Hero lifted her skirts to peer at the steps underneath as she began her own descent. The stairs were medieval, narrow, and built against the river wall, completely open on the other side. The wind shifted, blowing the smell of the river at her: rotting fish and wet mud, and beneath that the scent of ancient water flowing endlessly to the sea.
Both she and Phoebe wore feathered half-masks and colorful gowns. Phoebe was in a delicious orchid and cream while Hero felt rather daring in bright red with ruby underskirts and decorative bows. Mandeville in contrast was in a black domino and half-mask.
Hoofs clattered on the cobblestones above them. Hero turned to peer over her shoulder, her hand braced against the slimy wall. She wobbled as her heel caught on the edge of the step, her foot twisting and her weight dipping as she lost her balance. Her heart swooped into her belly.
“Careful!” Large, masculine hands grasped her arms, pulling her back against a hard chest. “That’s a long way down.”
“Thank you.” Hero’s pulse still fluttered in her throat. “I’m fine now.”
“You’re sure?” Reading’s voice was deep and somehow intimate in the still night air. He hadn’t loosened his hold on her.
Below them, Mandeville and Phoebe had halted on the small platform where the stairs turned.
Mandeville looked up. “Coming?”
His face was shadowed in the dark, but Hero caught an edge to his voice.
She pulled and Reading let her arms slide from his grasp. “Yes, we’ll be there soon.”
Mandeville nodded, turning and continuing down the stairs.
“You’re late,” Hero murmured as she carefully stepped down.
“Why must everyone tell me that?”
“Because you seem to be continually late?”
“Don’t you think I’m aware of the time and my tardiness?”
“No,” she said clearly and distinctly as if speaking to a slow child, “because if you knew the time, you wouldn’t be continually late.”
Behind her Reading exhaled a laugh. “Touché, my Lady Perfect.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“Why not?” His breath seemed to stir the small hairs at the nape of her neck. “Are you not perfection itself?”
She repressed a shiver. “Whether I am or not, I’m certainly not yours.”
“Pity,” he whispered.
They were at the turning in the stairs and she stopped suddenly. “What did you say?”
“Pretty.” He raised innocent eyebrows at her. “You and your sister are very pretty tonight.”
She stared at him and for the life of her didn’t know what to think. His pale green eyes were shadowed behind a black half-mask and domino, and what she could see of his expression was relaxed—but his hand was fisted by his side. Suddenly she was out of breath, the sensation of falling making her sway.
“Careful,” he whispered tenderly.
Her eyes dropped to his lips, wide and sensuous, framed by the black of the mask covering his upper face, and she wondered wildly what he tasted like.
“Do hurry, Griffin!” Lady Caro called from the bottom of the stairs.
Hero turned jerkily, glad the dark hid her face from those below. She descended the remainder of the stairs, very conscious all the while of the large male shadowing her.
“Glad you could join us, Griffin,” Mandeville drawled when they reached the bottom.
The rest of the party was gathered by the stone dock where two low boats were drawn up. Lady Caroline wore a sapphire dress and half-mask that complemented Lord Huff’s deep blue domino. Lady Margaret wore yellow with pink embroidery and bows. Her escort, Lord Bollinger, a slight young man, was in a black domino.
“Phoebe, this is Lord Griffin Reading,” Hero said rather breathlessly. “Lord Griffin, my sister, Lady Phoebe.”
“I’m so sorry to keep you waiting,” Reading said as he bowed gallantly over Phoebe’s hand. “Please forgive me.”
“Not at all.” Phoebe darted a nervous glance at Hero. “There’s nothing to forgive. You’ve arrived just in time.”
“Then let us proceed,” Mandeville said. “Huff, would you like to take my sisters and Lord Bollinger in that boat and we’ll take this one?”
Lord Huff nodded once. “Good plan.”
“My dear?” Mandeville held out his hand to Hero.
She took his hand and stepped gingerly into the barge. Lanterns were affixed to tall posts at either end of the boat, and the long benches were covered in soft cushions.
“Comfortable?” Mandeville asked her.
“Yes, thank you.” Hero smiled at him. He really was quite solicitous of her welfare.
“Watch your step,” Reading said as he helped Phoebe inside. “Wouldn’t want you to have to swim the river.”
Phoebe giggled as she sat next to Hero. “Oh, this is wonderful! The river is like a fairy kingdom at night.”
Hero looked over the water. Lights lit it here and there, coming from boats like theirs, the lanterns reflected in the water. The oars squeaked and splashed as the two wherrymen labored at the stern, and the sound of distant laughter, high and light, floated over the water. Despite the strong river stink, it was rather magical.
“Will there be fireworks, do you think?” Phoebe asked.
“Guaranteed,” Reading said.
He and Mandeville sat across from them. Their black dominos made them nearly look alike in the dim light. But where Mandeville sat upright, his hands braced on his knees, Reading sprawled, legs spread wide apart, arms crossed on his chest.
Hero hastily looked away from him, though there was no way to ignore him in such a small space. She thought of that breathless moment on the stairs when her eyes had locked with his. Of the fact that only yesterday he’d helped her with the home and discussed Herodotus with her, and the day before that she’d agreed to let him accompany her every time she went into St. Giles. She felt a dangerous unsteadiness as if she were still on the stairs about to fall. A trembling giddiness made up equally of expectation and guilt.
“Your mother and I took tea this afternoon,” she said to Mandeville. “She showed me the menu she has devised for our wedding breakfast.”
“Indeed?” He smiled indulgently as Reading glanced away at the water. “I hope it met with your approval?”
“I…” For some reason, she looked at Reading. As if he felt her gaze, he turned back to watch her. He widened his eyes mockingly at her. Hero inhaled, hoping the night hid her blush. “Yes. Yes, she’s planned a lovely celebration of our nuptials.”