Page 64 of An Unwitting Alliance
His eyes widened almost imperceptibly, clearly surprised she did not argue. “No Mr. Gibbons?”
She set her jaw. “No Patricia Pollard?”
He laughed, his head falling very near hers. His breath tickled her neck as he whispered into her ear, sending gooseflesh down her arms. “Absolutely no Patricia Pollard.”
She slid her hand up to his shoulder, practically begging him to kiss her. She needed reassurance that he felt more for her than simple obligation.
His hand came up too, brushing against her neck before he pulled back, leaving her yearning. “Have we cleared up any confusion?”
She nodded and found her voice. “While I am connected to you, I am only yours.” The words came out stronger than she intended, but there was no taking them back.
A grin slid across his mouth. “Then, we have an understanding?”
Did he mean for this week or forever? She hardly knew what she was agreeing to, but her answer slid all too easily from her mouth. “Yes.”
“Good. Now, let’s find that reticule before we are discovered and more people want to force us to marry. I want this on our terms.”
He cared for her. Otherwise, why would he hold her so close when he did not have to? And why, even now, did he linger?
Tom threaded her arm through his, and they left the balcony much slower than they had arrived. They stepped back into the ballroom and began walking as close as they could to the wall. While Tom searched, she stole several glances his way.
He caught the last one. “Apparently, I am the only one searching. You either vehemently dislike Miss Pollard, or you cannot resist my dashing good looks.”
She frowned and only addressed the first accusation, not eager to feed his ego. “I do not completely despise Patricia, but you must admit that she abuses me every chance she gets.”
He bent his head close to hers and whispered, “Then, it must be the latter.” He winked and went back to searching, moving a chair and glancing behind it. There was no use arguing about the truth, but she did try harder not to keep staring at him.
He glanced back at her after giving a whispering duo a wide berth. “It is obvious that Miss Pollard is jealous of you.”
Jealous? Patricia Pollard? “Hardly. She thrives off this sort of behavior.”
“Those who are desperate to hide their weaknesses often use others as shields.”
In theory, she believed him. But it did not apply to Patricia. “Besides being prideful, I have yet to see any of her weaknesses, and I have known her for years.”
When they reached the corner of the room, Tom turned and faced her. “It is hard for you to believe she envies you because you fail to see your own strengths. However, it is clear to everyone else that Miss Pollard feels inferior when she is around you.”
Cassandra could not believe him. “But why is she so desperate to make me look poor in other people’s eyes?”
“I can only guess. But she does work hard at it, doesn’t she?”
Cassandra sighed. “Very.”
He motioned with his head. “Let’s find the others. Once this reticule is found, I need to dance with my betrothed.”
The way he said it made her feel like he was claimingherand not their parents’ arrangement. The idea created sweet havoc in her heart.
They found Aunt Evans speaking to Mrs. Adams, the doctor’s wife. Cassandra searched the dancers and discovered Megan with a partner and smiled. Aunt pulled away from Mrs. Adams and crossed over to them, relaying that nothing about the reticule had been discovered yet.
She and Tom had not been by her aunt’s side for more than a minute when Patricia returned on the arm of Mr. Gibbons.
“I am absolutely frantic.” Patricia fanned herself with her hand. “I cannot find my reticule anywhere. The pearls were quite expensive, and my mother will be most unhappy.”
“We did not see anything either,” Tom said.
“You don’t suppose...” Patricia shook her head. “No, that is impossible.”
“What?” Mr. Gibbons asked.
