Free Mayhem in Bath by Sandra Heath

Algernon’s small brown eyes swung toward him. “Fortune,” he muttered with equal brevity, and then continued his mopping up. He knew Dominic was Georgiana’s previous lover, and disliked him accordingly.
    Georgiana looked fit to have the vapors, for Dominic was the very last person she wished to encounter, but she managed a weak smile. “Why, Sir Dominic, I quite forgot you were here in Bath,” she declared with monstrous untruthfulness.
    Dominic didn’t know what to say next, for her dismayed reaction wasn’t at all what he’d hoped. By presenting himself unexpectedly like this, he’d wanted to startle her into realizing he was the one for her. The opposite seemed more the case.
    She recovered a little and took out her scented handkerchief to dab at the marquess’s soaked uniform. Dominic was subjected to a cross look. “That was ill done, sir,” she declared accusingly.
    Taken aback, Dominic stared at her. “Ill done? I... I don’t understand ...”
    “Of course you do, sirrah. How could you startle me like that? There was no need, no need at all! Now look what you’ve done to poor Algie’s regimentals.”
    Dominic’s face was a study, but he allowed her to get away with it. “I apologize, Lady Georgiana, but in truth I did not mean to alarm you.”
    “Nevertheless, that is precisely what you did.”
    He didn’t reply, for although he loved her to distraction, he wasn’t going to apologize again!
    She colored a little, and while the marquess’s attention remained upon things sartorial, she decided to be a little cruel to Dominic, suddenly smiling at him in a most yearningly seductive way. Her lovely dark eyes promised every delight under the sun—and between the sheets—but her words were politely conversational for the marquess’s benefit. “Have you been in Bath long, Sir Dominic?”
    “I arrived yesterday. Lady Georgiana,” he replied, plunging joyfully into her gaze. She did love him, she did!
    “Are you going to Claverton Down to see the Duke and Duchess of York review Algie’s regiment?” she asked then.
    “Of a certainty I am, and the ball the day after. As to the regiment, it was mine, too, remember?” he added.
    “Was it?” Her eyes were wide and innocent as she went on. “What of the Halloween festivities in Sydney Gardens?”
    “Halloween festivities?”
    “There is to be a bonfire, fireworks, and all manner of other entertainments. Fancy dress isn’t mandatory, although it is rather expected, and dressing up is so much more fun than ordinary togs, don’t you agree?”
    “Er, yes, I suppose I do.”
    “The Duke and Duchess of York will be there to light the bonfire, and tickets are naturally at a premium.”
    “Indeed? Well, I will endeavor to acquire one.”
    Having raised his hopes with such talk, she now chose to dash them again. “Well, to be sure I may acknowledge you, but after your clumsiness today, I may not,” she declared witheringly, then turned to smile dazzlingly at the marquess. “Oh, Algie, I do admire men in uniform.” She sighed.
    Her contrariness made Dominic feel angry, as well as foolish, but nothing she said or did seemed to dent Hightower’s doglike devotion, for that gentleman beamed adoringly at her. “Oh, my dearest Georgiana, how glad I am to hear you say that, for I vow I felt quite out of sorts at not being in my mauve.”
    Her smile became fixed. “Your mauve? Oh, I much prefer you in uniform,” she said quickly.
    Dominic’s lips twitched. Everyone preferred High-tower in uniform, for his beloved mauve was an assault upon the eyeballs!
    Georgiana tossed another glance at Dominic. “I fear we must proceed with the regimen. Sir Dominic, so I trust you will excuse us...?”
    With a shock, Dominic realized she’d delivered his congé . It wasn’t something to which he was accustomed; indeed he was usually the one to deal such things rather than receive them. Now it was his turn to color, and with an abrupt nod he turned to walk