Page 67 of The Confessions of a Lady
‘You must be our host. I’ve not had the pleasure of an introduction, but I believe you know my husband.’ A statuesque woman with blazing-red hair who must be Drake’s wife was talking to him, but Liam couldn’t pull his gaze from Penny.
‘I don’t think he heard you, Millie.’ The pale woman in blue addressed her friend.
The orchestra began playing a waltz. For once, the fates were on his side.
‘Dance with me. Please.’ If Penny said no, he might well dissolve into smoke and ashes on the ballroom stairs.
Penny fluttered her lashes, the only indication of her nerves. ‘Only if I can stand on your feet.’
Liam held in his shout of triumph. Taking her hand, he placed it in the crook of his arm, heedless of the many eyes staring at them. Carefully, as though she might break into a million pieces if she hit one of the stairs at the wrong angle, he led her down to the dance floor.
‘Lovely to meet you, Lord Renquist.’ The redhead called to them as they took their places amongst couples already beginning to swirl and sway to the music.
Penny couldn’t breathe. Millie had cinched her corset so tight, she was certain her ribs were crushing her heart. That must be why the organ was beating so fiercely. It was trying to escape.
Wise decision.
She should do the same thing. But Liam’s strong arm wrapped around her, his warm palm pressed between her shoulder blades. Herbareshoulder blades. Which was nothing compared to the front of her dress. Or the lack of front to her dress. Never in her life had she imagined being so exposed in front of the entire beau monde while simultaneously hiding behind a mask. Her heart made another desperate bid for freedom.
‘I didn’t think you would come after last night.’ Liam guided one of her hands to his shoulder, then cradled her other hand in his as carefully as one might hold an autumn leaf. He flexed his fingers and drew her scandalously closer.
Penny glanced around, but all the couples on the floor were similarly pressed together. ‘This hardly seems proper.’
‘It’s a waltz.’ Liam shrugged, his shoulders flexing beneath his superfine coat. She couldn’t believe her hand was sitting there as if it belonged. ‘Follow my lead. I won’t let you fall.’
‘My ankle.’ In truth, it was feeling much better. But it did still twinge, and it made an excellent reason for escape.
His arms tightened around her. ‘I shall hold part of your weight. Trust me. I’ve got you, Penny.’ And like jumping into a fast-moving river, they were slipping over the floor, swirling in the eddies, twisting along the ebbs and flows of the melody. She let her feet trip across the parquet she had spent so much time scrubbing as he led them in a complicated pattern of spins and spirals. She should be focusing on her mission, but all she could think about was the heat of his body, the play of muscle in his arm, the tickle of his fingers on her shoulder blade.
Until he ruined the magic by talking.
‘I couldn’t stop thinking about what you said. About your mother.’
Penny’s legs became tangled in her skirt, but before she stumbled, Liam lifted her off the floor completely, swirling in a tight turn. When he placed her back on the ground, her skirts had righted themselves.
‘I don’t want to speak about my mother with you.’ She kept her gaze on his jaw. The candlelight caught in his stubble, gilding his cheek in gold.
Of course he looks like a golden god.
‘If you are still angry, why did you come tonight?’ He leaned closer, whispering the words into her ear, his warm breath making her shiver.
She couldn’t very well tell him her real reason for attending the masque. So she crafted a fast lie.
‘Maybe I wanted to torture you. A man used to claiming whatever glittering jewel he wants finally being denied. Maybe I wanted to become the one shining thing you can’t possess.’
Oh, God. Not a lie. The truth.
She hadn’t realised her motives until she spoke them aloud.
That’s why I came tonight. Not to find evidence against him. Not to discover his guilt. But to prove my own power by denying him.
The music swelled as Liam’s hand slipped lower on her back. She arched into his touch, and they spun again, the room around her disappearing into a swirl of light and colour.
‘I may never earn your affections, but you possess me completely, Penny.’
The music stopped, capturing them like frozen water in motion. As the couples around them dispersed, Liam’s arm loosened, and Penny forced herself to put her full weight on her feet and step back.
A footman wove through the crowd, a message in his hand. ‘My lord, I was asked to give you this immediately.’
