Radiance (Diamonds of the First Water #3)

Chapter Thirty-Seven

R adiance hardly had the will to go to the Marlborough House ball, no matter having promised her friend that she would attend. In fact, Diana’s mother, Mrs. Stepney, was acting as chaperone to them both, and it would be the height of rudeness to beg off at this late hour.

Thus, she let Sarah dress her hair, fasten her stays, and help her into an elegant gown of the palest blue satin. Lastly, she donned her favorite earrings, the golden topaz ones. All the while, she recalled watching Edward during the meeting and feeling the same intense longing she’d always felt for him.

He had closed off any possible association between them. Yet whenever they met, he treated her as if she commanded his admiration. He was a riddle.

A mere seven days earlier, she’d confessed to Lord Castille the impossibility of a union between them. Breaking it off with John hadn’t been difficult except in trying not to hurt him. In truth, he’d been surprised more than anything as she’d given him no indication that she could not and would not fall head over heels in love. In truth, she had hoped to do so.

If she read his features correctly, it wasn’t only surprise he felt. She’d wounded him right in the heart of his pride. Should he appear at the ball, she could well imagine him rubbing her nose in his desirability by allowing other women to fawn over him. And they undoubtedly would. He was a good catch, as well as any she could wish for. But he wasn’t Edward.

She had no hope her geologist would come, although she did feel hopeful, oddly enough. As a Diamond, a family with a long history that included triumph and tragedy, Radiance had been taught to persevere. Moreover, she wasn’t going to give up on finding a mate altogether. At this particular time, however, she simply couldn’t bear being with the viscount or any other man who wasn’t Edward Lockwood.

Meanwhile, Radiance would support Diana as her friend searched for love, and she would certainly dance at the ball if any gentleman asked her. It was better than staying home and hiding under her bed clothes.

When Mrs. Stepney and Diana collected Radiance at her home, she decided to be as cheerful as a titmouse so as not to spoil their evening. Once they arrived at the Pall Mall entrance and alighted from the Stepneys’ carriage outside the symmetrically pleasing three-story structure of brick with white granite accents, Radiance thought she was already doing quite well at pretending.

Her smile didn’t slip when they entered the former home of Queen Adelaide, now being used by the Museum of Manufactures to house its collections. That night, not only would she dance, she would wander the special inventions that were dear to the Prince Consort’s heart.

Depositing their mantles in the cloak room, they went into the flamboyant baroque ballroom with its stunning black-and-white tiled floor. There was nothing else quite like it in London.

While Radiance was accepting a few gentlemen’s signatures on her card, John chose that moment to arrive. He wasn’t alone.

Striding into the room, drawing notice due to his height, Lord Castille escorted Lady Lucinda, with her raven-black hair and shimmery pale-pink gown. They were a stunning couple.

Radiance couldn’t wear that color without feeling ugly, which she’d always thought a bitter shame since she adored pink. Moreover, all three of her sisters looked divine in even the palest shade of rose due to having hair the color of Lucinda’s.

Lady Chetney, Lucinda’s mother, strolled in behind them, looking like a cat that had swallowed the cheery little bird Radiance was trying so hard to mimic.

Having known the viscount would be snapped up the moment she released him, Radiance ought not to be surprised in the least. Still, it was strange to see him arrive with another woman when they had been exclusively arriving and departing together for many weeks.

Apparently, the entire room full of people thought it noteworthy as well. Radiance would swear a hush came over the other guests and that every pair of eyes glanced from him to her and back again.

Blast!

The mistake was her own. She ought to have stayed away from society and let John step out first. If she hadn’t been there, then the ton would have had at least a single evening to adjust to seeing him with another woman.

Instead, they believed they were witnessing a betrayal on the scale of Othello’s misguided notion that Desdemona cuckolded him.

At that instant, John, Lady Lucinda, and her mother all caught sight of Radiance standing stock still watching them. Another murmur whispered across the room as if the guests expected some sort of confrontation.

And then Edward blocked her view of the unfolding scene.

Edward!

Dressed as finely as any nobleman in charcoal gray with a rich blue waistcoat and black necktie, he was a mere four feet away and approaching.

What was he doing at Marlborough House?

“Good evening, my lady.” Then he greeted her companions somewhat disinterestedly before giving her his attention again, even as Diana’s mother was still returning his greeting. “May I have the honor of a dance?”

“Yes.” Radiance didn’t hesitate.

Reaching for the little card in the reticule dangling from her wrist, she couldn’t take her gaze off him. He might be an apparition conjured by her own ardent desire.

Edward gave her a lopsided grin that tugged at her fluttering insides and made her knees weaken at the same time. With her gaze fixed upon his mouth, she handed him the card.

“Do you have a pencil?” he asked.

She handed one to him. Amazingly, he wrote “Lockwood” on her card large and carelessly — with his name going across a few lines, over another man’s name, and hopelessly smudging her card. Radiance didn’t mind in the least.

Yet he glanced down as he gave it back to her, hastily trying to tidy it by rubbing his thumb and fingers across the mess. His white gloves now had black fingertips. It was classically Edward Lockwood behavior. Adorable!

She gestured to his glove with her own blue lace-clad hand.

The deuce!” he exclaimed. Diana and her mother moved a step away.

Stripping off the offending glove, he shoved it into his pocket.

Oh dear, she thought, wondering if there was a way to procure him another. Or whether it was best he removed both. Purity would have known what to do.

“I hope this won’t cause you to renege on our dance,” he said. “I chose the one before dinner as I wish to talk with you at length.”

She glanced at the card again. A sappy smile stuck itself on her face and wouldn’t be displaced no matter how she tried to calm her emotions.

“We could take a promenade around the room,” she suggested, “if you don’t wish to wait to speak with me. After all, it is practically like having hundreds of chaperones.”

