John pulled the fabric the wrong way and cursed.
"You should have left it the way Wheatley arranged it. I thought it looked quite elegant."
John shot her a look which said he didn't want to hear it.
"Look at it this way," Belle continued, fixing her skirts so they wouldn't wrinkle as she sat down on the bed. "My parents are still getting to know you. They'll be suspicious if we refuse to be seen in public together. You don't want to be at odds with your in-laws for the rest of your life, do you?"
"I don't want to be dead, either."
"That isn't even remotely funny, John. I wish you wouldn't joke about it."
John abandoned his cravat for a moment and turned around so that he could look his wife in the eye. "I'm not joking, Belle. It's going to be a madhouse tonight. I have no idea how I'm going to keep either one of us safe."
Belle bit her lip. "Alex and Dunford will be there. I'm sure they'll be a tremendous help."
"I'm sure they will. But that doesn't guarantee our safety. I don't see why you didn't just tell your parents the truth."
"Oh, that would make a good impression," Belle said sarcastically. "They'll just love you once they find out you've put my life in danger." At John's scowl, she added, "Inadvertently, of course."
John finally gave up trying to arrange his cravat and yelled out, "Wheatley!" Then he turned to Belle and said quickly, "I value our lives more highly than your parents' opinions, and you'd do well to remember that."
"John, I really think we'll be fine as long as we stay near Alex and Dunford. Maybe we'll even have a chance to trap-oh, hello Wheatley. His lordship seems to be having a bit of trouble with his cravat. I'm afraid his foul mood has drained the dexterity from his fingers. Do you suppose you could aid him in this endeavor?"
John's countenance turned quite black.
Belle returned his scowl with a bright smile and stood up. "I'm going to see if the carriage is ready."
"You do that."
Belle turned to the door and took a step forward.
John sucked in his breath. "Good God, woman, what are you wearing? Or rather, what aren't you wearing?"
Belle smiled. She had donned the midnight blue velvet gown she had bought a few weeks earlier when she was plotting to seduce him. "Don't you like it?" she asked, keeping her back to him so that he couldn't see her grin.
That was a mistake, for the dress had no back, or at least very little of one. "It's indecent," John spat out.
"It is not," Belle said, unable to work her voice into a properly protesting tone. "Lots of women wear gowns like this. Some even wear light fabric and then damp it to make it transparent."
"I will not have other men looking at your back. And that is final!"
Belle decided she didn't half mind his possessiveness. "Well, if you put it that way…" She darted from the room and made her way to her own chamber, where Mary was waiting with another freshly pressed gown. Belle had had a feeling she'd be changing her attire. But she had accomplished her goal. She'd gotten John's mind off of Spencer for a few minutes at least.
After changing, she headed downstairs, arriving just as the front door opened to admit Alex, Emma, Dunford, and Persephone. The quartet was chattering very loudly.
"What are you doing here?" Belle asked.
Emma looked behind her to ascertain that the front door was still open and yelled, "WE'RE TAKING YOU TO THE BALL TONIGHT!"
"You are?"
"OH YES!"
"But why?"
Emma saw that the butler was about to close the door. "Don't shut that yet," she hissed before turning to Belle and replying, "BECAUSE YOU ASKED US TO!"
"Oh, of course. How silly of me."
Lady Worth wandered into the hall. "What on earth is all the commotion?"
"I haven't the faintest idea," Persephone muttered, shooting an odd look at Emma.
"WE'RE TAKING BELLE AND JOHN TO THE BALL!" Emma bellowed.
"Fine. Be my guest, just stop shouting about it."
Alex shut the door quickly and said, "I've been urging her to get her ears checked. She's been doing this for three days."
Emma took Belle aside and whispered, "I just wanted to let our, er, enemy know that you're riding in our carriage tonight."
"So I gathered."
"He won't try anything with all of us in the carriage."
"He could always cut an axle or something like that. Then we'd all be in trouble."
"I don't think so. Too much of a chance that John wouldn't be the one to get hurt. He'll wait until later."
"What are you two whispering about?" Caroline demanded. "And what happened to your earache, Emma? I thought you could only shout. Come over here where it's lighter. I want to look in them myself. They probably just need a good cleaning."
Emma grimaced but allowed herself to be led off to the next room.
"I think I'll follow along," Persephone said. "She's been acting curiously all evening."
"Thank you," Belle said as soon as her mother was out of earshot.
"Don't mention it," Alex replied with a wave of his hand. "Although we've been having a devil of a time keeping all this from Persephone."
"She's very bright."
"So I'm learning."
"She's not going to let you pack her off to Yorkshire after having so much fun in London."
Alex shrugged his shoulders before turning to more pressing matters. "Where is your husband?"
"Upstairs scowling."