Page 7 of Good Duke Gone Wild

Nodding, he passed on her left and checked his feet again. Scanning the couples, he verified that he was indeed executing the right move.

“So you travel around the world?”

“Yes.”

“You must see a great many variations in culture?”

He wasn’t sure if he nodded to that question or even vocalized an answer because at that moment the man on his right bumped into his shoulder and Jude had to regain his footing. Had that been his mistake or the other man’s?

“Are you leaving for somewhere soon?”

“Must be,” he mumbled.

“And you enjoy gaining all those new experiences everywhere you go?”

What was she talking about? What kind of new experiences was she alluding to? That smirk led him to believe she was referring to something salacious, but she couldn’t be…could she?

Certainly she was not intimating anything scandalous, but Jude was most definitely lost in the conversation. Something about traveling and being a pirate. How had they deviated to bedroom experiences? And really, what was with her smirk?

She hadn’t been smirking the whole time. He was absolutely sure of that fact. Well, he was quite sure of it. Or, at least, he was partially sure of it. He might bet his mate’s greatcoat on it, but not his own.

Another bump from behind had him pressing his body against hers in a most improper way causing her hand to squeeze his tightly. Relying on him to regain her balance, her eyes met his. Wide. Vulnerable. Curious. The look slammed into his chest, and he coughed to ease the tension.

It was something he so rarely saw in a woman. She seemed…open. When most women viewed their future as a set path that they merely needed to find and follow, he had a sense that this woman was looking to forge her own path.

Her gaze dropped to her shoes, and he thought he felt a slight tremor in her hand. After a deep inhalation, she looked up into hisface. And he felt as though she were now wearing two masks instead of one. Then she had to go and do the one thing he abhorred the most.

“Did you see what happened at the Ashbourne wedding?”

Gossip.

“No.” He would indulge this single question and that was it.

Her eyes flared at him, and he knew she expected more conversation from him. Even the oh so simple,Did you?would have been more than enough. Damn it. He expected it of himself, but he wouldn’t yield on this point. If she had an unstoppable compulsion to gossip, so be it. She could gossip all she wanted for the remainder of this dance. He would nod his head and spin her around. Hopefully spinning her more than enough to diminish the chatter.

Bah! This irritable woman had turned him into one irritable man, and he did not like it one bit. She was just like every other vapid lady. The second this dance was over, he would dash out of here. As courteously as possible, but he’d be gone. Never to see her again.

“Are you all right?”

“Yes.”

He must have given her an examining glance because she expounded upon her question.

“It’s just that you haven’t said much—”

“There’s nothing to say—”

“Ow!” she cried out as he realized he just stomped on her toe. And in her delicate slippers that must have been painful.

“Apologies,” he grumbled. “Should we sit—”

“I’m fine,” she gritted out with an unwavering smirk on her face. “It happens all the time. I have strong enough feet to endure a dance or two with a bumbling oaf—”

“Now wait just aminute—”

“Thank you for the dance. You saved me from an undesirable dance…though I’m not sure how gallantly you rescued me.” She dipped her eyes to her feet. “All things considered.”

“I said I’m sorry—”

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