Page 20 of A Sinful Viscount's Mistletoe Affair
They reached the dance floor, and he took her in his arms, placing his hand just about her waist and feeling the firmness of her body through the thin fabric of her gown. Something stirred within him as they began to move together, and he was once again unable to tear his gaze away from her pale blue eyes.
He knew he should say something, but he felt strangely tongue-tied. He cleared his throat. “This is a most impressive ball, Lady Isabella. I am most grateful to your parents for inviting me.”
As he said the words, he realized he had almost forgotten what he had been seeking to achieve by dancing with her, so transfixed had he been by her beauty. And now, as she looked up at him, those soft pink lips parted as she prepared to speak, he knew that it would be difficult to remain focused on his goal.
“You are most welcome,” she replied softly. “I am sure my parents were very happy that you and your family could join us for the house party.”
They moved across the floor, and Sebastian felt Lady Isabella leaning in towards him slightly, allowing him to lead her in the dance. He realized that he did not have to rush; they would be able to spend plenty of time together in the coming days.
Perhaps he could simply allow himself to enjoy this dance rather than forcing himself to try and find out anything about his father’s past and the secrets that he was sure were ripe to be discovered through his acquaintance with her.
As they changed direction, moving together in perfect synchronicity, Sebastian saw a flash of light as something sparkled near the neckline of Lady Isabella’s gown. He looked down briefly to see a cameo broach fixed to her dress. It was exquisite, a perfect depiction of the goddess Venus.
“Ah, your broach perhaps was the reason for your search in the library for more information on the Roman gods and goddesses,” he said, forcing himself to move his eyes away from the neckline of her dress, tempting though it was to allow his gaze to linger there.
She nodded. “That is exactly right, My Lord. It was a gift that my sister brought home for me from her travels in Italy.”
“It is very beautiful,” Sebastian replied. “I am not surprised that it inspired you towards finding out more about the goddess who inspired it.”
“I am sure you know much more about it than me,” Lady Isabella said, lowering her eyes a little shyly. “You have travelled so widely, I hear.”
Sebastian frowned for a moment, then remembered his dance with Miss Harrow, the daughter of the rather brooding and forbidding-looking Lord Harrow. Perhaps she and Lady Isabella were friends, and Miss Harrow had told her of their conversation about his travels.
He had thought that she was a rather strange young lady, who had stared at him intensely throughout their dance and asked him so many questions that he had struggled to keep up with her curiosity about his life and future. And clearly, she had gone off to tell all her friends about his, too. It was a rather singular situation, he thought.
But as he turned his attention back to Lady Isabella, he realized he would not mind so much if she asked him even more questions. Their conversation in the library had been easy, and he felt more comfortable now with her, as they danced together, than he had with anyone in a long time.
“It is true; I have been very fortunate to travel widely,” he said as they continued to make their way through the dance. “I have travelled all around Italy, and of course, Rome is one of the most marvellous cities in the world.”
“I have read many books about Rome,” Lady Isabella responded, a slightly wistful, far-away look on her face, “But I do not know if I will ever be lucky enough to travel there.”
Sebastian paused for a moment before responding. She was perhaps only being realistic and recognizing the limitations that society put on women in her acceptance that she might never be able to travel to Rome. But when he saw the glint of excitement in her eye as she spoke about it, he hoped that she was wrong and that one day she would get the chance to see that fine city.
“It is a wonderful city, and so fascinating to visit the city where so many of these stories and legends originated from,” Sebastian said. “I am sure you know that Julius Caesar himself claimed to be a descendent of Venus through her son Aeneas?”
Lady Isabella nodded. “He really must have believed that she was a real person, then, who walked on this earth in the same way that we do.”
He raised an eyebrow and looked at her. “Do you mean to say that you do not believe she was real?”
She giggled. “I could not say,” she replied, then her face became serious. “How can anyone know, though? And it hardly matters, really. She is an emblem of love, and that is all that matters.”
Sebastian thought that he felt her pressing against him slightly more closely as she uttered those words, and he felt his eyes drawn once again towards hers. He was finding it impossible to look away from her and did not want the dance to end.
Chapter 9
Isabella could feel her heart pounding in her chest as their dance drew to a close. She had never had a dance like it before, and she was not sure she would ever again. The feeling of Lord Ashcroft’s hand on her waist made her quiver, and as he led her masterfully across the dance floor, she felt as if she would go anywhere with him, wherever he chose to lead her.
“Did you know that Adonis, the god with whom Venus fell so violently in love, was also represented in Canaanite mythology as the god Adon,” Lord Ashcroft was saying.
Isabella forced herself to concentrate on his words, even though she found herself immensely distracted by his dark brown eyes and the feeling of his strong arm holding her tightly as they moved around the floor in the final loop of the waltz.
She shook her head. “I did not know that,” she replied. “I feel like there is infinite knowledge to be gained about all the ancient civilizations of the world.”
He nodded. “There are links between Adonis and gods from Egyptian and Babylonian civilization, too. There are so many places all around the world that shared this obsession with beauty and love.”
Isabella felt her cheeks warming as he looked at her intensely. Surely she could not be imagining that he was enjoying her company as much as she was enjoying his? It almost felt like it was too good to be true, the way he was looking at her, and all the interests they had in common.
“Imagine travelling all the way to Egypt,” she breathed. Suddenly, she pictured herself by his side, on the deck of a ship, sailing away to a far-off land. She blinked and forced herself back into reality. It was nothing more than a fantasy, of course.
