Dark Before the Rising Sun by Laurie McBain

Author:Laurie McBain
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc
Published: 2015-08-23T16:00:00+00:00

Fourteen

The prince of darkness is a gentleman.

—Shakespeare

Bedazzled and bewitched by the resplendence shimmering like a thousand captured suns, the eye blinked, only to find a brilliant reflection of the scintillating light within the carved and gilded frames of the mirrors adorning the gold and white walls of the Great Ballroom of Camareigh. The muraled ceiling, with its clouds swirling around mythological scenes, soared fifty feet above the floor, while the sparkling crystal chandeliers seemed like stars, with Hesperus and Aldebaran burning brightest of the heavenly lights. Melodious strains of chamber music drifted from the minstrel gallery at the far end of the great hall, mingling with the sound of voices. Even Bacchus would have envied the feast prepared for that evening’s revelry. Against the far wall, several long banqueting tables had been set up and were surely groaning under their burdens.

Alastair was as awed as the other guests were. Never had he seen so many people enjoying themselves with such abandon. Taking a sip from his goblet of wine, which was never allowed to go empty, he glanced around the crowded ballroom. Guests had been arriving continuously for the past hour, and Alastair knew he would be fortunate to remember even his own name by the end of the evening and certainly not the countless names and titles which had been so impressively announced by the stentorian-voiced majordomo standing guard at the double-doored entrance.

Alastair’s bemused gaze rested on the small group standing just within the entrance. He was thinking what an attractive couple the Duke and Duchess of Camareigh were. The duchess was dressed in scarlet velvet, and her black hair left unpowdered, as the Queen herself had been doing recently, was arranged in soft curls and threaded with pearls. Around her neck hung an exquisite pearl necklace with a pearl and ruby pendant. It sparkled with a warmth that was a mere reflection of the welcoming smile on the duchess’s delicately featured face.

As Alastair observed the Duke of Camareigh, he told himself that his memory of that stern-visaged gentleman had served him well. The man seemed as much the imperious patrician as he had the first time Alastair met him, perhaps even more so. Dressed in gold Italian silk embroidered in a delicate floral pattern, he was indeed a gentleman of distinction and lord of a noble household.

The former supercargo of the Sea Dragon smiled slightly as his gaze rested on the elegant, eminently respectable figure of his former captain. The gentleman was presenting himself with so dignified and gentlemanly a demeanor that Alastair suspected he was a great disappointment to those guests who had expected a bloodthirsty, snarling pirate.

Alastair wasn’t even aware of the obliging footman who replaced his empty goblet with a brimming one, for his eyes were held captive by the stunning vision in gold standing beside Dante. Suddenly he found himself remembering his captain’s words of earlier that day, and he had to agree that Dante had the devil’s own luck. Lady Rhea Claire was the most spellbindingly beautiful woman in the room.

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