Free Jade Lee - [Bridal Favors 03] by What the Bride Wore Page B

this night. Fortunately, no one was shocked to see him again. He’d spent the last week visiting his old chums, such as they were, to garner invites to all the balls this season. He couldn’t very well charm an heiress if he wasn’t invited to the balls. And then he looked for Miss Josephine.
    There!
    His body suddenly jerked to a stop. He saw her. Not Lawton’s daughter, but Mrs. Knopp. Except it wasn’t the woman as he’d seen her before—all widow’s weeds and canny intelligence. No, this time she’d discarded the black. She wore his gown . The fabric he had designed with the flames building up from the skirt. It was stunning, especially as the seamstress had stitched gold threads throughout, giving a thousand tiny sparks to the fabric. And it brought Irene to life. Suddenly, she appeared to him as a woman mysterious, passionate, and on the verge of flaring to life.
    Her black hair was pulled back into an elegant chignon, one that emphasized the length and whiteness of her neck. And between her breasts hung a single stone: a ruby, and not that large. It dangled on her white flesh, and he wondered what sound she would make if he tongued her flesh all about the stone without even touching it. Then he mentally chastised his madness for such thoughts, even though the voice had not been the one to think it.
    He took two steps toward her before his mind engaged. She was not the person he was here to see. He wondered briefly how she had managed to get an invitation to the ball. At least that question was easily answered, once his brain disengaged from his lust. This was, after all, Lady Redhill’s ball. And Lady Redhill was co-owner of A Lady’s Favor dress shop. As Mrs. Knopp was their purchaser, it made sense that the woman would be invited to the ball.
    A fortunate thing, he decided, as he worked through the crowd to her. It took longer than it should have, but a number of people hadn’t seen him in five years. They all wanted to stop and ask him where he’d been. He brushed them off with the same thing he’d told everyone else: oh, here and there. Nowhere of account, doing no good at all!
    They invariably laughed at that, and he swallowed the shame that he’d been working as a common laborer these last years. Robert was the rare peer who thought well of him for his sweat. Meanwhile, he finally made it to stand next to the intrepid Irene.
    “Good evening, Mrs. Knopp,” he said as he bowed over her hand. “Let me be the first to express how lovely you look out of black.”
    She smiled warmly. “Mr. Grant! Good evening!” She blushed prettily, the color tinging the flesh around her ruby. “And as for being the first,” she continued, “I’m afraid you are sadly out on that. Every one of my friends has said the same thing a dozen times.” She looked at her gown, her skin flushing rosier. “This cloth and the design are beyond beautiful. I feel… well, both odd and wonderful, if that makes any sense. Part of me is appalled, but the other—”
    “Feels like it’s a new beginning. Uncomfortable, and yet wonderful, all the same.” He looked about, feeling the truth in his words.
    “That’s very poetic, Mr. Grant. Shall I guess? Is this perhaps your first ball?”
    “Not my first, but the first in a long time. It feels like putting on an old jacket…”
    “One that really doesn’t fit well anymore,” she finished for him.
    He smiled, feeling a connection with her. “Would you like a glass of lemonade?” he asked. “We could toast to new clothing.”
    “I should like that very much.” But when he turned to get it for her, she touched his arm. “Would it be awkward if I walked with you? I’m afraid I feel rather at loose ends here standing all alone.”
    “But where are your friends? It’s abominable that they have left you.”
    She shrugged. “Well, Helaine is busy as hostess, of course. And to be honest, I have ducked away from my mother-in-law. She is so thrilled to be here that I had to