“Why didn’t you just ask what she was worth?”
Jack clenched his fingers around the snifter of brandy he’d been nursing. The idea that his friend thought his only interest in Lady Stanhope was for her fortune angered him deeply. His shook off his irritation. Actually, Blakely wasn’t too far off, as Jack’s interest was purely on the money Fairchild would pay him to discover the truth. “I am not interested in her fortune.”
Only her guilt or innocence.
“I hope not,” Blakely said before sipping his brandy. “I should hate to see you succumb to the curse.”
Jack had no intention of becoming Lady Stanhope’s next victim. But he would need to get close to her in order to discover the truth. Somehow, he would have to get into her house to investigate her thoroughly. He could only assume she must have poisoned her husbands by a slow method so as not to draw too much notice. Stanhope, however, only lasted a week. Perhaps her patience had worn thin by the time she married him.
Gazing over at the young woman, he smiled slowly. He would have no issue getting closer to her. Nevertheless, he should have a care with eating or drinking in her company so he wouldn’t become her next victim. But whatever it took to get to the truth, he would do it.
Even if it meant taking her to his bed...or hers.
CHAPTER 2
Tessa’s entire body shook when the majordomo announced her name before the crowded ballroom. Louisa squeezed her hand in support but all Tessa wanted to do was run out of this house and back to her home alone.
“How did I let you convince me to come?” she whispered to Louisa.
“You could not have missed Emma’s come out ball.”
“I am supposed to be in mourning.”
Louisa rolled her eyes as they walked away from the threshold of the ballroom. “For a man you did not love? That is mad. You mourned him for nine months.”
Looking down at her gown, Tessa thought that perhaps the emerald silk wasn’t her sister’s best idea. Sticking with black or gray would have been far more correct in the eyes of the ton. “I should never have agreed to this gown.”
Her sister grabbed her arm and moved them both toward a corner of the room. “Three times I have watched you play the perfect widow, mourning men you never loved. It doesn’t matter what these people say.”
“But Louisa, it’s green. I should have worn gray.”
“No,” Louisa hissed. “You are a beautiful young woman. You should be wearing emerald and flaunting convention.”
“Like you would,” Tessa muttered.
“Exactly!”
How her sister had not ended up in some scandal still astonished Tessa. But Louisa would never understand. People didn’t notice Louisa as they did her. From the time she’d entered Society, women had criticized her for being too beautiful. As if that was her fault. She hated her appearance. Women disparaged her in order to feel better about themselves, while the men only wanted her on their arms to show her off like a trophy they had won.
But tonight was far worse than the balls she’d attended after her previous husbands’ deaths. From the time the majordomo announced her name, she felt the scornful gaze of most people in the room upon her. If she attempted to make eye contact with anyone, they shifted their gaze and whispered to the person next to them.
“Come along, Tessa,” Louisa said as she led her into the white and pink ballroom. “You’re fretting. Remember we agreed you would enjoy yourself tonight. Stop worrying over what others think of you.”
“They are all gossiping about me.”
“You cannot know that is what they are speaking of. Besides, you are a wealthy widow and can do as you please. This is the start of a new life for you. Hang the people who want to gossip. You can flirt with any man you wish and maybe even make one an offer he cannot refuse.” Louisa giggled softly.
“Louisa!”
“You have only been with men twice or more your age. Think about what it would be like to have a young, virile man in your bed for a change. Hard muscles. Smooth skin. Hard—”
“Louisa, not another word about hard things.” What had gotten into her younger sister? It was time Louisa found a husband before she did something foolish.
“You are a prude, Tessa. Look,” Louisa said pointing across the room, “there is the duke. We must go, say hello and thank him for allowing Mamma to have Emma’s ball here.”
Tessa held her head high and linked her arm with Louisa as they moved away from the entrance. She would show them that their whispers meant nothing to her.
At least the duke was a friendly sight. His smile broadened as they approached while Tessa felt a frown tug at her mouth. It had only been a few months since she’d seen him but he had aged in that time. His hair was now more white than brown and there were tired lines around his brown eyes that hadn’t been there the