"Are you sure you want to wear that dress, Catherine?" her aunt remarked, eyeing her from top to toe.
"Yes, Aunt Lilith. I'm quite comfortable and we are late," she reminded.
"Oh, dear, you're right. We must be off or Gwen will have a fit." She hurried Catherine into her long cape and out the door.
"Tell Father I'll be home early," she called to Dunwith as she was rushed down the front steps.
"Tell my brother she will be home late," her aunt corrected as she hustled her into the carriage and ordered the driver to make haste.
They arrived only moments before supper was to be served and with only moments for a fast introduction to the other guests.
Catherine stood beside her aunt and smiled pleasantly as William Bacon and his wife, Margaret, the Earl and Countess of Sheffield, were presented. Then a young man named Benjamin Bond greeted her with a lopsided smile while the Baron and Baroness Harthington bid her a warm welcome. After that she lost track of the various names until . . .
"And lastly, Catherine, I am pleased to introduce a newly arrived gentleman, Lucian Darcmoor."
Lucian stepped out of the shadows from the corner of the room and approached her. Her heart hammered violently in her chest, her breath caught in her throat, her knees turned to rubber and she thought for certain she would faint. No resemblance to the pirate Lucifer existed. He wore mostly black evening clothes, from his black stockings to his breeches to his coat, but his shirt was stark white. His hair was neatly tied back, and though it was till long, its fiery color was lost in the drab confines of the house. He needed the sun and sea to bring it to life.
"My lady," he said, and took her hand to place a gentle kiss on the back.
"Dinner is ready, my lady," the servant announced.
"Lucian, as long as you have Lady Catherine's hand will you be as kind as to escort her to dinner? Gwen asked, and sent Lilith a conspiratorial wink.
"I would be delighted," he said, and hooked Catherine's arm over his. He leaned over as they walked out of the room and whispered, "Easy, angel, you wouldn't want to faint and cause a scene."
Chapter Twenty-six
Lucian watched Catherine through the entire meal. Being seated across the table from her, he could easily study her. He didn't care for her pale complexion or the dark half circles so evident beneath her eyes. He had thought her skin paled at the shock of seeing him, but as the meal progressed her face still retained a pallid color.
He hadn't been in London long, a mere day, when he had heard rumors of her capture and return by the legendary pirate, Lucifer. His plan had worked well, too well. He had realized too late that he had made a mistake in returning her to her father. She belonged to him. He loved her.
Minutes after sending her off he had reached that conclusion. He had gone mad waiting for Santos to return, gone made without her beside him, without her to love. If the Black Skull hadn't been in the midst of repair he would have sailed after her, attacking his own ship if need be to get her back.
Revenge no longer mattered. Catherine did. He had made a dreadful mistake. He had made her suffer for her father's sin. His fight was with Abelard, not her. He couldn't blame her for loving her father as strongly as she did; the man had been good to her when others hadn't been. She had offered him her love, a love he had realized was just as strong as the love she felt for her father and he, like a fool, had denied it. Denied the love simply because he was selfish and wanted every ounce of love she had to give.
And yet she had given freely of her love over and over again to him and he had ignored it, abused it, and tossed it aside as though it hadn't existed. His anger for Abelard had fueled his ignorance and in the end he had lost the most precious love of all.
Now he was back to claim Catherine and her love, to take her back to the island with him, marry her, raise a family and live out their lives together in Heaven.
"Catherine, you can't be serious," Gwen said, sitting at the head of the table with Catherine to her right and Lucian to her left.
"I miss my home," she said softly.
"But you can't leave London now," Gwen insisted.
"I've told her the same thing myself," Lilith argued. "But she's adamant."
"You're going back to Yorkshire?" Lucian asked.
"Yes," she said, casting a brief glance at him then turning to Gwen. "The country is lovely this time of the year. The flowers are bursting in full bloom, the fields are ripe for planting, and everything seems more alive and potent."
"I don't understand how a niece of mine can love a simple life," Lilith complained. "I had hoped she would have some adventure in her soul. Be daring and not predictable. I'm afraid Catherine will marry, a have a ton of children and grow old without ever experiencing the excitement of life."