She gulped at the words, uncertain of whether or not she should seek out the owner of the voice or hurry to the light of the ball. But Valeria had never been able to resist the pull of curiosity; it was a powerful thread that spooled from her chest to the unknown, stretched taut, reeling her in.
Before she could stop herself, she was walking to the balustrade of the terrace, bracing her hands against lichen-covered stone, peering over with her heart stuck in her throat.
“Who is there?” she asked, smothering any fear.
A gentleman stood below, a sleek, black feather in his hand. A familiar gentleman with wavy, dark brown hair that fell across one shining eye, the color undiscernible in the dark. Graceful fingertips gently skimmed the gleaming feather, full lips quirked into an amused smile.
Lockie…
“I came to return what you lost,” he said softly, eyes twinkling.
Valeria cleared her suddenly dry throat. “I lost nothing. The same, however, cannot be said for you.” She straightened up. “You lost your prey. As for your honor and dignity—I suspect you mislaid that a long time ago.”
He chuckled, his teeth grazing his lower lip. “How severe you are in your opinion of me.” He moved closer to the wall, using a ledge below to raise himself up above the edge of the balustrade. “You do not even know me.”
He was taller than she had expected, his shoulders broad, though she still possessed the advantage over his lowered position.
“I know enough,” Valeria replied, her breath catching at the extraordinary beauty of him, now cast in the relief of the manor lights. No longer hidden in the shadows, where he undoubtedly belonged.
He leaned on the balustrade, still caressing the feather back and forth between his fingertips, though his gaze never left hers. “I came to thank my dark angel,” he purred, setting the feather on the stone. “I found this by the pavilion and knew what you were. I would ask to see your wings, but I imagine you would slap me first.”
“The gall of you!” Valeria gasped, taking a half step back from the balustrade and the strange gift. “What I did was no favor to you; I do not want your thanks.”
Nor do I want your flirtations.Had he been some gentleman inside the ball, she would have laughed at the compliment of being called an angel. Yet, from this man’s lips, it did not make her cringe; it made her feel likeshewas on the brink of scandal, and the gossiping matrons were closing in. And yet, she could not compel herself to run away.
“My duty was to rescue that poor girl, and my duty is done,” she added, in case it was not obvious.
The man laughed softly. “She did not need saving. Her plan was very thorough, if a little transparent.” He leaned further forward. “She wasexactlywhere she wanted to be, though whatshewanted was not what I desired.”
Valeria clenched her hands into fists. “Some women think they know what they want when they are young and panicked, under the inordinate strain of becoming a success during the Season. Some women have entire families relying upon that success and would do anything to fulfil their duty. But those sameyoung, vulnerable women do not always know what the true consequences of their actions might be, nor the limit of their power.”
“Power?” Lockie raised an intrigued eyebrow. “Do tell me more of a lady’s power.”
“There is not much to tell,” she retorted. “That is the point—a point that is often missed in moments of desperation.”
He tilted his head to one side, highlighting the cords of his neck. “You believe women have such insignificant influence?”
“Oh no, Idobelieve that women have influence and that they have a power that frightens society, which is why it is immediately smothered when a lady sets a toe out of line. They areallowedpower in the form of youth and beauty and innocence, until the second they break expectation, and once lost, it cannot be retrieved,” Valeria replied, astounded that this was the first time in seven years that she had had a moment of interesting discourse with a gentleman. And appalled that it was withthisman.
“You think women are unjustly and discriminately punished?”
Valeria snorted. “I think a woman can be seen talking for a moment with a man alone and be dragged through a mire of scandal she will never emerge from unscathed, while the man gets to continue on as he pleases.” She held his intense gaze. “There is a reason only married women are permitted liberty—because they are already shackled.”
“Goodness, I do hope no one ever asks you to speak at a debut ball,” Lockie said, eyes shining with mischief. “You would have the ladies of society grabbing swords and torches, rising into rebellion before they could even sip a cup of punch.”
“You mock me, but you will not antagonize me. I have had many years to thicken my skin,” she told him sternly. “Consider it this way, if you wish to be ignorant to the disparity—wouldyouever seek to amend a scandal you had caused with a wedding you did not want?”
He smiled. “Certainly not.Particularlyif it was part of someone else’s plan, and I was not privy to it.” He sighed as if she had disappointed him. “You think me the fox in this scenario, but it was the vixen’s cunning. Why, that is the reason for my gratitude—you thought you were rescuing that girl, but you ended up sparingmeinstead.”
“I have heard of you,” she said coolly. “I do not believe you were innocent.”
“No, it seems not.” He searched her face. “You think me dishonorable: a rogue, a rake, a cautionary tale, the dangerous creature that your mother warned you about when you were a girl. But I do have my honor, and it commands me to repay you for the generous act you performed for me tonight. The feather is a mere token, until you can decide what reward you would desire from me.”
He spoke in a voice as smooth and sweet as honey, that coated her chest and made it temporarily difficult to breathe.In that instant, she knewjusthow dangerous this man was, understanding full-well how so many other ladies had fallen foul of his charms. He was talented; she had to grant him that, butshewould not fall for it.
“It is not necessary,” she said curtly. “You are in no debt to me for, as I told you already, the favor was notforyou.”
“Nevertheless, I will not be denied my code of honor,” he replied with a disarming smile. “Iamindebted, whether you like it or not. So, tell me, my dark angel, what is it you desire? What can I do to satisfy you—this debt, I mean?”
