Free FromNowOn by Eliza Lloyd Page B

is…exquisite.” She traced the cabochon ruby
hanging from a delicate gold chain.
    He reached for the case. “And you have the perfect dress for
it.” He slipped the jewel around her neck while she watched him in the mirror.
    The feel of it was whisper-soft against her skin. Seb
brushed her as he solicitously arranged the ruby between her breasts.
    “Are we ready?” she asked. Penny held her governess’s hand
and leaned against Grace’s side. Seb assisted Grace to her feet. She surveyed
herself in the mirror one last time. The scars were visible only they were no
longer wounds. They no longer had the power to hurt or shame.
    “All of London awaits.”
    * * * * *
    The ballroom was awash in candles, the light bouncing
against the mullioned windows and winking with each slight movement of air. No
fewer than ten footmen were hurrying around making last-minute changes as their
head housekeeper discreetly ordered them about. Steadily the ballroom filled.
    At the head of the receiving line Seb stood watch over his
family. Grace smiled each time she saw one of the boys take a bow or when Penny
attempted a wobbly curtsey. David James had been uncooperative and fussy,
remaining in the nursery.
    “Lady Ridgley, we are so happy you have returned to us at
last,” the Marchioness of Stansbury said, a sentiment Grace had heard many
times this evening.
    “Thank you, Lady Stansbury.”
    Grace was to Seb’s right and each time she felt a prickling
of fear, she turned to him. In his gaze she saw the assurance and love that had
been the hallmark of their marriage. How could she have done it without him?
    “It is time you return to your place in society, Lady
Ridgley. One cannot countenance brutality from a man proclaiming to be a
gentlemen.”
    “Quite so, Lady Stansbury.”
    “But it appears you have borne it well.” Lady Stansbury
glanced pointedly at Grace, peering at the scars as if they had a longstanding
and intimate acquaintance instead of merely being peers in the same social
stratum.
    Grace remained stoic under the scrutiny but she knew her
cheeks flamed.
    “Perhaps it was not so traumatic as all that. Why, one can
barely see what all the fuss was about.”
    Seb squeezed her hand but did not interfere.
    “Brutality comes in many forms,” Grace said. “In my case,
the wound has long healed and I won’t let anyone reopen it.”
    Lady Stansbury passed on through the line. Grace took a deep
breath, knowing that if she could bear such pointed scrutiny, she could bear
all.
    “Vicious old tabby,” Seb whispered next to her.
    Grace smiled, a knowing conqueror’s smile. She would endure.
She had endured.
    The orchestra tuned their instruments.
    Seb leaned toward his daughter and held out his hand. “Well,
Miss Penny, I am ready to dance with the most beautiful girl in the room.”
    Penny shook her head. “Mama is.”
    She propped her thumb in her mouth and leaned against her
mother’s leg. “It appears as though the ball is over for one of us.” Penny’s
governess took her hand and led her away, making two parents thankful for a
quiet exit.
    Sebastian wrapped his arm about her waist and pressed his lips
to her neck. “She is right, you know. My fierce tigress is the most stunning
creature in the room.”
    They opened the first set, Seb holding her in his arms
through three dances and then they parted for the night as they played host to
London’s elite.
    The last guests departed around five o’clock in the morning.
Sebastian stood at the bottom of the stairs, watching as Grace mounted the
staircase. She glanced back at him, giving her best smile.
    He would be along shortly given her encouragement through
the night—a smile here, a touch in passing there.
    Her lady’s maid helped her from the red gown. Grace washed
quickly, slipped into a sheer robe and then waited to hear him come into his
room. The door between their rooms was never locked and most nights she was in
his bed before he was.
    When he strolled