Page 28 of The Duke's Stolen Heart
“What is it?”
“Dancing lessons,” Antonia breathed. “I am ordered by Princess Esterhazy to improve my deportment if I wish to continue to accompany Lady Margaret to Almacks. Apparently, my waltz with Lord Havencrest was inappropriate. Only debutantes who have received express permission from the patronesses are permitted. Apparently, it is an Almack’s rule. I didn’t know.”
“Oh,” Margaret exhaled. “That is embarrassing.”
“Yes, thank you for that keen observation,” Lady Evendaw snapped. “Miss Lowry is your friend, Margaret. Why did you not warn her?”
Margaret wilted under her sister-in-law’s sharp criticism.
“According to Lady Jersey, my deportment is acceptable, considering my nationality, however my skills need refinement if I am to grace the floor next Wednesday. It is signed jointly by five of the six Almack’s patronesses.” Antonia held out the letter. Lady Evendaw sniffed as if she had offered a handful of dung.
“I suppose you had best take her up on the offer, then, if you wish to avoid further humiliation,” Lord Evendaw peered over her shoulder at the insulting letter. “From ten to eleven every day excepting Sunday. This is right generous of the princess, to provide you with private instruction. Always liked her, though I cannot see what it matters if a lady dances a waltz at an assembly. I shall have my driver take you in the morning, Miss Lowry. Good night.”
Antonia retreated with her friend’s arm draped protectively through hers. “It isn’t so bad. Dancing is simple once you learn the steps,” Margaret prattled comfortingly.
But it wasn’t the footwork that concerned Antonia. It was that she had been caught out as a fraud. The temptation to take the remainder of Havencrest’s money and disappear overwhelmed Antonia in a wave of fear and despair.
He’ll never let you go,her heart whispered, lying. Havencrest planned to hand her over to the authorities as soon as she got him his stupid rock. She had best pack her bags and be gone before he had a chance to make that happen.
* * *
The next morningAntonia huffed her way up the stairs of the stated address precisely at nine fifty-six. Her breath puffed before her with each step.
“‘Improve my deportment,’ she says,” Antonia muttered as she arrived at the landing and depressed the latch holding closed the double-width doorway. “If I hadn’t spent my youth on hands and knees scrubbing after the likes of you, perhaps I would have had time to acquire the appropriate social…polish.”
Antonia halted abruptly. Before her was an empty room with scarred blond flooring bathed in stark winter light. Next to the window sat a table on which sat a wooden rectangle that made a rhythmic and annoying clicking sound. Over it bent a tall man with broad shoulders she would have recognized anywhere.
“I ought to have known you were behind this.”
“Yes,” Havencrest confirmed smugly. “I thought it a clever way to accomplish two goals.”
“Which are?” Antonia asked archly as she worked the frog closure on her warm mantle. She ought to be angry, but instead, she was oddly charmed. Annoyed, yes, but also humbled that he had gone to such lengths to spend time alone with her. Antonia’s footsteps echoed hollowly through the dancing room as she moved to drape it over the little wooden chair next to the table, on top of his overcoat. She placed her velvet bonnet beside his hat. Her gloves remained in place. Warily she circled the edge of the room, watching the duke as though he might pounce.
“Improving your waltzing skills, Miss Lowry, while plotting how to relieve my grandmother of her coveted gemstone.”
“I share only one of those goals,” Antonia informed him. Her gold velvet day dress with pink trim swished about her ankles.
Havencrest bowed. “That will be sufficient inducement for you to learn how to dance properly, then. In one week, we return to Almack’s. My grandmother will be there as well. I will make an attempt to ensure she wears the object of our shared desire.”
The Heart’s Cry, of course.
“After last night, I am convinced I hired the right woman for the job.” Havencrest kept his distance, orbiting away from the table, counting steps around the room.
“Hired? More like blackmailed.” She traced the top of the clicking device with one hand. “What is this?”
“A metronome. It will help us to keep time in the absence of musical accompaniment. We may converse freely here.” He stepped into the middle of the room and gave her a courtly bow. “My grandmother was the one to complain to Princess Esterhazy about my inappropriate waltz with you. It seems I was overly familiar with my lady’s friend. I had forgotten the rules of Almack’s since my last visit. In my defense, it was a decade ago.”
Antonia didn’t know where to look, but she could not bring herself to meet his gaze. The way he regarded her, with a wary, yearning heat, made her palms damp inside her kid gloves. “I cannot believe you were ever a frequent visitor.”
“I wasn’t. A brief episode in my early twenties.”
“Why did you stop going?” Antonia asked with more prickly heat than she intended. This was hardly her first time alone with a man. If she were to give herself to him, it wouldn’t be her first experience either. It was the fact that he had gone to such lengths to get her alone that had Antonia’s hackles up. Despite this, she sensed no danger from him. Havencrest did not attempt to move closer to her. “The lady I had hoped to wed chose another man,” he said mildly. Pain ghosted over his handsome features.
“Oh?” Antonia arched one eyebrow. “I cannot imagine a lady refusing a man of such charm and wit as yourself.”
Her sarcasm earned her the stretch of his sensuous lips into a half moon. “I wasn’t always such a charming rogue. For a long time, I endeavored to become London’s most practiced rake. I succeeded beyond my ken. The lady in question believed I could never change and chose to marry a man who promised greater happiness. A knight, to be precise.”
“Why are you telling me this? We are here for dancing, are we not?” Antonia snapped. She did not wish to know this man’s history. Her heart beat faster as the full weight of meeting alone with him for six full mornings pressed down upon her. She did not like the way excitement coursed through her body at the prospect. “Apart from failing to follow your lead, what did I do wrong last night?”
