He glanced down into the pit and felt suddenly exposed. As if all the eyes in The King’s Theatre had fixed on him at once.
Perhaps I am not a beast like Barguest.But my looks and rank are certainly novel enough to warrant the ton’s attention. There is nothing to be done but let them stare. And if prospective brides find my disfigurement too high a price to pay to become a duchess, then I invite them to keep staring.
Sitting to George’s right, Philip leaned in while Simon inspected the program for that evening, grumbling to himself.
“Far be it from me to echo our friend’s earlier complaints, but whydidwe come to the opera rather than White’s?” Philip asked, cutting George off. He kept his voice low. “Given Simon’s lamentation over our choice of activity tonight, I suspect that you were the one who organized the events of the evening.”
“Does it not always fall to me to organize you three?” George gasped softly, then corrected himself. “You both, I mean…”
Philip looked away, giving George time to collect himself.
“My cousin is performing tonight,” George explained, gesturing toward the empty stage. “She has had a difficult time of things recently, and I wanted to lend my support to her by attending her first London show this year.”
“Speaking of Alicia, are we?” Simon interjected suddenly, leaning over him with a teasing smile. “Georgie plays the role of innocent confidant well enough, but a mastermind lies behind that unassuming freckled forehead—I have always known it.”
“That accusation is beyond the pale!” George’s cheeks flushed red, and Philip knew all too well why. “But, of course, I wasn’t thinking when I invited you, because it’s been so long and… Well, you don’t mind that we’re here, do you, Philip?”
Philip shook his head, inspecting his own program. “Alicia and I have not spoken for many years. Our courtship was a mistake, and we both knew it—so short that I dare say it shouldn’t even count as one. We are strangers to one another now.” He looked up, unaffected by the revelation that she would be performing that evening. “Does your uncle still curse the ground she walks on?”
“I’m afraid so.” George’s face betrayed every thought that crossed his mind. From the look of him, things were dire between Alicia and the earl. “Alicia knows her own mind, and he does not like that. He’s not entirely wrong to worry for her, of course. The daughter of a peer, leaving the ton to pursue a career in the opera… She has known her fair share of troubles, but her heart still belongs to the stage.”
“If this is where she thinks she belongs, then there is nowhere better for her,” Philip said, suddenly contemplative. “One cannot lead a safe but shallow life.”
“Speaking from the heart, Wilmington?” Simon drawled from George’s left, brandishing his smile like a weapon. “Perhaps you and theSeconda Donnahave more in common than you initially thought. I’m certain she would find your service to our country romantic. She is still undeniably lovely. You are both still single. Perhaps there are grounds for a happy reunion.”
“Hardly,” Philip said emphatically. “No doubt she remembers as little of me as I remember of her—and what she will remember cannot possibly be favorable…”
Not favorable at all. He had met Alicia eight years ago during her first Season, and their courtship had lasted all of two weeks. His father had forced him into it, convinced that she would be the diamond of the Season.
He and Alicia had both been miserable during their brief acquaintance. A few walks around Hyde Park had confirmed that their dalliance was going nowhere, even though she was beautiful and he had been woefully eligible at the time. A year later, she left England to pursue her singing career.
Philip knew as much about that time of her life as the rest of the ton. Alicia Walford was a leading lady in the making, with a scandalous reputation to match, and she would not resign herself to becoming a wife.
“What was it they used to call your father at the time?” Simon asked. “The Duke of Darkness…” He laughed. “I suppose that makes you the Duke of Darkness now. First the Barguest, and now the Duke of Darkness… This night is taking on a most mystical air. Anything could happen—why not a reunion?”
“For my stance on marriage has not changed,” Philip uttered, growing increasingly uncomfortable.
Simon pursed his lips. “I never said anything aboutmarriage. Not all meetings between a man and a woman must be entirely orthodox…”
“That’s my cousin you’re speaking about!” George cried, drawing the attention of the patrons in the box beside theirs. He shot them an awkward smile and lowered his voice. “Those days of indiscretion have long since been over for Alicia. She is looking to settle down and become a respectable woman.”
“Ha! She could no more become respectable than I could—and good on her for it,” Simon said, adjusting the drapery beside him to put a barrier between themselves and their eavesdropping neighbors. “No, you must be mistaken. With a record like hers, she would have better luck finding a husband in one of those foreign countries she loves to visit so much. Why come back to England? Unless you mentioned Philip was returning to us too… Are you hoping to play matchmaker this Season, Georgie? Hell and damnation, you are! I can see it in your eyes!”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I would never force her on a friend. Perhaps she feels she left a life behind here. Or perhaps…” George shrugged, diving nose-first into his program like he could hide there. Simon was onto something. “Well, I don’t know! I can’t read her mind. I only know what she said.”
“And whatyousaid, no doubt, planting the seed of a future love in her head. Well, what perfect timing for you, Wilmington.” Simon was like a dog with a bone. “The disgracedSeconda Donnaand the Duke of Darkness returned to England. There have been worse matches.”
“In theory,” Philip said, grateful when the surrounding footmen began to withdraw, signaling the start of the opera. “But it is as I said. Alicia and I could not be more different. I had no attachment to her back then, and I cannot develop one now. But if you are so determined to unearth the past, let us review the catalog of your dismal courtships, Stockton. It is surely more interesting than mine.”
He grinned, giving Simon a taste of his own medicine.
Simon smiled from ear to ear, as silence settled over the theatre. “It is as you said,” he whispered. “Who would dream of a safe but shallow life?”
* * *
Anna’s heart hammered in her chest as she reached the main staircase. Her group had been among the last patrons to be checked in, and the foyer was now empty. The opera house attendants had disappeared too.
It was eerily quiet. She could hear the gentle din of the gallery behind the doors. But otherwise, it felt like she had the entire theatre to herself.
