“Yes. That pretty much gives you an idea of my cousin.”
This time Fiona grinned. “Too bad she canna meet all of my brothers then. ’Twould be interesting to watch.”
Lorelei suddenly felt like she’d swallowed lead. Too late, she remembered that part of the reason Anne thought Scots were barbarians was because her uncle was highly critical of Scotland. And he had a seat in Parliament. Would he try to impede the MacGregor claims once he heard of them?
Chapter Twenty-Four
As Lorelei finished getting ready for the evening at Vauxhall, she wished she’d had the opportunity this week to go back to Drury Lane in Covent Garden. Maybe she could have waited outside the theater until an actress arrived and she could have asked for some tips on how to pretend to be someone else. She’d promised Lady Bute, though, that she would not venture anywhere unsafe—which meant no going back to St. Giles to talk to Abby, who’d done an excellent job of acting. Lorelei was in desperate need because tonight she would be putting on a performance that might rival anything on the stage.
Lady Bute had been thrilled with the tickets that Lady Mount Stuart had sent over, and Louisa had learned from her mother that the Oakleys, as well as the Marquess of Westwood, would be in their group. That meant she’d have to watch Alasdair and Melissa together. She hadn’t seen or heard from Alasdair since she’d refused to see him on Monday, so tonight was going to be doubly difficult.
A soft knock sounded. “Do you need any help?” Louisa called from behind the door.
She needed help for sure, but not the kind Louisa meant. Giving herself a final look in the mirror, she went to open the door to find Fiona standing there as well.
She slanted Lorelei a look. “Are ye ready?”
She was pretty sure Fiona wasn’t asking about her appearance. She’d hinted once or twice that maybe Lorelei should talk to Alasdair before tonight, but she just hadn’t been ready to face him. Now, she was beginning to wonder if maybe Fiona hadn’t been right. But no matter. It was too late now. “I am as ready as I can be.”
“You look lovely,” Louisa said, apparently not aware of the undercurrent of her answer.
“Thank you.” She had chosen the pale sea-green silk interwoven with silver threads because, as the modiste had said when she’d held up the fabric to her face, it made her look ethereal—like a goddess. Lord knew, she didn’t feel like a goddess, but she could look the part. She lifted her chin slightly. That was it. She’dpretendshe was a cold, marble statue. Artemis, maybe, who was destined to remain a virgin.
“You are both looking lovely, too.” She meant the compliment. Fiona had chosen a cream-colored gown that set off her inky hair and Louisa wore a dark rose-colored gown that made her complexion glow.
“My mother has ordered the carriage to be brought around.”
“Just let me get my gloves.”
“Lord Mount Stuart has procured a private boat to take us across the river,” Louisa said as they walked down the stairs. “He said it would be easier to arrive as a group instead of trying to find one another in the crowd.”
Oh no. That meant she’d be seeing Alasdair a little sooner than she’d intended and in much closer quarters. Lorelei drew a deep breath to calm herself. Randolph would also be on the barge and she could certainly turn her attention on him. He might even be grateful, since Melissa would be on the same boat. She’d noticed before that when they were in the same group, they might exchange glances but rarely spoke to each other. She began to feel a little more confident. She and Randolph could mutually support each other. They would get through this evening together.
…
Alasdair saw the ducal crest on the carriage waiting at the wharf and cursed his luck as the Mount Stuarts’ landau pulled up beside it. Lady Bute was known for being on-time and he’d been hoping that he’d be able to have a moment with Lorelei before the other guests arrived. He’d almost asked Fiona to intervene for him these past few days, but had held back. Lorelei needed to hear directly from him what hadnottaken place, and he needed to be able to answer her questions honestly. Fiona couldn’t do that for him. But he’d grown almost desperate.
He should have known His Grace would be precisely punctual, though, since the man checked his timepiece frequently. The duke was staid and rigid in all aspects of his life, save for his daughter. He was fairly sure Oakley knew nothing about the incident on the terrace, because he’d been congenial when Alasdair had excused himself, which he’d done as quickly as he could. He’d seen Lorelei and his sister leaving as he’d returned to the ballroom, so there had been no reason for him to stay anyway. He certainly didn’t want to risk another occurrence with Melissa.
At least tonight they would all be together in a group. He might not be able to talk to Lorelei privately, but at least he couldn’t get into trouble.
…
Lorelei stepped off the barge, a uniformed footman waiting on the landing to assist her, and watched as the Oakleys walked ahead of her up a slope to the entrance of the gardens. Lady Melissa had already linked her arm with Alasdair’s and was trilling laughter.
Thank heavens the crossing of the river had not taken long. The others had already arrived, and the boatmen poled off as soon as her group was aboard. She’d caught Alasdair watching her, but as crowded as the boat had been—not to mention Melissa standing next to him—he hadn’t come over. Even so, the close proximity to him gave her an unsettled feeling, like she sometimes had before a thunderstorm was about to unleash its fury. She even felt a bit shaky. To cover her nervousness, she turned her attention to Randolph, who had been the last to step onto the barge, and she’d noticed Melissa narrowing her eyes in contemplation.Good Lord. Does the girl need every man’s attention?
“Have you been to the gardens before?” the marquess asked her as they walked through the entrance.
“No.” She wasn’t about to say this was on the list of adventures that she and Fiona were no longer taking. “This is my first time.”
“Then you should find the evening very interesting.”
She was not sureinterestingwas the appropriate word, since it seemed she’d have to watch and listen to Melissa and Alasdair all evening. At least with the duke and duchess there, Lady Melissa would probably not do anything risqué.
“Is this how you thought it would look?” he asked as they halted in line.
She took a moment to look around. They were in a large rectangular area where three tree-lined avenues met. In the middle was a raised octagonal stage, which was where the singers and musicians would perform. To one side was a large mansion that she supposed was used for banquets and balls. The rest of the area around the rectangle consisted of roofed colonnades under which were three-sided boxes, the fronts open to the stage. Inside each, she could see a large table and chairs.
