Free Beyond Innocence by Emma Holly Page A

pounded his chest with both hands. Edward caught them before she could land a second blow.
    "Hush," he said, and pressed a gentle kiss to the knuckles of each fist. This procedure so astonished her she didn't think to pull back. His eyes shone with humor and something that in any other man she would have said was fondness. "Allow me to explain the economies of size, Miss Fairleigh. With five hundred attendees, at least half of them women, you can count on, oh, fully twenty being prettier than yourself. A good many will have jewels more dazzling than your own. A fair number will be dressed so inappropriately anyone who sees them will not be able to look away. Add to that those guests who are either the subject or repository of gossip, and you'll find no more than a tenth of those present will stare
at you even once."
    "And a tenth is only fifty," Lizzie put in, who was proud of her skill at math.
    Florence was neither impressed nor reassured.
    "All I know are country dances," she said, her voice still quavering. "I don't remember a step Aunt Hypatia's dancing master tried to teach me."
    Edward squeezed her hands. "You'll remember. The moment the music starts it will all come back. Come now, Florence . Where's the girl who charmed the duke of Devonshire with her wit? Where's her courage?"
    "In the chamberpot," Florence muttered.
    "Nonsense," said Edward. "That was only lunch."
    "And since it's gone," Lizzie added with country practicality, "you needn't worry about being sick."
    Florence 's shoulders sagged. She didn't want to be strong. She wanted to be weak and helpless and stay where she was safe. But Lizzie was counting on her and so was Aunt Hypatia, and even Edward, in a way. If his "cousin" proved a coward, it would not reflect well on him.
    "I suppose I have no choice."
    "No choice at all," Edward agreed. He smiled at her. Florence saw a hint of pride in it and thought perhaps she wouldn't fail after all.
    CHAPTER 4
     
    A burning shiverswept the bare expanse of Florence 's shoulders. Edward was watching her descend Aunt Hypatia's curving stairs. He wore an expression of utter stupefaction.
    "Perhaps," he said, in an unusually faint tone, "I have misled you."
    Florence didn't know what to make of his reaction—or her own. Edward had never looked at her like this, as other men did, as if she were a meal they wished to devour. Usually this look discomfited her. She couldn't imagine why she welcomed it from him. Certainly, she didn't desire his attention. He was the opposite of everything she valued in a man: not gentle, not affectionate, and certainly not safe! No, indeed. Most likely her response was merely nerves.
    "Misled me?" she said, the question dangerously close to a squeak.
    "Yes," he murmured and pressed his hand to his pristine shirtfront. His father's ruby signet gleamed on his smallest finger. "I fear you shall be the prettiest woman there."
    "Enough," said the duchess, thumping her ivory cane. "Move aside so I can see."
    At her instruction, Florence turned slowly before her. She knew she looked her best. Her gown was daffodil satin, cut low off the shoulder and draped at capsleeve and train with dotted tulle. Beneath this ephemeral net, the skirt gathered yard upon yard of fabric, an extravagant expanse from whose folds peeped vines of pink silk roses. More roses decorated her elaborately braided chignon. Around her neck a stunning choker was clasped, formed by thousands of seed pearls strung into the shape of flowers. The gown's waist required such stringent lacing Florence felt as if two large hands were wrapped around her ribs. The sensation was unexpectedly pleasant but, as a result, her breasts were forced so dramatically upward she feared she was overly decollete.
    If she was, Aunt Hypatia did not disapprove. Instead, she touched the necklace with one age-stiffened finger. She nodded brusquely.
    "Suits you," she said. "Never did believe in girls wearing ribbons around their necks. Not if they've got