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house in Grosvenor Street overflowed with
guests for Lady Stoke's masked ball. Honoria usually loved
fancy-dress balls, and she'd enjoyed coming up with the costumes
with Diana, but tonight she was unnerved and restless, and thought
she'd rather do anything than face scores of rather nosy ladies and
gentlemen of the ton.
    But Diana insisted. After all, no one knew
about Honoria's secret marriage but Christopher and Diana. Until
Honoria and Christopher decided what was to be done about it,
Honoria must behave absolutely as usual.
    Honoria bowed to her wisdom. She could do
this--she had the strength to.
    She and Diana arrived early and closeted
themselves in Alexandra's dressing room to ready their costumes.
They'd agreed to dress as Greek ladies, in simple gowns that
fastened at the shoulders and hung to the floor. After all, Honoria
said, Greek costumes were little different from fashions nowadays
and easy to manage. She'd so enjoyed putting together the gowns
with Diana, but now she was jumpy and irritable.
    When they at last they went downstairs, the
house was thronged with guests, Lady Stoke's parties always
popular. Rumor had it that at one of her soirees a few years ago, a
horde of pirates, many of them naked, had swept the house, battling
with the men and ravishing the ladies.
    Honoria knew the real story, told to her by
Alexandra herself. The truth had involved one murderous pirate
who'd been out to kill Grayson Finley, cornering him at Alexandra's
soiree. Only one man had been naked--Mr. Jacobs, Grayson's
second-in-command, who'd dashed from a bedroom, sword in hand,
ready to defend Grayson and Alexandra.
    The sight of Mr. Jacobs, a very handsome
young man wearing nothing but a cutlass, had sent most of the
ladies into happy swoons. From that day forward, invitations to
Alexandra's parties were much sought after, every lady inwardly
hoping that such an occurrence would happen again.
    Tonight Honoria hoped for nothing more
exciting than spilled lemonade. But when she saw the cluster of
gentlemen waiting for them at the head of the stairs near the
ballroom, she wanted to turn and flee the other way.
    But no, she could not let these things
unnerve her. She lifted her chin and walked on toward them, Diana
at her side.
    Grayson Finley, Lord Stoke, smiled at the
ladies as they approached. Next to him stood Mr. Henderson, the
third-in-command on James's ship, the Argonaut . Mr.
Henderson, a tall, fair-haired gentleman who dressed impeccably and
wore gold-rimmed spectacles, had been assigned by James to
accompany Honoria and Diana to London for their protection. Once
they'd reached the safety of Diana's father's house, though, Diana
had told Mr. Henderson to spend his time soaking up luxury in his
sumptuous hotel and shopping for new suits.
    Next to the pair of them stood Mr. Templeton.
He was dressed, of all things, like a pirate. Or at least, like a
fictional pirate. He wore striped trousers, a red shirt, a black
sash, a papier mache saber that was too long for him, and an eye
patch. He looked absolutely ridiculous.
    Grayson's eyes twinkled with mischief, and
Honoria had a feeling she knew who'd engineered the costume.
    But none of this made Honoria's heart pound
more sickeningly than the sight of her husband Christopher Raine
standing casually next to Mr. Templeton, watching Honoria with
sharp eyes, and giving her a small smile.
     
    *****

Chapter Five
     
    Like Grayson and Henderson, Christopher wore
an evening suit rather than a costume. He looked perfectly calm,
gray eyes dark in the lamplight, tanned skin golden. He wore his
pale hair in a plait, as usual, the hair that swirled back from his
temples a darker blond than the rest.
    A large lump worked its way into Honoria's
throat. She'd not slept at all last night, and things had gone
fuzzy about the edges. Seeing Christopher, hard and handsome before
her, was not helping matters.
    She wanted to do the little things a wife did
for a husband, brush a nonexistent piece of