The Viscount's Inconvenient Temptation by Theresa Romain

Author:Theresa Romain
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Theresa Romain
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

In Which Julia Comes to Appreciate French Sartorial Genius

“PLEASE SIT STILL, mademoiselle Julia, or I will burn your ears off with the curling tongs.”

Julia tried once again to hold still. It wasn’t the first time Simone had admonished her to stop squirming. Though she didn’t think the capable maid would really burn her, she didn’t want a single singed curl tonight.

Tonight, of all nights, she had to be absolutely perfect in every regard, for tonight was the grand ball at Alleyneham House.

The very thought of it made her insides quiver, as if her stomach were full of butterflies—or perhaps something less pleasant, like snakes.

Despite her best intentions, her fingers began to tap again. She shrugged her shoulders, trying to find a comfortable seated position.

Simone sighed theatrically and drew back her hands, saving mademoiselle’s ears once again from a tragic burn.

“I’m sorry!” Julia cried. “I’m nervous.” She hadn’t been able to eat anything since breakfast, and her head spun with jittery fatigue.

Simone frowned at her charge. “And why is this? Have you not been to a ball before?”

“I have.” Julia bit her lip. “But this one is special.”

Simone continued to stare at Julia with expectant raised brows, and Julia tried to think of an appropriate explanation.

Louisa met James at Alleyneham House last year, and I want to meet someone like him at the ball this year. Because I want someone exactly like him.

Him, in fact.

No, the truth would never do. But it weighed on her like an albatross, ill-fated and undeniable, sinking her mood. There was only one James, and he was already engaged. How could she go to a ball and dance with other men, encouraging them to desire her, court her, and marry her?

She didn’t know, but somehow she had to. She had promised she would. She had promised herself and her family, and even James.

“This ball will be such a grand event,” she managed at last. “So many glittering people. It’s the height of the season. I’m worried I’ll be a wallflower.”

Well, that part was true enough.

Simone seemed to accept this excuse. She abandoned the curling tongs and poked a pearl-headed pin into a coil of Julia’s hair.

“I find that to be unlikely,” she replied. “Certainly the viscount and the baronet Sir Stephen will dance with you.”

“Certainly,” Julia agreed miserably. So what if they did? She was still living a lie that could only hurt herself and her family.

The full import of the event hit her like a runaway coach and four. What was she doing, hoping to ensnare wealthy men at a ton party? She, Julia Herington, didn’t belong with the likes of the Earl and Countess of Alleyneham. She belonged in the nursery at Stonemeadows Hall, reading her young sisters and brother a story.

She felt as if her tight bodice was squeezing the air out of her chest, preventing her from drawing breath. She doubled over, light-headed, and moaned.

“You are disarranging your gown,” Simone informed her. “You will not appear your best if you do not sit up straight at once.

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