The Irresistible Lady Behind the Mask Page 3

  “Why do you appear shocked?” Tempest questioned her cousin, who she had always regarded as a sweet, silly girl without common sense. “I have never minced words when I’m referring to what you debutantes see as a lifesaver, your only future.”

  “You can’t go on addressing marriage that way!” She stomped her slipper-clad dainty feet on the carpet. “It’s preposterous of you to continue thinking that women who marry become slaves to their husbands.”

  Tempest sighed. “Dear innocent Valerie, you must open your eyes and see things exactly as they are. After offering your wealth to your husband as dowry, he marries you, then secures you in one of his houses. After that, he carries on with his life while you are turned into a breeder for him to get his heir. Does that look even the remotest to being enticing?”

  Valerie was prevented from answering when a soft knock on the door admitted a maid who came in bearing a tray. Both cousins were silent as the maid served the steaming cups of tea and handed each of them theirs.

  “You get to be someone’s wife,” Valeria stated firmly as soon as the servant shut the door, placing her untouched tea on one of the small stools. “You get to love someone and be loved in return!”

  “Bah!” Tempest waved a hand reflecting her disdain at the word ‘love’. “What a useless emotion!”

  Tempest considered herself fortunate that she didn’t believe in the silly sensation that made fools of the indulgers. If only she could get Valerie to see it was all a waste.

  But the young chit wouldn’t listen to her. Valerie had always had her head in the clouds; she still believed that a handsome and wealthy man would make an offer for her, and she would live happily ever after. Tempest surmised that it was due to all the novels she loved reading. Tempest couldn’t be bothered by such pure lies.

  She knew the emotion was all a hogwash in fact. After listening to her fellow debutantes during her first season, she got to know most of the young chits who weren’t from wealthy homes and were being sponsored were after only wealthy husbands.

  Tempest had her ears filled with talk about snagging men with vast properties and means of income. Most, if not all, had come to London for the sake of increasing their family’s social circles and wealth. Love hadn’t been mentioned, not once.

  Eyeing her cousin now, she wasn’t sure if Valerie fell under the few who had wished the suitors they were in love with would meet their family’s approval.

  “Do you want to tell me that you’ve never been in love?”

  Tempest only just held herself from bursting into laughter. Valerie would find it unkind of her if she did. Not an ounce of inkling did she have concerning love, but she didn’t want to appear as cold and unfeeling as her cousin obviously saw her.

  “I was fond of a young man once,” she related lamely.

  The surprise in Valerie’s eyes got Tempest giggling.

  “Oh, come now, Valerie. Surely you don’t think I’m devoid of human emotions.”

  Her cousin licked her lips. “You always give the impression of one who would freeze hell if you found yourself about to be married to the Devil himself.”

  Tempest laughed so hard that she spilled a little of her tea. She gently placed it on the small stool beside the sofa.

  “What a wild and vivid imagination you have, Valerie,” she chided gently.

  “I’m just saying,” her cousin defended her words. “You don’t believe in love, and you don’t believe in marriage. Tell me, what exactly do you believe in?”

  “I believe in a woman’s independence. I believe in a woman having the right to choose what she wants in her life. I believe in a noblewoman engaging in any work she chooses to do without having society frown at it. In place of her wasting her time with sewing, knitting, managing the home or bearing children, she could put her brain into proper use.”

  Valerie’s eyes widened like saucers. “Good Lord, Tempest! Surely you don’t mean such insane things. A woman having to work!” She clicked her tongue in disgust.

  Tempest regretted instantly sharing her views with the naïve and impressionable chit. She should have known better than to share her idealism with someone who only saw things as black and white.

  Telling her there was more that she could attain in life other than marrying and breeding children was a total waste of her breath. In the future, she would watch her words against such silliness.

  “Forget I ever said such things,” she quickly put in, realising that she was being a tad unfair. Simply because her cousin and the rest of the world didn’t share in her ideas didn’t mean she had to cast aspersions on their beliefs. Aunt Beth had taught her better.

  “Indubitably, I’m going to erase such thoughts from my mind. I really ought not to have such conversations with you, else you poison my mind, and I start having such thoughts, too. God forbid I end up an old maid like you!”

  Had it been last year Valerie spoke such harsh words to her, it would have made her stricken with hurt. But now, she wasn’t concerned what her cousin thought of her. Old maid, left on the shelf, or whatever phrase was given to an unmarried woman she might be, at least, she was happy and satisfied with her life.

  ***

  Guilt stole up Valerie’s face and reddened her cheeks. She hadn’t meant to call Tempest to her face the name she and her friends called her when they were talking about her.

