to sweep her up in his arms and run away to somewhere quiet where they would not be disturbed. His arousal had been almost painful and he’d wanted to shower her with hot kisses and feel the satin softness of her skin as they lay together...but he’d known that he could not treat her in such a fashion. She was the daughter of a gentleman...but was she a lady?

Jack frowned, because the need to question made him angry. He did not wish to think ill of her—but what lady would act as she had? What could possibly have driven her to such reckless behaviour?

He could not bring anything to mind. Surely Matthew Stevens was not so careless of his sister’s safety that he would allow her to go wandering about alone at night...and why had she climbed out of a window? Had she also climbed into the window of a house across the park?

Jack frowned over it as he tried to remember who lived in the houses at the other side of St James’s Park. But of course, he couldn’t be sure how far those rogues had chased her before she ran from the park gates.