Radiance (Diamonds of the First Water #3)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

E dward had been reluctant to escort his sister.

“This is a bad idea,” he’d said to his mother the day before when summoned.

“Why do you say that? In any case, your private reservations don’t matter. I have told you I cannot go with her. If your Aunt Gertie weren’t suffering so, but she is. Therefore, it must be you at this late notice.”

Edward had gritted his teeth. His aunt was prone to dramatic fits of whatever suited her and loved to inconvenience her sister-in-law. Whether by buying an ugly rubber necklace simply to annoy his mother or making her feel guilty enough to keep his aunt company.

In his gut, he had known Radiance would be there. Moreover, polite behavior dictated he greet her. He previously had thought he could be callous enough to give her a cut direct, a rumping as it were. It would have put the nail in the coffin, and he ought to have had the fortitude to do it. For her sake.

However, when faced with her glorious beauty, in an emerald green gown that shimmered when she moved, he’d been compelled to go over and say hello.

Literally, he had been unable to help himself. What a ninny!

Yet he hadn’t expected her mother to practically force a dance between them. And now, despite wanting to keep Radiance at a safe distance, he spent the evening watching over his sister’s virtue and looking forward to the final dance.

He had to watch Radiance dance with what seemed like a hundred other men. The best was when Weighland tripped twice and ended up escorting Radiance from the floor before the dance had ended. Her face was a picture of annoyance.

The worst was watching her dance with Lord Castille, a jovial viscount, known to be looking for a wife, according to Lillian, who was narrating the entire evening for him. Radiance seemed to thoroughly enjoy dancing with him. She also ate supper by his side before dancing a second time as his partner, still looking genuinely happy.

Edward wanted to pop Castille a sneezer so his perfect face was a little less so. A childish fancy, as he never brawled unless attacked.

At long last, he went to claim Radiance. Their dance was a slow waltz. Of course it was!

“You look lovely this evening,” he said. It was a stupid remark. It implied that sometimes she didn’t.

As he deserved, her expression was cool. Moreover, she remained as stiff and distant as it was possible to be while dancing. Somehow, she did it expertly.

She also remained utterly silent. He deserved that, too. Regardless, he enjoyed having her close, and his body reacted accordingly.

“Lilacs,” he suddenly blurted, making her actually look at him directly in the eyes for the first time. Her nostrils flared delicately, but still, she said nothing.

“I have only just identified the fragrance you wear.”

Her expression was nothing so much as a sickly grimace.

Flaring his fingers across her lower back, he felt Radiance flinch and tried to tamp down his own ardor. He could at least tell her of his meeting with the footman.

“I spoke with a footman named —”

“Draper,” she snapped.

He was stunned into momentary silence. When she arched a knowing eyebrow, he felt a surge of annoyance. She wasn’t going to go quietly out of the investigation.

“I suppose you already know what he said, too.”

She shrugged delicately. “How could I?”

“I don’t know how,” he groused, “but you do.” The meeting had been useless. The footman recalled nothing unusual. The man simply collected the brooch in a velvet and satin box and took it to the Palace. He was an ordinary man, still working for Her Majesty, and so unlikely a criminal even Edward didn’t suspect him.

They lapsed into silence once again, and Edward tried to enjoy the end of the dance. It struck him hard that he might never have Radiance Diamond in his arms again and stroked her back before realizing what he was doing. Her suddenly wide green eyes indicated she’d felt his moment of weakness and indulgence.

The devil take him!

When the music ended all too soon, he escorted her back to Lady Diamond, a lovely older version of the woman with whom he’d fallen in love — if he were honest about his feelings.

“Thank you for the dance. I bid you good evening.” With his body still throbbing from the sight and scent of Radiance, he gave a shallow bow and walked away.

Edward felt a keen sense of loss. Reclaiming his sister, they rode back to their parents’ home with him lost in thought.

“You are morose, Brother.”

Lillian’s statement brought him out of his reverie. Looking out the window, he’d been trying not to forget a moment of the last dance, wondering if Radiance despised him.

“Could it be you are mooning over a particular gem of a lady?”

Was he? How pointless and immature.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” he muttered. Before she could delve into his private business, he turned the chessboard, as the saying went. “Did you find any gentleman worthy of your affections tonight?”

She sighed. “Not really. I danced with a few new partners. I don’t think any of mine were as captivating as your last one was for you.”

The devil! His sister was a minx.

Folding his arms, he went back to looking out into the darkness, ignoring her teasing laughter.

A fortnight passed without seeing Radiance again. Garrard was reportedly over in the Netherlands, and the Dutch jewelers would be on their way the following month. And Edward was no closer to determining who might have faked and stolen the Queen’s gemstones.

Since this wasn’t really his forté, playing at investigating — he tried not to let it consume his entire life. He had lectures to deliver, his new fascination with opals that had caused him to forget the letter to Mr. Neble, and lastly, the book he was writing, which detailed how various gemstones were formed, be they magmatic, metamorphic, pegmatites, or in the earth’s mantle.

Monty swatted at Edward’s pen while he wrote. When the distraction became too great, he collected his things, took a selection of gemstones from his collection, and headed to the Royal Institution on Albemarle Street. It was one of his favorite lecture halls. He was nearly an hour early, but he intended to write some notes for his book, knowing he would get more done without his feline housemate smudging the ink.