  Her cousin would definitely end up like Aunt Elizabeth, who was still unmarried at sixty, but she didn’t think it was fair of her to call her an old maid.

  Tempest was unmarried by choice, not because she lacked suitors. She was beautiful and had a good dowry which would attract even wealthy men. Rumour had it that she had turned down all the men after her first season. Tempest never discussed it with her. So she couldn’t be sure about it.

  “They were unsuitable,” Tempest had once said when she asked. Her cousin had changed the topic, and no matter how she tried, she hadn’t been able to draw her back to it.

  Even if she lived to a thousand years, she would never understand the kind of woman her cousin was. When they were children, Tempest wasn’t like this. She was very easygoing and impressionable like her. Although they were four years apart, they used to play games together.

  They played the ‘damsel in distress’ game with their dolls. Knights in shining armour would come to their rescue, and they would marry them. They were always delighted at the outcome of such games.

  Valerie figured it was the death of Tempest’s mother that caused the change in her. Perhaps Aunt Elizabeth had sold her silly spinster ideas into the poor child she had come to take care of. And now, poor Tempest was just like her; truth be told, even worse.

  What a waste! Such a beautiful and intelligent woman with riches was willing to while away her life as a spinster doing only God knows what. She hadn’t quite asked Tempest what she hoped to do with her life without a husband by her side or children.

  “With such inane ideas, Tempest, I’m forced to ask you what you wish to do until you’re old and greying. A woman without a husband or children doesn’t seem to have a lot of options in our society. Even widows strive to remarry.”

  Valerie’s eyes narrowed when she noted a spark of mischief in her cousin’s eyes. What was it about this woman she couldn’t understand?

  A mischievous smile dancing on her lips, Tempest said, “There are a variety of things I could do with myself, Valerie. You don’t have to worry your pretty little head about it.”

  Tempest’s condescending tone grated on Valerie’s nerves. She couldn’t care less if her cousin decided to spend the rest of her days ensconced in her room; she was more interested in her own life, which reminded her of her reason for seeking out her cousin that morning.

  For all her sins, Tempest was a very reliable person. She would go out of her way to help anyone in need. She could be quite demanding, but she had a heart and took care of others; sometimes finding time to have fun with them like taking a walk, a ride to the park, or having tea. Whatever
she lacked in stature, she made up for it with her wit.

  Tempest was a force of nature when someone stepped out of line. Valerie was ready to use her cousin’s hatred for marriage to her advantage. Since she could cry at the drop of a hat, she dredged up tears in her eyes.

  “Oh, Tempest, you just reminded me why I indeed have to worry.” Valerie broke down in tears as she flounced herself beside her cousin on the sofa.

  ***

  Although she didn’t appreciate theatrics, Tempest had to give her cousin onus for always engaging in it. If she weren’t already used to Valerie’s mood swings, she would have batted her eyelids in shock at the change. One minute, she was all serious, looking down at her with disdain at what she termed crazy ideas, now she was all teary-eyed. Maybe she ought to tell Aunt Beth to find a place for Valerie with a theatrical group since the former used to be an opera singer. Tempest had no doubt that her cousin would fit right in.

  Tempest sipped her tea, waiting for the weeping girl to get a hold of her floundering emotions and tell her what had got her so distraught. Perhaps she just found out that she wasn’t really in love with her betrothed. Or maybe he didn’t love her.

  She stifled a giggle that almost burst from her throat. She didn’t mean to be cruel; such obvious heartache was what she tried to avoid at all cost. Not only was the person affected, but everyone around her as well.

  Exhaling softly, Tempest decided not to say anything. She would wait until the young woman was good and ready to share what had her so upset. The older woman, however, grew alarmed when her cousin continued to weep for minutes on end.

  Tempest placed her teacup on the small stool and turned to study Valerie, who was dabbing her wet eyes with her flowery handkerchief.

  “Valerie! Whatever is the problem?” Tempest couldn’t help the alarm that rang in her voice. She did so loathe seeing someone so distressed, even if it was over something silly.

  Gulping as her chest heaved, Valerie curved her body to fix her wet eyes on her cousin.

  “Tempest,” she called, her cheeks flushed, “I fear I have made a bad match.”

  “A bad match? What are you talking about?”

  How could Valerie possibly make a bad match when all she had ever dreamed of was getting married to a man worthy of her? The young chit had been very selective during her first season. Had desperation caused her to choose anyone, and now she realised her mistake? Tempest wouldn’t be surprised.

