Page 50 of Never Dare a Duke
And then he saw Abigail greet his sister, who stopped to speak to the two friends. Soon they were talking and laughing, and Christopher found himself growing more and more uncomfortable. Who knew what Abigail might expose her to? It was one thing for him to be involved with Abigail, another for his unsuspecting sister.
“Madingley?”
Christopher gave a start and realized that Swarthbeck had repeated his name more than once.
Gruffly, the marquess said, “Don’t tell me that you, too, have begun to think incessantly about that ghost. I swear, my wife and daughter have lost all sense.”
“No, it’s not that,” Christopher said. “I simply have too much on my mind. And I realized I offered to bring several people punch, and I’ll never hear the end of it if I don’t.”
“Ladies,” Swarthbeck said, shaking his head. “They can’t forgive a man anything.”
If that was true of the women in Swarthbeck’s family, then perhaps Christopher should rule out Lady May.
By the time he approached the three young women—with punch for only two of them, since he wanted his sister to leave—they were all in a paroxysm of laughter.
“Then you really must learn to aim better,” Abigail was saying, dabbing at her eyes. “Would you like me to teach you?”
Elizabeth shuddered as she tried to control herself. “The arrow just flies so randomly when I let it go.”
“Obviously!” said Lady Gwen, and they all laughed again.
“But I would love a lesson with you, Miss Shaw!” Elizabeth said.
“Call me Abigail.”
“What did I miss?” he interrupted, handing the punch to Lady Gwen and Abigail. He was trying to look pleasant when he was really gritting his teeth.
“Abigail is going to teach me archery,” Elizabeth said, with a toss of her head as if she dared him to refuse.
“And which man will suffer an arrow wound because of it?”
Lady Gwen giggled. “We heard about some of her archery adventures. But Abigail is a very patient instructor.”
And for some reason, even that made Christopher feel aroused.
“I have not seen you dancing, Chris,” Elizabeth said, “but for one dance with Abigail. There are other young ladies here.”
“And I will dance with them.” He hated to leave the three women alone again. He caught a look of impatience from Abigail that made him wonder what she was thinking. “Save me the next waltz, Miss Shaw.”
He saw Elizabeth’s look of amusement, as if she enjoyed watching her brother make a fool of himself over a woman. Let her think what she would.
He gave the next dance to Lady Theodosia, and returned in time for a waltz with Abigail. He noticed as he took her in his arms that she tried to keep as far away as possible.
Softly, he said, “You cannot believe that I will allow this distance in a waltz. What will our audience think of our courtship?”
He pulled her closer. As he whirled her through a corner, he allowed his thigh to dip between hers and saw her shock. “Is something wrong?” he asked with innocence.
Her eyes narrowed, but she said nothing.
With Abigail in his arms, he was free to touch her, to feel the supple strength of her back, the delicateness of her hand in his. He wasn’t sure he’d ever let his mind go to just enjoy the dance. Beneath her ridiculous hair, her brown eyes looked dark and forbidden, while the glitter within dared him to do more.
It was Abigail who remembered to stop when the music ended. He might have continued dancing like a fool. What was wrong with him?
She gave him a knowing smile. “There are other ladies who wish to dance with you, Your Grace, and you’ve had the proper two with me.”
“Ah, Society rules can be so tiresome.”
She almost pushed him away. “Go on with you before you make a scene.”
