In Compromise with the Earl by Ava MacAdams
Chapter Two
Not utterly thrilled at being called away fromEarl Tennesley, Aphrodite leisurely walked over to where Lady Pandora was standing. She had spotted him the second the earth-bound Titian had entered the room, and for the first time, and despite being ordered to do so, she thought she might not have made a terrible mistake in coming there.
His dark-brown hair was pell-mell, falling into thickly knitted brows and broody blue eyes that would prod people to look away, yet they took her breath away. Her gaze was drawn to the sun-bronzed, dusky hue of his skin and his excellently tailored suit fit his frame with precision.
The dark formal suit highlighted the breadth of his shoulders, the wide expanse of his chest as it tapered down to a lean waist and hips. There were rumors about his excellent fencing and equestrian skills, and if true, it showed in his muscular thighs, straining the fabric of his well-fitting trousers.
“Aphrodite,” Lady Pandora said, tucking a strand of her impeccable blonde hair behind her ear. “Color me surprised at seeing you here.”
“I agree,” Aphrodite replied. “But I suppose seeing a certain person here has made up for it.”
“Earl Tennesley,” Lady Pandora said mirthlessly. “Aphrodite, I know about your penchant for throwing yourself into waters too deep—”
“But I always swim to the surface,” Aphrodite shot back.
“And this is the same,” Lady Pandora said. “Might be worse, though. Lord Tennesley is a complicated man with very, for the lack of other words, convoluted issues. It would be best if you steered clear of him.”
Crossing her arms under her bosom, Aphrodite said, “I didn’t want to come to this soirée at all, but Father made me. I came with my doubts, but then I saw him.”
“He is at least six years older than you,” Lady Pandora said. “At eight-and-twenty, he has lived through experiences you have no inkling about.”
Aphrodite knew that and could barely hold herself from rolling her eyes. She knew the Earl was older and remembered the first time she had seen him three years ago when she was nine-and-ten. Even then, he had captured and commanded her attention, and now that she had the chance to truly interact with him, she was not going to lose it.
“If you are speaking about his late wife, I know about it,” Aphrodite said staunchly. “It’s public knowledge.”
“But you do not know that he blindly turned an eye to his wife’s adultery,” Lady Pandora said. “When she was found, dead, stabbed through the heart with a twisted dagger, obviously by one of her many lovers, he went on as if he had not realized a thing, when the whole ton knew. He’s weak, Aphrodite, and will not be able to handle a high-spirited lady like you.”
Even while understanding Lady Pandora’s claim, Aphrodite had her reservations. From what she had heard, Oswald had loved his wife to the point of blindness, as if she had been a goddess worthy of a lofty pedestal.
Tilting her head up, Aphrodite said, “There could be many reasons for that. It could be that he is weak in holding a firm hand on his house, or he was just weak in love with his wife, I don’t know, but I do know that nothing is ever black and white.”
“Whatever the gray area is, you should not have any part of it,” Lady Pandora said. “Besides, the man is staid, proper, boring, you would not have anything in common with him.”
Seeing her friend was not going to relent, Aphrodite lied. “I suppose, I wouldn’t want to be with a weak, spineless man that cannot excite or entertain me.”
“Good,” Lady Pandora said.
“But,” she added, “I still believe that what you have told me is half the story and I plan to find out the rest. I highly doubt that he would let something as humiliating and mortifying get out of hand if he was aware of it.”
“Aphrodite—”
“I came here on behest of my father, and I have no faith in matchmaking. I am sure that I can find my husband on my own.”
“I know, your father specifically requested that I take you in,” Lady Pandora said.
She turned on her heel. “I would love to change my mind. If you can prove me wrong, please, do so.
She walked away, and re-joined the other guests, snagging another flute of champagne and looking around for Lord Tennesley. She spotted him talking with another lord, but something was…odd. He looked much tenser than when she had spoken with him and she wondered why.