He glanced around, then offered her his arm. After nodding to her friend and Mrs. Stepney, Radiance let him lead her away.

“I hope this doesn’t cause you any problems,” he added as they tried to walk through the crowd.

“I don’t take your meaning, sir.”

“Between you and Castille,” Edward explained. “Although I suppose that is a bold lie because I truly do not give two figs whether the man is inconvenienced or annoyed. Not even a single fig!”

Obviously, he hadn’t seen John enter.

“I see,” she said, and nothing more.

Edward had to release her arm more than once as they moved through the throng, not yet able to converse. Radiance had been to even larger events than this one, but it was overly attended for the size of the room, causing a feeling of decidedly cramped quarters.

Tired of looking at the back of his head as he forged a path, Radiance had two choices — wait until dinner to find out what he wished to say or take matters into her own hands. It was an easy decision.

Having more experience at a ball than he had, she tugged on his sleeve, making him halt.

“Do you see over there?” She pointed up to the gallery where only a few were standing, and he followed with his gaze.

“On the balcony, we can observe the other guests,” Radiance told him. “And while we shall also be watched, we can speak without being overheard. If you cross to the left, you’ll find the staircase in the hallway.”

He didn’t hesitate, heading the way she directed. Edward Lockwood was an enigmatic blend — a man of intellect and action, both distracted and focused. At that moment, with him intent on reaching the gallery, she could barely keep up with him.

Briefly, they were alone in the hallway and upon the stairs lined with paintings depicting resounding French defeat at the hands of Lord Marlborough, and then they arrived on the balcony, just as three other guests vacated it. For a moment, despite the possibility that hundreds of eyes could be upon them, they had a measure of privacy, as long as they stood apart.

Edward looked her up and down. If it were anyone else, she would say he was insolent. But his scrutiny made her skin tighten and heat sluice through her like warm mulled wine.

“You look as lovely as ever. Ravishing, I would say.”

“Please do,” she teased.

His dimple showed. “Absolutely ravishing. And particularly kissable.”

Her heart skipped a beat. She wholeheartedly wished they were in a position to kiss. Glancing down at the ballroom, Radiance noticed Diana wave at her, and she waved back, hoping her cheeks weren’t bright pink from his comments and her wicked thoughts.

“I brought up your beau, Castille, because I do not want him to be such any longer.”

She was still looking at Diana as his words filtered into her brain. His meaning was unclear. Finally, she turned to him.

“I beg your pardon, sir.”

“When you call me ‘sir,’ in that proper manner, it is exceedingly enticing. You make the blood sizzle in my veins.”

If she hadn’t been looking at him, Radiance would think she was speaking with someone else. This didn’t sound like her disinterested scientist.

“Sizzle?” She could hardly swallow or catch her breath.

“Yes,” he said. “Where is he, anyway? Why isn’t Castille by your side?”

Truly, he hadn’t seen John’s entrance.

“Lord Castille and I are no longer keeping company.”

She would never forget Edward’s myriad expressions from shock to delight.

“Why, that’s stupendous!” he said. “It makes everything so much easier. I don’t have to have a man-to-man chat with him and suggest he relinquish you.”

She was flummoxed. “And why would you do that?”

“Because obviously you belong with me. I thought you cared for Castille, but if you are no longer together, then I shall put forth my own suit.” He cocked his head. “Unless you loved him deeply and had your heart broken, in which case, it may take a little longer to win you over.”

Radiance didn’t know where to start with his open declaration except with the truth.

“Lord Castille did not break my heart, nor did I love him deeply. Not at all, in fact.”

“That’s grand,” Edward said, giving a quick clap of his hands, calling attention to the one glove again. They both looked at it for a moment.

With relief washing over her that her dream of a future with this intriguing man might possibly come true, she felt a bubble of mirth rise up. Thus, when Edward started to laugh, she joined in.

“I am an outlandish creature in some ways,” he said. “Not worthy of a lady, but I shall endeavor to make you happy.”

“You already have. You do,” she confessed. “I broke it off with Lord Castille because my heart was set upon a certain geologist, no matter how little he seemed to care for me in return.”

Again, Edward’s countenance came over surprised. “Why on earth would you think I didn’t care for you? Especially after the kisses we shared.”

“Because you abruptly wanted nothing to do with me in terms of a social nature.”

“I thought you were an intelligent female,” he said with a shake of his head. “Did you really not comprehend my wish to keep you far from the investigation due to the danger it could bring?”

He reached for her hand with his bare one, and although she knew they could be seen, she did not pull away.

“When the bullet grazed you after the previous incident with the ruffian knocking you down, I felt rather desperate. How could I keep you safe? Short of guarding you with my pistol drawn, I knew pushing you away was the only option. It seemed to have worked, except it made me extremely unhappy.”

“For a while, I thought I ought to push harder to be a part of your world in order to regain your interest,” she told him. “I confess it stung to have been so easily overthrown when I thought we were moving toward something special.”

He shook his head. “Not easily overthrown at all. I have become a shell of my former self, at least according to Mrs. McSabby.”

They shared a smile.

“But when the crime was solved, and so impressively by you,” he added, “I believed I was too late. My sister told me how often you have been in Castille’s company. At first, I thought I should leave you be. After all, the man is a viscount.”

She waved away such nonsense over a title.

“However, when I saw you again this morning ...”

“Yes?” she prompted.

“I simply could not let the most precious Diamond I have ever seen or touched slip through my fingers. Not without a fight.”

He took hold of her hand. Radiance dismissed the momentary fear over her stellar reputation. It was being shredded that very moment, but while gazing into Edward’s eyes, she simply didn’t care.

“Lady Radiance Diamond, will you marry me?”