Page 36 of Seducing a Frigid Lady
The musicians paused suddenly in their playing, alerting Priscilla to the end of the current dance, and all she could hear was the pounding of her heart beating in her ears. Determined to ignore him for as long as possible, she turned her full attention to Lady Caroline and said, “My aunt always outdoes herself. She claims that she is her only true competition.”
Lady Caroline smiled with laughter at that and nodded. “I only hope that I shall be as gracious as Countess Bishop when I am her age.”
“Be careful she does not hear you talking highly of her or her head might begin to swell,” Priscilla insisted, chuckling a little because in spite of herself, she did always enjoy talking to Lady Caroline. And her company was far better than that of the man crossing the dancefloor towards them.
Her feet itched to turn and run. Her mind was screaming at her to do so, and yet she knew how that would look. He had seen her not once but twice now at the ball, and if she were to run, he would only assume that it was because he unsettled her, that he actually had a chance of seducing her before the end of the Season. And she was never going to allow that to happen.
The way Lady Caroline’s eyes lit up over Priscilla’s shoulder told her just how close he was now and she felt her insides tingling with his presence. It was a painfully awkward sensation that made her feel quite sick to her stomach, far worse than any butterflies she had ever felt before.
“Lord Sinclair,” Lady Caroline greeted him with a genuine smile and curtseyed low, forcing Priscilla to turn and do the same. And though she met his eyes this time, she did not allow herself to smile as Lady Caroline did.
“Lady Caroline, Miss Lloyd, a pleasure to see you both here tonight,” Lord Sinclair announced, placing one hand before him and one behind his back so that he could bow rather formally. Priscilla struggled to stop herself from rolling her eyes at his over-exaggerated, respectful greeting.
“Miss Lloyd is Lady Bishop’s niece,” Lady Caroline pointed out in a way that made Priscilla grit her teeth. “I think Lady Bishop would be quite upset if she was not in attendance.”
Priscilla was not uncomfortable for anyone to know that she was Lady Bishop’s aunt. She was, however, feeling awkward that the conversation had immediately turned towards her as soon as Lord Sinclair arrived.
“Ahh, yes, that is why she seems to escort you everywhere,” Lord Sinclair chuckled, turning a charming smile on Priscilla. It was a smile that caused her to tighten her grip on her glass until her knuckles had turned white and she was fearful she might break the fragile object. Yet, she could not loosen her grip, nor could she stop from clenching her jaw in his presence. It was taking everything that she had in her to even stand anywhere near him.
“Lady Bishop, like most of theton’s mamas, can be quite overbearing,” Priscilla stated, trying to keep her voice cool, calm and collected even though she couldn’t have been feeling further from that.
“But she is not your…” Lord Sinclair began and Priscilla knew exactly what he was going to say. Her chest tightened to see the look of slight confusion upon his handsome face, and she braced herself.
“Miss Lloyd and her aunt have always been very close,” Lady Caroline put in and Priscilla was so grateful to her that she could have kissed her if not for the ice-queen facade she had built so entirely over the years. “The two of them may as well be mother and daughter.”
Priscilla offered Lady Caroline a careful smile of gratitude and a curt nod of her head to acknowledge the fact that she had indeed helped her out of a tight situation. The last thing she wanted to do when she was already feeling uncomfortable was talk about her mother.
Somehow it always turned to talk not only of her mother but also of the newborn brother she had lost along with her. And in the state she was currently in, she feared that would be far too much for her heart to bear.
As though he sensed that he had said something untoward, Lord Sinclair dipped his head and apologised, “Forgive me, Miss Lloyd. I was not aware that it was an uncomfortable subject for you.”
She had to give him credit where credit was due. There were many men, both noble and common, who would have missed the point entirely. And so, she simply dipped her head in return and responded, “I accept your apology.”
When she looked him in the eye again, she wished that she hadn’t. She saw the spark of thought that lit his gaze up. It danced in his irises like a lightning bolt and drew his lips upwards in another broad smile. “Perhaps I might make it up to you with the next dance?” he suggested, and Priscilla’s gut churned.
This was exactly what she had been hoping to avoid. Even though they would be surrounded by people out on the dancefloor, it would still be entirely too intimate. Just the thought of placing her hand in his made her head spin and her pulse race.
“Forgive me, my lord, but I am afraid I shall have to decline,” Priscilla said firmly, though not entirely with malice. “I promised my aunt that I would help her to greet the guests during the first few days and I fear I have already failed in my duties. I think I ought to go and make it up to her.”
The viscount did not look entirely convinced by her lie, but she was relieved when he did not protest. It was tainted, however, by the guilt she felt at seeing the hurt on his face.
In a spur-of-the-moment decision, Priscilla added, “Perhaps Lady Caroline might be willing to dance?”
Though it made her stomach twist all over again to imagine Lady Caroline in his arms in her place, it was the best she could come up with to ensure that he did not feel entirely snubbed. And at the suggestion, Lady Caroline did look quite pleased.
“Oh, I do love to dance,” she admitted with a beaming smile that suggested her words were genuine and not merely the rehearsed words her mother had taught her to say whenever a gentleman asked her to the dancefloor. She looked hopefully towards Lord Sinclair and again, Priscilla felt a small wave of guilt for putting him on the spot in such a manner.
They make a far better couple, anyway.She told herself firmly. Just looking at them she could see how wonderful they would be together. Lady Caroline with her friendly manners, golden hair and beautiful complexion and Lord Sinclair with his easy-going charm and his dark features. They would make an excellent couple and even more than that, she could imagine the kind of children that they would produce.This must be the way that thetonmamas look at everybody.
She shivered inwardly at the thought that she could ever be anywhere near like those accursed women.
“I… umm…” Lord Sinclair stammered, and for one horrifying moment, Priscilla feared her plan would backfire. The last thing she wanted was for the nobleman to snub Lady Caroline. She was one of the few women of thetonthat Priscilla could actually stand. In fact, she actually admired the woman. She was so nice that nobody could ever speak or feel negatively towards her. Yet, Lord Sinclair looked ready to decline.
Hardening her gaze, Priscilla glowered at him, silently daring him to do so just so that she could have even more of a reason to stay away from him. Any man who was willing to reject a dance with someone as wonderful as Lady Caroline had no right to spend time in the company of any good woman, herself included.
Lord Sinclair cleared his throat, and though his face had paled slightly, he smiled warmly at Lady Caroline and held out his hand. “I would be honoured to escort you onto the dancefloor, my lady.”
“Oh, wonderful!” Lady Caroline exclaimed. She turned to Priscilla to ask, “Would you mind holding this for me?”