While she went to speak with some other ladies, she kept Lady Pandora in her peripheral vision and saw how she moved from group to group with a particular look on her face.
Her friend’s assessing eyes seemed to miss nothing and when her lips ticked up or down, Aphrodite wondered if it meant approval or disapproval. Was this how she was going to deem those fitting for her services?
Maybe Lady Pandora was still miffed from the conversation she had with her moments ago, but Aphrodite was not going to go shift from her decision. She was sure about what she had told Lady Pandora. Either Oswald was a weak man, or he tricked himself into believing that his wife was an innocent. She was hell-bent on finding out which.
She could not hold on to either reason until she found out because she knew how damaging perceptions were. The ton took her to be a lightskirt because her father was a Lothario, and while her flirting could explain it, nothing was further than the truth.
That was what she was trying to tell Lady Pandora, but her friend did not know what it was to live under constant skewed perceptions. Nothing was as it seemed, and Aphrodite would not judge the Earl for his wife’s errors when others were bias against her for her father’s.
Looking around Aphrodite speculated there were at least thirty-five or forty people in the room, but only twenty-four would be picked to be taken to Lady Pandora’s country Estate.
What are the odds that Lord Tennesley will win this lottery?
A bell chimed, drawing the attention to Lady Pandora who stood in the middle of the room. Her rose-gold gown was cut in the latest classical fashion, it gathered under her bosom and fell in a soft, graceful column to her feet.
“Good evening, everyone, would you please adjourn to the ballroom, the dancing is about to begin,” she said.
Aphrodite waited while most of the guests went to the stairs, searching for Lord Tennesley. She spotted him with his gaze trained on the door and feared that he was going to leave. She decided to follow him, but a red-headed Lord got to him first.
Their conversation was low, and she could not hear it, but it seemed convincing as Lord Tennesley, who she was sure was about to leave, moved to the ballroom. She followed a few paces behind and entered the ballroom while the quartet orchestra was beginning a waltz.
It seemed like most of the couples were partnered off already and Aphrodite took a chance. She gently touched his shoulder and when he turned, asked, “Seems like everyone else is partnered. Will you dance with me?”
His jaw worked and anger flashed across his eyes but his tone was mild. “How curious. You, asking me, to dance.”
“And what does that mean?” Aphrodite asked, her eyes narrowing.
His lips quirked and without a word, he rested a hand in the small of her back and escorted her to the floor. Oswald’s expression confused her but as the sweet melody wrapped itself around them, she temporarily ignored how he looked and allowed him to whisk her off to the floor where they took the proper positions.
When her eyes met his, a blistering sapphire fire lit his eyes as controlled anger burned beneath his polished facade. Thick waves of tension pulsed off his powerful frame, and her body reacted in the most confusing ways, instead of recoiling from him, she wanted to press herself closer to revel in his potent energy.
Her limbs trembled and she had to focus to remember the steps while his gaze held her attention prisoner. He spun her, drawing her close enough that her bodice brushed against his jacket. Despite the heavy unease between them, they moved in flawless motion.
“Why against your better judgment?” she asked.
“I’m told you are a flirt,” he replied.
Her eyes dimmed. “It’s off-putting to some, I know.”
“It is,” Oswald said. “But in certain circumstances, it can be a good thing.”
Her hand inched a little up his shoulder and her gloved finger brushed the skin of his throat. He reacted as if a jolt of lightning had been jabbed through him. Thankfully, they were in a spin and when he came back, he had recovered, only to slide his hands lower, onto the curve of her spine.
“I have yet to master how to judge those situations, My Lord.”
Aphrodite’s gaze narrowed on him, the tense clench of his jaw, the tick of muscle in his cheek and harsh knit of his brows—but his eyes were not as hard as before. Indecision marked his gaze as the music rose in crescendo, and he twirled her with dizzying speed.
When they came together, she clung to him, hardly trying to control her heaving breast. Her gaze was fixed on his and her fingers dug into his arm. When his eyes flicked to her mouth, Aphrodite realized that if he kissed her right there, she would not be sorry.
