Page 91 of The Viscount in her Bedroom
She used the pressure of her hand in his to turn him, pushed against his shoulder, and once even pulled, but it was Mr. Wade they were avoiding.
“Your brother is deliberately getting in our way,” she said with amusement.
“He didn’t think I’d dance,” Simon said. “Even I can’t believe it. But I couldn’t stand to have you sitting in a corner, when you deserve to be in the center of the room.”
She blushed but couldn’t answer—her entire attention needed to be focused on keeping Simon from being humiliated. She was shocked to remember how her partners had easily kept up a conversation while waltzing about a crowded floor. Thank goodness only four other couples were dancing with them. Another twenty or so people were openly gawking.
When the dance finally ended and Simon released her, she sank into another curtsy and he bowed.
When she took his arm again, he leaned down and said, “You’re trembling. Is something wrong?”
“Only the stress of leading,” she lied. “I am filled with admiration for you men who have to do this all the time.”
“And there’s nothing else?”
She hesitated. “We are quite on display here. I hope—”
“Just stop right now,” he said firmly. “You’re going to spout nonsense about me suffering for having to be seen with you. If I ever discover who tarnished your reputation, I’ll destroy him with my bare hands.”
She warmed with pleasure.
“What about your suffering?” he continued. “I know I stepped on your toes twice. You have to put up with a blind man, for heaven’s sake.”
“But it was an honor,” she said softly.
His smile faded, and she found herself trapped in his awareness of her, enjoying being the center of this man’s attention.
“You know,” she said breathlessly, “I saw several mamas pointing you out to their daughters.” Did that sound as if she was trying to marry him off to someone else, she wondered? Or maybe the more she reminded him that he was an eligible mate, the more he might think of himself that way.
“Don’t even bother,” he said.
Simon wasn’t going to listen to listen to her foolish words about other women or other dances. He was happy where he was. Wondering what Louisa was thinking was a pleasant obsession. She was treating him like a normal man, and it was a rare feeling these days. He had spent the past months telling himself that everyone else had changed, not him, that his life could go on as always.
But finally, here on the dance floor with the only woman he could dance with, he had to admit the truth to himself: he was different, he’d changed, and he didn’t know how to go back to the man he was before. If not for the many challenges Louisa had presented him over the past several weeks, he still would have been in his grandmother’s home, conducting his business in solitude, telling himself that everything was all right.
So where was he supposed to go from here? Blindness had changed him, but he was beginning to forge a new life. It was yet incomplete, lacking any clear understanding of his future. All he knew was that Louisa Shelby was important to him. He found himself torn between protecting her and pursuing her for his own selfish pleasure.
At this moment, he was living his life in the present, and that was all he could offer.
“I see Georgie with Mr. Reyburn,” Louisa said.
“You sound hesitant.”
“No, it’s just that she’s seemed…confused the last few days, and she hasn’t been able to tell me why. I’ve thought she and Mr. Reyburn had a special relationship, but now I’m not so sure.”
Simon found himself turning his head, as if he could gaze about the room looking for his sister. “What do you mean?”
“As she’s gained confidence in herself at these events, she’s lost confidence when she deals with Mr. Reyburn. Oh dear.”
Her voice had grown concerned.
“Louisa,” he began in a warning tone.
“I’m sorry. I can see the two of them together against a wall. Wait, someone got in my way.” She gave Simon a pull to the side. “Now I can see them better. Oh my, he’s lifting her hand. He kissed it!”
“Paul?” Simon said in surprise, then felt a growing worry. “This is a public place, and he’s always considered her a little sister.”
“Simon, I’ve tried to tell you that things have changed. Oh dear.”
