Page 59 of The Duke and the Scarred Bride

“I sincerely hope that, for your sake, he would find as much humor in this situation.” She shook her head.

She couldn’t deny that the prospect of dancing excited her, and since no one had dared to ask her, she had resigned herself to sticking to the fringes of the room.

“If he doesn’t, you will do your best to sweeten things with him, won’t you?”

She snorted, then clapped a hand over her mouth.

Lord Pemberton laughed and slapped a hand on his thigh. “You’ve always been much too proper, Louisa.” He gave her a wink. “It is nice to see you loosening up. I will keep this between us.”

“At what cost?” she asked teasingly.

“A dance or two,” he answered thoughtfully. “We shall see as the night goes on.”

She sighed and shook her head with a laugh. “I can’t recall you being this stubborn.”

“There are a lot of things you do not know about me, my dear.” He grinned at her wolfishly. “Now come, we are about to miss the first dance.”

Louisa let herself be led to the dance floor. It had been an age since she had danced, and it was nice to feel the music in a way she hadn’t for so long.

She curtsied as Lord Pemberton bowed, and she noticed from his movements that he, too, enjoyed dancing.

“You are a rather graceful dancer, Your Grace,” he commended, stealing the words out of her mouth.

“Likewise, My Lord.” She smiled.

They spun again and bowed to each other. Eventually, Louisa felt a great weight lift off her shoulders. She found herself not worrying about the conflicting feelings she had for her husband or the grimness of the life she had resigned herself to. Rather, she felt only the rhythm of the music in her veins and the familiar stirring of her blood as she danced.

Since the accident, she had danced only a few perfunctory dances with gentlemen her mother had tried to marry her off to, but there had been no enjoyment, considering her partners looked like they would rather be anywhere else in the world. She only had to concentrate on carrying out the steps with precision and showing no emotion. But with Lord Pemberton, she felt the playful flirtation in their movements.

She couldn’t help but wonder how it would feel like if she and Percival were to ever share a dance. Considering how unyielding he was, she suspected he would lead the dance. Would he even remember the steps? It would have been an age since he last danced.

“Where did you go, dear Louisa?” Lord Pemberton asked, spinning her around.

“Nowhere you need to worry about,” she answered with a wink.

He laughed and bowed as the first dance ended, before leading her into the next. Her blood roared, and her feet ached, but she was having too much fun considering the impropriety of dancingtwicewith him.

She noticed a few eyes on them and noted that the Viscount seemed to revel in the attention. They had danced more than one dance, after all. The ton’s questioning stares were not unfounded. Perhaps she should end the dance before any unkind rumours would begin.

“Everyone is staring at us,” she murmured, looking around the ballroom again. “I think we had better stop. We’ve been too improper.”

More eyes swiveled in their direction, and it was starting to make her uncomfortable, as she couldn’t tell what their expressions meant.

“You have misjudged their intentions, dear Louisa.” Lord Pemberton smiled as he eyed the crowd. “Can’t you see the admiration in their eyes?”

Admiration? Why?

“You are rather beautiful tonight,” he continued, as though he had heard her thoughts. “And we do make a striking pair, even though you are married.”

She gave him a reproachful look, and he laughed again.

“We do. It’s a shame you had to marry someone else before I realized you were a diamond in need of polishing. Nonetheless, I know how to cut my losses.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Isabella amidst the crowd that had gathered, and her sister winked at her, causing her to laugh.Thatwas a look she could interpret.

Lord Pemberton raised an eyebrow questioningly.

“I just wonder why it has taken me so long to see it,” she explained.

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