The Cursed Countess (The Daring Drake Sisters 1)

“Good afternoon, Roberts. I will take some tea in the library.”

“Very good, ma’am. You do have a letter.” He held out a rather thick letter.

“Thank you.” Tessa walked to the library, removed her shoes and sat on the sofa with her legs curled under her. She broke the seal on the letter and almost dropped it when she saw who had sent it. Lady Creighton. The countess apologized for the lateness of the invitation, unsure how she might have missed Tessa on the invitation list, and begged her to make an appearance tonight.

She frowned slightly and realized all that she needed to do before the ball. After picking up her shoes, she ran down the corridor and stopped as she saw Roberts. “I am going to Lady Creighton’s ball tonight. I shall take tea in my room and can you please send Anne up.”

“Of course, ma’am.”

She raced up the stairs to her room and then opened the linen press to decide which gown to wear. The emerald silk would never do as she wore it to Emma’s come out ball. That left either the gold silk or the sapphire. She pulled out the gold silk and held it up to her as she stared in the looking glass. This was one of her favorite gowns with the exquisite beading along the bodice.

“What a perfect choice, ma’am,” Anne said as she entered the room. “I will press it for tonight. Now what will we do with your hair?”

Several hours later, Tessa was clean, dressed, powdered, and her hair perfectly styled. A rush of nervousness raced through her body as she climbed into her carriage. She wanted to dance tonight. And she hoped Jack would be her partner.

The wait to disembark the carriage took longer than the short drive to Berkeley Square. When her turn finally came, she walked up the steps to the elegant town home with her head held high, determined not to let her nerves show. If she was good enough to gain acceptance with Lady Creighton, then the rest of the ton could go to the devil if they didn’t agree.

Once inside, she was at least thankful not to have to suffer through any announcements since Lady Creighton assumed everyone knew everyone. Seeing the countess, she made her way through the crush to thank her personally for the invitation.

“Lady Creighton,” Tessa started once everyone else had finished. “Thank you for the invitation.”

The older woman glanced around as if the make sure people saw her and then said, “You are most welcome, my dear. I must go give my regards to Mrs. Newton. Enjoy yourself.”

And with that, Tessa was alone to navigate through the throng. She couldn’t remember a time this room was more crowded. She paused to get lemonade from a footman but couldn’t help overhear two women behind her.

“I heard she was forced to invite her.”

“I heard the same thing. Imagine the nerve of someone, imposing on Lady Creighton that way and over a suspected murderess.”

Tessa edged away from the women, desperately wishing she could run away and hide somewhere. So much for her attempt to be brave and face down the criticism. But she did wonder who could have coerced the countess into inviting her. The duke was her first thought but he and Lady Creighton had never gotten along. While he might make an appearance at her ball tonight, no more than a cordial greeting would be said between them.

Jack?

She almost laughed aloud with that thought. Certainly, he came from a well-respected family, but Lady Creighton was one of the elite of society. Still, if not the duke or Jack, then who? It only made sense that it was Jack. Perhaps it was an attempt to apologize for bringing her a poisonous plant.

Glancing around the room, she hoped to find him and ask. The musicians tuned their instruments announcing the start of the dancing. People moved off the dance floor, creating an even greater crush. Unable to see much of anyone, she opted to move slowly out of the ballroom to the gaming room. It was well known throughout the ton that Jack’s father had had an

issue with gambling far more money than he had. She hoped Jack didn’t have the same problem.

She meandered from one end of the large room to the other to no avail. Perhaps he had decided not to attend this evening. A sliver of disappointment trickled down her back. The idea of dancing with him tonight had been her primary reason for wanting to attend. She had hoped to waltz in his arms again, inhale that masculine scent of his, maybe even sneak off to the garden for a quick kiss with the promise of more to come later.

With a sigh, she departed the gaming room and strolled back to the ballroom. She doubted with the number of people here, she would even find him if he had attended. Spying her sisters, she decided to join their conversation.

“Good evening,” she said as she neared her sisters.

“Oh my, you gave me a start,” Emma exclaimed. “I thought you were not invited?”

“Apparently, Lady Creighton had a change of heart and begged me to attend,” Tessa said, still curious about why the invitation seemed an afterthought. “So what has you two all abuzz tonight?”

“Langport has returned,” Louisa whispered tightly. “And he brought a wife with home. An Indian wife.”

“Oh,” Tessa said softly, thinking of how the duke must have reacted. “Is the duke in attendance tonight?”

“No,” Louisa said. “Mamma said he was devastated at Langport’s betrayal. Rumors are circulating that Lady Langport was the steward’s daughter.”

Betrayal? The man most likely fell in love. Something she wondered if the duke would even understand. To him, it was all about family and good society. Even if the woman came from a high caste, she would be considered beneath a duke in every way, at least in the duke’s opinion. The daughter of a steward would never do.

“And you had heard nothing of this?” Tessa knew that Louisa and Langport used to secretly write each other.