In the corridor, deep in discussion with a group of gentlemen, most of whom Edward recognized, was none other than Lady Radiance Diamond.

He stifled a groan. There hadn’t been a day out of the past two weeks that he hadn’t thought of her. Yet he also had felt relieved, no longer fearing for her safety. And there she was, dressed boldly in violet satin with ruffles and bows and cream-colored lace. If she was hoping to be taken seriously by the science-minded men of the Royal Institution, she was going about it all wrong.

However, if she was hoping to gain his attention, she had it. But that was a vain whim. She could be there for any number of reasons. There were other lecturers on the docket, although he wasn’t sure of their topics or, for that matter, if any were of interest to someone who liked gems and jewelry.

Except for his own.

Surely, she couldn’t be there for his lecture. As Edward passed the group, a number of the men known to him glanced up. Some nodded by way of greeting, while others jovially called out “Lockwood,” before directing their attention back to Radiance. She wasn’t speaking but listening intently to the learned Mr. Faraday, who had somehow managed to combine his extensive knowledge of chemistry and electromagnetism into a career of dazzling success.

In Faraday’s basement laboratory, the man could make glass, or he could make miniature electrical storms. Why, he’d even rotated light using his magnets in some way that Edward could not fathom. Yet strangely, the scientist was most famous in London for his well-attended Christmas lectures over the past twenty-five years. People bought tickets months in advance, and that reminded Edward to put the purchase on his calendar.

A jolt of jealousy shocked him. Despite the difference in their ages, Faraday had Radiance’s rapt attention, and in turn, she held that of the rest of the listeners. Willing her to acknowledge him, Edward had nearly given up hope when her gaze flicked up to his as he passed.

Startlingly chilled emeralds stared up at him and then dismissed him before he even had a chance to nod.

However, about forty minutes later, when the audience trickled in, she was among them. Radiance didn’t sit in the center as she had before, nor did all her attention focus on the front of the room. Instead, she was deep in discussion with a man who sat beside her. Not the bore from previously, Lord Woolley, but an intelligent-looking chap with dark hair and a strong profile.

The jealousy returned, racing through Edward from head to toe, a most uncomfortable sensation. Distracted, he knocked his papers off the table. Some swirled in the air a moment before they drifted to the floor.

All heads turned, and all eyes were upon him. He couldn’t look at Radiance because he knew she would lift a single supercilious eyebrow.

Coughing to hide his embarrassment, Edward crouched to gather his notes. Having stacked them again, he set his oversized satchel containing boxes of gems on the edge of the table and opened it. Monty raised his furry head, meowing furiously.

Laughter erupted within the auditorium. Having expressed his displeasure either at being kept in the satchel or at being disturbed, the cat hopped out onto the table and stretched, obviously having had a good sleep.

Edward shook his head. He’d ignored the unusual heaviness of the bag, thinking he’d brought an extra box of rocks by mistake.

“That’s a gem of a cat,” called out one of his associates.

“What mine did you dig it up from?” called another.

Edward smiled at the audience and waved a hand congenially, deciding it was better to be unaffected than all hot, bothered, and embarrassed. Nevertheless, he couldn’t let Monty roam free. If his cat made it out of the lecture hall and left the Institution onto busy Albemarle Street in the heart of Mayfair, Edward was likely to lose his house companion.

There was nothing he could do but pick up the errant wanderer who was about to jump down from the table. Monty let out a startled yowl.

Feeling helpless for an instant, Edward wondered whether he could shove the cat back in the bag without looking an utter fool. Radiance unexpectedly came to his rescue.

Rising from her seat, causing the rest of the audience to stand as well, she pushed her way along her row and then descended the central aisle until she was beside him.

“I would offer to take him, but I don’t know if he would stay on my lap for an entire lecture. However, I believe with this,” and she showed him a long narrow piece of green satin, which he realized had been around her neck and tucked down her décolletage, “you shall be able to restrain your cat.”

“Thank you,” he said, meaning it wholeheartedly.

A part of him, a very large part of him, wanted to bring her smooth scarf to his nose and breathe deeply. Luckily, he recalled he was in front of his peers and the public, clenching his fingers to stop himself.

“Set Monty on the floor, and I shall hold him,” she offered.

Doing as she suggested, Edward watched her bend down and wrap her hands around his cat’s chest, like a horse halter. Quickly, he tied the satin piece to Monty’s plain leather collar and then, after placing his satchel on the floor, secured the other end to its handle. Since Monty often enjoyed curling up in it, Edward could only hope he would do so again.

“Thank you, my lady,” he said softly, trying to catch her eye. Their heads were close. Their gloved fingers brushed in his cat’s fur. The temptation to touch her was almost unbearable.

Yet she returned to her seat without another word, which pained him. When the entire audience grew quiet again, he began. As usual, once he started talking about geology, he focused on the information, eager to impart it to those who wanted to know. The two hours passed easily with him holding up samples that he passed through the audience, and then it was over.

At the conclusion, as people shuffled out, Edward kept his head down, packing up his things, unless someone spoke to him, in which case he answered. Each time, he hoped it was Radiance.

When the room had emptied, she was gone.