But another place and another time.
“If that is the case, you should find someone to teach you, but not I.” he said.
She pulled away—she did not want to prove the rumors about her true, and besides she was not sure if Lord Tennesley was angry with her or if he was upset about the whole proceeding.
Better not poke an angry bear. “Thank you, My Lord,” she curtsied.
His reply was a curt nod before he walked off and again, Aphrodite could not shake the feeling that he was angry at her—but why? She drifted to the refreshments table in a daze. She sipped a glass of punch and tried to settle the emotions roiling in her chest. What was it about Lord Tennesley that stole her breath so many times?
The intense, incandescent flame in his eyes.
What would his eyes look like inflamed with passion, or dimmed with sorrow? Were they sharp with possession, dark with anger, bright with happiness?
“Pardon me, Lady Aphrodite?” A Lord spoke behind her, and she turned. He bowed. “I am Lord Exeter. May I have your hand for the dance?”
“I would be delighted, My Lord,” she put down the glass and took his hand.
Half the night went on that way with her not missing a single dance, but through it all she kept finding Lord Tennesley. As if he were a lodestone drawing her attention, she was always somewhere in his vicinity. They did not share a gaze, but when the skin on the back of her neck prickled, she knew he was staring at her.
When the ball broke for supper, she finally met his eyes and gave a small smile—but he turned away. Without reason, her stomach fell to her feet and she grew disconsolate. This could not be right; they had shared less than ten sentences with each other and a tension-filled dance, so how was it that him dismissing her made her feel…hollow? She didn’t know the man!
In the dining room, she forced her gaze away from him and went to find her seat. They were instructed to find their places by finding their names on a small card; she took her seat near to—confound it, Lord Tennesley.
She just saw her light dinner conversation flitter away into thin air. The Earl’s posture was so rigid she wondered if he would start to fracture at the seams.
“Enjoy,” Lady Pandora said, “but please do not open those cards until dinner is finished.” Feeling the coldness coming from her right, Aphrodite felt no desire to eat a thing, but still bit into her roasted pheasant, while Lord Tennesley favored his wine above his food.
Her finger itched to open the card but kept her fingers far from it. Was that her acceptance or rejection notice? Could Lady Pandora send her away knowing that her father wanted her there? She couldn’t touch her dessert and instead sipped her wine.
Lady Pandora touched her knife to her glass. “Thank you for your patience. I have thoroughly enjoyed your presence with me, but sadly not all of you will continue to my Estate. Please, open your cards to see your status.”
Trying to tamp down on her fear, Aphrodite pulled out her card and spun it. On the back was an eagle—and she was utterly confused. An eagle? What was that for? What did it mean?
She shot a look to Lord Tennesley and saw him staring impassively at a white wolf. Blinking quickly, she turned away. A wolf? Was that supposed to mean his personality? Did the eagle mean hers?
What was going on? And if the wolf was Lord Tennesley’s personal trait—why did Lady Pandora say he was weak? As far she knew, a wolf was brave and relentless, willing to risk their life to get what they wanted. How was that weak?
“I see some of you are surprised,” Lady Pandora said in that calm, soothing voice of hers. “If you see an animal on your card, it means you have traits I will work with and find your match. If your card is blank it means, sadly, you have not been accepted into my services. My sincerest apologies.”
Oh. Putting the card down, Aphrodite still had questions, but realized that they could wait until the next time she saw Lady Pandora. Looking at the card and at the fierce gaze of the bird, she wondered, was that how others saw her? Proud and untouchable?
“For the four-and-twenty have been chosen, please make your way upstairs to my main drawing room while I speak with the others,” Lady Pandora added.
Clutching her card, Aphrodite stood and made her way upstairs, following the rest of the crowd. At least she had passed one hurdle—the next…getting Lord Tennesley to see who she truly was, get him to like her and hopefully, more.
