Blind Beauty

Chapter One

Seven years later 

LADY CLARISSA KINGSLEY NODDED here and there, left and right. She strolled along in her graceful manner through the Lingington Ballroom, pausing ever so often to bestow a smile, exchanging pleasantries with acquaintances, along with those she had never met. Nor did she ever wish to. The fewer people she knew, the better. They were all tattle mouths growling around her like hounds out for the hunting. 'Gossips are what they strive for in London, not friendship,' her mother's words always echoed. 

Brown tresses swept above her head; the pearl pins stuck to her scalp like moths to a flame caused her head to throb as she smiled at a gentleman who winked at her in the lewdest fashion. In all her years of being a spinster, she didn't once stop turning gentlemen heads. Lady Kingsley's beauty doesn't seem to fade; it's like she was born with a golden skin. Clarissa grinned, recalling one of the few compliments she heard during the Ball. The thought and grin vanished upon her haste remembrance at her reason for being at the Ball. 

It was only three weeks since her sister, Lady Camila Kingsley, who preferred to be called Julie, came to London for her first season, and tonight she had once again managed to escape Clarissa's hawk eyes. Julie had always been rebellious, a trait Clarissa resented. What were they teaching her in finishing school? It seemed her brother, Clark, wasted lots of money sending her off to that unfruitful thing they called a school for young ladies. Of course, Clarissa was against it, she couldn't fathom her sister being so far away from her watchful eyes. Obviously, her intuition proved correct as she manoeuvred her way around the ballroom catching no sight of her sister. Her eyes were not as sharp as she thought. Clarissa had been blind for five years; three were spent desperately trying to regain her sight. Once her eyesight was restored, her sister had made use of them more than Clarissa had with her passion, painting, as she had strived to keep an eye on Julie during many balls and events. 

Lady Kingsley increased her pace around the ornately glowing ballroom, lit by seven shimmering chandeliers, gold, and silver candlesticks illuminated and provided additional decor to the spacious room along with the bright and cheerful smiles of the pink and bloodshot roses proudly standing in crystal vases. Clarissa snorted in silence. They were begging to get stolen. As if on cue, she spotted the Dowager Duchess and hostess of tonight's ball with a vase under her arm, with a wrinkled forehead. Lady Kingsley watched, curiously as at last, she placed the delicate decor back on the vacant table just below where the grand staircase stretched upwards into numerous rooms. The Dowager Duchess turned to meet her gaze, her face softening into a smile as Clarissa tried her best to look elsewhere. "Lady Kingsley, if I didn't know you better, I'd say you were spying on me." She chuckled. "I must say you were always the curious sort." 

Clarissa smiled at the lady before her. She cast her eyes to the floor, hiding her flushed cheeks. "Your Grace, I assure you I did not intend to pry." 

The Dowager Duchess was a pleasant lady in her late seventies with brown curls that were now visibly grey and striking blue eyes that made anyone feel like they were at sea. At her advanced age, she was still strong as an ox, making frequent trips to London and around the world. Why, just last month she had returned from Italy to help her granddaughter through her first season. She was also a woman of discretion, one of the few Clarissa had met since her arrival back in London. The Dowager Duchess raised her gloved hands that hid years of wrinkles in the air, dismissing her remarks. "Nonsense! If you must know, Sir Peter was just caught stealing one of my most cherished possessions." 

Clarissa bit her lips to refrain from asking why was her most cherished possession left out in the open like that? It wasn't her place, literally. She was also aware of how Sir Peter's hands could be quite sticky. Last night at Lady Fairsky's Ball he had tried to seduce one of the lady's daughters in her presence! The man knew no bounds! "That man's fortunate I didn't have him thrown in the gallows. It's only because he is a dear friend of my son that he's accepted here." She sighed, staring off into space as if remembering an old memory.