Page 35 of Trapped with the Earl of Sin

Mary’s eyes sparkled with approval as she gently adjusted a stray lock of Susanna’s hair. “You look stunning. I very much like that color on you. I am sure that you will have all eyes on you tonight.”

“Oh, I do not need all eyes…”

“Just the eyes of someone in particular,” Mary declared with a wink.

Panic shot through Susanna. Had Mary found out her secret? She swallowed hard, trying to maintain her composure. “I… I do not know what you mean.”

Mary laughed softly, a knowing glint in her eyes. “Oh, Susanna, you cannot hide your feelings from me. It is obvious that there is someone special you are hoping to impress tonight. And if it is who I think it is, then from what I can tell, he is already quitetaken with you. I am sure that he will not know what to say because you look so lovely.”

Susanna’s heart raced. Could Mary really know about her and Martin?

“I suppose we shall see,” she said, attempting a nonchalant tone because the last thing she wanted to do was give anything away. “Shall we go?”

As they descended the grand staircase, the anticipation building in Susanna’s chest was almost overwhelming.

The carriages waited outside, their polished surfaces gleaming in the fading light of day. The soft murmurs and laughter drifted through the open door, setting the scene for an evening of elegance and intrigue.

And an evening where Susanna would have to keep one eye on Martin, without alerting her sister to what she was doing, and the other on Edwin.

It was certainly going to be another interesting night. One that could lead to anything. Susanna just hoped and prayed that she was ready for it, whatever came her way.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Martin had to admit, Luke’s mother had not been lying. This most certainly was a fancy occasion. It seemed like the Wessons felt like they had something to prove when they planned this event. It truly seemed like they wanted to overshadow everyone else throwing events in the local area.

Martin was not sure that he could ever envision himself in that position, caring enough about what other people were doing to want to compete with them. It all seemed incredibly pointless to him. A waste of time.

But here he was, ready for another interesting night.

He might not have spent a lot of time at this sort of event normally, but then he did not usually have Susanna to share this time with him.

Speaking of whom… where was she?

Martin scanned the crowd, his eyes darting past the elegantly dressed guests and elaborate decorations. The ballroom was a sea of vibrant colors and animated faces, but there was only one person he was truly interested in seeing.

Susanna, Susanna, Susanna, Susanna. Oh my!

His heart skipped a beat the moment he spotted Susanna. She was not lying at breakfast, she really did have a stunning, eye-catching gown on. It was one who had all eyes upon her because she looked so ravishing in it, and she did not even seem to realize it.

Martin was always surprised by how coy and shy she was, how little she seemed to see her own beauty. Perhaps that was one of the many things that lured him in.

Susanna seemed to sense his eyes on her, more than anyone else’s, and she turned to face him before descending the stairs with her family. He could hardly breathe as an intense desire gripped him. It was going to be incredibly hard for him to behave himself when she looked like that.

“My goodness,” Luke commented beside him, reminding him that he was not alone in his anxious wait. “She looks absolutely wonderful. I must be the luckiest man alive.”

Martin knew Luke was talking about his bride-to-be, but he found himself nodding along, unable to take his eyes off of Susanna. The feeling was so intense that for a brief moment, heactually considered telling Luke how he felt, to see if his friend approved of his feelings.

But he shut himself up at the very last second, reminding himself that Susanna did not seem like the sort of person who would be too happy having everyone talking about her behind her back. She had her walls up as it was because of everything that her family had been through, and he wanted to respect her privacy.

Plus, they did not know where this was going to lead, so it was probably for the best that no one knew.

The more people who knew about this, the more complicated it could become. Martinneverwent out of his way to make things complicated, and he did not wish to start now.

“Come on,” Luke urged excitedly. “Let us go and ask the ladies to dance before anyone else does.”

Martin had been planning on waiting until a little later on in the evening before he asked Susanna to dance, despite making the joke about wanting to be the first name on her dance card. He had wanted to hold back and play it cool, but he could not explain that to Luke, so he followed behind him and offered Susanna his hand.

Thankfully, she readily accepted it, looking pleased to have him as the first man to hold her.

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