An Unlikely Alliance (House of Renwick #2.5)(15)
Author: Rachel Van Dyken

"Suit yourself."

****

Minutes later Royce was asleep. Evelyn watched as his eyes became gradually heavier and heavier, knowing for certain he would fall victim to sleep soon. Finally his breathing deepened and he slumped against the tree.

That was when Evelyn finally realized how tired she was as well. "Might as well close my eyes a bit," she said out loud as she glanced at her daddy’s picnic. They weren’t going anywhere soon. It couldn’t hurt to take a little catnap. She was a light sleeper. What was the worst that could happen?

Evelyn slept so hard, she didn’t even dream. A loud crash woke her from her sleep. Panicking, she looked around and noticed the servants taking down the tent. And then she heard laughter.

"’Don’t worry, Royce! I’ll stand guard!’" Royce’s voice mocked from behind. "You stood guard, all right. Just how long did you wait after I fell asleep before you decided to take your little nap, hmm?"

Evelyn felt her face flush. "It wasn’t on purpose! And you looked so peaceful, and they were just sitting there! You weren’t even supposed to fall asleep, Mr. ‘I don’t need sleep, I am a man.’"

Royce shook his head. "We lost them, and now we have no idea where they went!"

"Course we do." Evelyn pushed off the grass. "They’re going to the ball tonight, and so are we." She held out her hand to Royce and waited. He grasped it and didn’t let go the entire way to the house.

Evelyn didn’t want to read too much into their prolonged contact, but then again, she was already falling head over heels for the man against her better judgment. They had shared kisses but never held hands. It almost seemed more personal to her, more intimate.

Royce picked a daisy and handed it to her, causing another familiar blush to creep up her cheeks. "I will be back around half past eight tonight, my sweet. Does that suit you?" He opened the back door and ushered her inside. As she passed him, she could feel the heat radiating from his body. All she wanted in that moment was to fall backward into his arms.

"That should be just fine, although the ball isn’t until nine. Why so early?"

Royce grinned wolfishly as his lips became dangerously close to hers. "That is for me to know and you to find out. I’ll see myself out. Good afternoon, love." With that, he tipped his hat and marched out the door like a man on a mission.

Foolishly, Evelyn couldn’t help but wonder if that certain mission had something to do with her.

****

He was going to marry her. The silly grin he had been wearing for days was still cheerfully plastered all over his face for the world to see. For the first time in his life, Royce didn’t care. He had found the one woman who set his passions aflame and who wasn’t afraid to give her opinion or order him about.

It was marvelous.

And she was going to be his.

Unfortunately, planning ahead had never been one of his strong suits. He knew he had limited time to purchase a ring and even more limited time to talk with Mr. De Jarlias. The sooner the better.

Rushing to the shops, he stopped when the ramifications of his actions hit him square in the chest. He was to be married. A wife! And it would be soon!

A sickening feeling erupted in his stomach, almost making him stop to relieve it of its contents. He had to tell Evelyn of his past. Granted, she probably had heard enough gossip from others to develop her own ideas; then again, she hadn’t known about his two mistresses. The two mistresses whom he had seen at the same time on the same night not so long ago.

How could he have been so foolish and selfish? It was hardly an excuse, but he had been walking around in an emotional haze for the past year since his father’s death. No sin of the flesh had helped him. He had always hoped it would. An idiotic idea. To think he could fill the one gaping hole in his heart that only love could heal.

Royce swallowed the knot of guilt for what he had to tell Evelyn and took a step toward the house he used to frequent the most. It was time to say goodbye to the women of his past and move on with the one holding his heart—his future.

****

Surely her life had turned into a dream! Evelyn danced around her room in fits of excitement as she thought about the night ahead of her. He had a surprise for her! Suddenly she was thankful for her daddy’s wise words of not judging a book by its cover.

Lost in a flurry of joy, she ran into her room to find something suitable to wear for the Valentine’s Ball. It was to be a masquerade; although she had never attended one, she heard they were wickedly fun and, at times, dangerous. Since the masks hid people’s faces, it was natural those wearing the masks would become braver, doing things that otherwise, unmasked, they wouldn’t dream of doing.

Upon opening her wardrobe, Evelyn suddenly realized she had nothing suitable to wear. The mask that had been purchased for her by the modiste was plain—a word she didn’t feel adequately described the feelings she had at the moment. After all, it was a celebration of love, and she felt she needed something to show for it.

Royce would be back in a few hours. If she hurried, she would have time to run down to the shops to find a suitable mask and gloves to match. Hurriedly she searched for the dress with the white and black lace and made a mental note to match it with a white mask and black gloves.

Chapter Twelve

By the time Evelyn was able to reach the store, she knew she was short on time. It had taken awhile to convince her maid to let her shop on her own, and even longer to convince the driver that she was fine taking the carriage on her own. Only two hours to get back to her house and prepare. Quickly, she found what she was looking for. A beautiful white mask lay before her. It had crystals lining the slits where her eyes would be, and feathers laced the rest of the white material around her face. It was perfect.

She purchased her mask and went on to the glove shop further down the street. This particular street, although still safe, was rumored to have several whorehouses in the area. Something Evelyn was warned about by her daddy. Lucky for her, the glove store was on the edge of the street, so Evelyn wouldn’t have to go all the way down to where the brothels lined up in sad rows. If her daddy hadn’t warned her of such things, she would be clueless as to what the homes were used for. The only thing that gave away their identity was the obvious location.

It made her feel odd knowing so much debauchery was going on, and nobody did anything to stop it. Evelyn shrugged off the feeling and reached out to open the door, when she saw Royce coming down the stairs of a large house across the street. She was just about to yell out his name, when a scantily-clad woman ran out of the house after him, pulled him into a tight embrace from behind and abruptly ran back up the stairs.