Page 40 of The Lady Who Said No to the Duke
‘A vigorous set,’ he remarked as Lord Lammerton bowed and left.
‘Very,’ Thea agreed, fanning herself as the Earl led her to a chair.Fortunately, the orchestra had settled down to a few minutes of what she always thought of as twiddly music, presumably recognising that everyone needed to regain their breath.
‘A glass of lemonade?’Marcus Greyson asked.He was already on his feet and gesturing to a passing waiter.
Thea accepted it gratefully and set herself to attend to his conversation, which, considering that he was an attractive and intelligent man with an easy manner, was proving quite difficult.Something was distracting her, niggling at the back of her mind, and she could not quite put her finger on it.
She talked and smiled and laughed and then, when the music changed with a flourish to announce the next dance, she realised that she must have been showing an unwise degree of enthusiasm.The Earl was smiling into her eyes with some warmth and somehow his manner, when he held out his hand and escorted her onto the floor, was proprietorial.
Now what have I done?Thea smiled brightly as he took her into hold for the waltz.And a waltz, of all things.
There was no escaping the intimacy of this dance as there was with any of the others, with their frequent changes of partner, side-steps and promenades.
But why am I worrying?He is a very eligible gentleman and I like him.Why should I not encourage him?
As she thought it, Thea caught sight of Hal on the other side of the ballroom.He was not dancing; instead, he was standing watching.Watching her.
Surely not.Why should he?
Marcus swept her around a corner in an advanced movethat had her forgetting Hal and everything else in an effort to remember her steps and keep pace with a very good, and apparently very adventurous, partner.
A very attractive partner, and one who appeared to be finding her interesting too.She would be careful, Thea promised herself.Not let herself be carried away and give too much encouragement tonight.Tomorrow she would see what she could find out about the Earl of Porchester.
She ran through a mental list of her closest friends.Who knew all the gossip but were loyal enough not to add her interest in a man to the scandal broth?
Gloria, Clara, Paulina—
The music reached a crescendo, stopped, and Marcus swept her to a halt, kept hold for just a fraction too long and then stepped back, bowing.
Thea curtseyed.‘My goodness, that was stimulating!’She flipped open her fan as they walked off the floor.
‘Are you engaged for the next dance or would you care to sit it out?’
‘I would like to sit, I believe,’ Thea said with a laugh.‘It is clear I have not danced at a ball for several months.I had not thought myself so enfeebled as to be glad of a rest this early in the evening.’
‘That was a very energetic waltz, I must admit,’ he said as they took seats almost halfway along the wall between the two conservatory doors.‘I should have been more moderate, but it is such a pleasure to find myself with a partner who can really dance.’
‘It takes two to make a good partnership,’ Thea said and then could have bitten her tongue when she saw the warmth in his gaze.He had read far more into that simple statement than she had intended.
I need more time.To what?To get to know him?To recover my trust in men?Or to recover from Hal?
She had turned her head to compose herself and so she saw Hal go through the door into the conservatory, alone.It was a retreat, she thought, sensing something from the blankness of his expression and the set of his shoulders.He was not enjoying this business of being the most eligible, the most pursued, man in the Marriage Mart, of having to make a choice of a duchess when surrounded by eager young ladies and predatory mothers.
You had a perfectly suitable bride, if only you had treated her properly, she thought, looking away and facing Marcus again as the orchestra struck up to signal the next dance.
Over his shoulder she saw Helena Linton.She was moving, not towards the dance floor with a partner, but alone and through the other conservatory door.Behind her, her mother watched, a little smile on her lips.
There was something furtive about the way Helena had moved, something secretive about that little smile.
‘Excuse me.’Thea stood up abruptly and, of course, Marcus rose too.‘I must just…er…’
As she’d hoped, he appeared to assume she had a sudden urgent need to find the ladies’ retiring room.
‘I’ll be back in a moment, but please don’t feel you have to wait for me.’She hurried off, then glanced back.Tactfully, Marcus had resumed his seat, crossed his legs and was looking in the opposite direction.
Thea pushed open the conservatory door and slipped inside, closing it behind her.Immediately she was enveloped in steamy air, redolent of warm earth, leaf mould and green growing things.
The space was deserted so far as she could see, which,admittedly, was not far.Lady Hampton had clearly spared no expense on this and, from the heating system to the number and variety of plants, it was lavish.