  When Valerie continued weeping, compassion flowed from Tempest. Even if she was averse to what the girl held dear, she didn’t like seeing her like this. So, she drew closer and put an arm around the girl’s quivering shoulders.

  “There, there, Valerie. Pull yourself together and tell me what’s going on,” she comforted in a soothing voice.

  Accepting solace from her cousin, Valerie hiccupped and said, “He approached Father for my hand. I wasn’t even informed before Father accepted. Now, I must marry him!”

  Tempest sighed, still cuddling her cousin in her arms. Her father’s brother was a very strict man, consequently she wasn’t in the least surprised at the turn of events. The man must have had it with Valerie’s fickle ways and decided to take matters into his own hands.

  Unlike her, Valerie wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. She was afraid of even her father’s shadow and would dare not challenge him, which was a pity. Now she would end up marrying a man she was ill-suited for after her years of dreaming of a perfect man.

  Tempest fought for words to tell her cousin. What could she say? Defy your father? The girl would probably have a fit at hearing that. Tempest knew it would be a fruitless exercise going to have a word with Valerie’s father. To put it kindly, the man was as stubborn as a mule.

  As things were, Valerie just had to brace herself and marry whoever the man was. Tempest didn’t see what she could do in the matter although she would have loved to help. It seemed so unfair that her cousin wouldn’t get her heart’s desire.

  Tempest was enjoying her own life because she chose to live it that way. It was only fair for Valerie to enjoy hers with the man she chose to marry, not some man foisted on her by her father.

  A thought crossed her mind just then. What if it wasn’t actually a bad match? Valerie sometimes behaved like a silly child. Perhaps it’s something as trivial as the man’s looks. Maybe he wasn’t as tall as she wished or an elegant dresser.

  “Valerie,” she began softly, “please stop crying and tell me why you think you’ve made a bad match.” Pushing back the laughter in her chest, she lightly added, “Isn’t he handsome enough?”

  Valerie jerked from her embrace and sniffed. Shaking her head, which loosened some strands from her chignon, she replied, “He’s handsome. Very. You won’t find any fault in his appearance at all.”

  Tempest’s interest was more than piqued by now. A very handsome man hadn’t caught Valerie’s approval? How strange!

  “Who is this man if I may ask?”

  Sniffing, Valerie reached for her reticule and brought out what looked like a crumpled picture. She thrust it at her cousin.

  “He gave this to me.”

  All the colour drained from Tempest’s face when she recognised the man in the picture.

  Hudson Danvers!

  Chapter 4

  Hudson Danvers!

  Tempest could hardly believe her eyes. It had been years since she last set her sights on him. As her gaze travelled down his handsome face and lean frame, she had to acknowledge that he was indeed a very handsome man. His aristocratic features had become prominent over the years.

  She had always known him to be a good dresser, but he appeared to have taken it up a notch. Her eyes roamed his beautifully tailored dark blue jacket, his immaculate white shirt, and black trousers. The blue cravat tied at his neck added more appeal to his attire. From a weak youth, he had grown into a strong and dashing young man.

  Tempest was more than acquainted with Hudson. Their fathers were best friends, and in fact, she and Hudson were childhood sweethearts. They’d both lost their mothers at early ages, and since they were the same age, they had fit nicely together.

  She had been a little wild and unruly after she lost her mother, and so had Hudson. His three elder brothers didn’t have much time for him, so Hudson was free to do as he pleased which entailed visiting Tempest and playing with her.

  Tempest recalled with a fond smile how competitive they had both been. They would wrestle and challenge each other at the littlest of things. Racing, mock jostling, fishing had been some of the numerous things they had done together. She remembered they always made bets as to who would catch the biggest fish. She recalled an incident where she had pushed Hudson into the river because he found the biggest fish.

  “I told you I was going to catch the biggest fish,” Hudson bragged as he wiggled the squirming fish before his friend.

  Pouting, Tempest replied, “You were just lucky.”

  Hudson stuck out his tongue. “You’re just jealous. Now you get to carry me back to the house.”

  Folding her arms across her chest in an obstinate manner, Tempest thinned her lips. “I will do no such thing.”

  Hudson’s brows rose a fraction. “You have to! We made a bet!”

  Tempest clicked her tongue. “That’s none of my business. You cheated!”

  Hudson was aghast with shock. “How did I cheat? Did I call out to the biggest fish in the river to come to my hook?”

  Angry now that Hudson seemed to be making fun of her, she shouted, “I don’t know how you did it. All I know is that you cheated.”

  Hudson snickered. “You’re just a sore loser, Tempest!”