Chapter 4
It was a well-accepted fact, at least amongst a certain group of people within the upper echelons of society, that whenever a meeting was held by Lady Josephine, a fire would soon result. The initial spark was never intended, of course, but as plans went, there were usually enough holes for the disruptive charge to ignite.
Today, however, none other than Derek Shaw was holding a meeting. His position in society was unknown to Belle and to the group at large, but speculation ran rampant. They would never inquire directly about their suspicions to the source of their speculation, but they thought about it at length nonetheless.
To Belle, anyway, the mysteriousness of the Shaw brothers generated their appeal in the first place. If one discovered what they were truly about, she’d imagined them to be just as normal as anyone else.
At this particular meeting, however, her mind was lost in her dream of the previous night. She had stood in midst of a crowded ballroom, utterly alone. Her peers had mulled around and laughed at each other’s jokes, yet no one seemed to notice her obvious distress. She had ended up suffocating, an invisible hand gripping her neck and tightening, and no one had looked her way.
She closed her eyes in order to will her thudding heart to relax.
It was just a dream.
“Lady Belle?” a low male voice asked in concern.
She would know that familiar voice anywhere.
“Belle?” the voice asked again, more concerned now.
Slowly, her awareness returned and her surroundings came into focus as she raised her lashes. She stood not in a crowded ballroom nor in her own home, but in the drawing room of the Tremaine residence.
She turned to face the man of the house, Simon Tremaine, the Earl of Westfield. “Yes, I am here for the meeting. Am I early?”
He took a step closer, his eyes roaming over her features much too intimately for her comfort. “Are you all right? You look a bit pale.”
That snapped her out of reverie. “Yes, I’m perfectly fine. I must have gotten the details of the meeting wrong.”
“No, you have them right. The meeting is to be held now, just not here, but at St. Aldwyn’s.” He held out his arm. “Come, I will escort you,” then grinning down at her, he continued, “or you can escort me.”
Belle managed a small smile.
How embarrassing.
The ride to Jo’s did not take all that long, but Belle was aware of Westfield’s burning stare the entire way though he remained silent. No one seemed to take note that they arrived together either, which Belle thought for the best.
The recent additions to their band of three were namely the husbands, who were less inclined to find appeal in the mysterious air of the brothers. But while it was clear the men were the ones who held the reins, they were firmly bound by the leash of love—a leash that was worn proudly, even arrogantly, by the looks of it.
Belle followed Westfield into the room where everyone had already gathered.
Derek Shaw acted as if he owned the world—an authority that apparently extended to the study they were occupying even if it was not even his own residence. Belle did notknow how Josephine put up with such arrogance all the time. It certainly grated on her own nerves.
Her gaze flickered to the other men.
Far too many arrogance males, Belle mused.
Derek Shaw stood; his fierce face tight with tension. “Thank you for agreeing to meet with us,” he began, his eyes flicking to Jo. “We have a matter that requires urgent attention and would not ask for assistance if it was not dire.”
“I am not comfortable involving my wife in your dire matters,” Grey growled, interrupting the man when he would have continued.
Evelyn shot her husband a heated glare. “I am not some fragile miss that breaks at the use of the word dire.”
Grey’s eyes burned with unrelenting intensity. “I will not risk losing you.”
Her friend’s eyes softened. “It will take much more than some dire matter for you to lose me.”
Grey only grunted.
Belle glanced at the St. Aldwyn, who had placed a protective hand on his wife’s shoulder. “Spit it out, Shaw,” he growled with impatience. It was no secret he remained uncomfortable with his wife’s friendship with these men.
