Page 72 of The Duke of Daring (The Untouchables)
He spun around and found a place where he could better survey the dance floor. It was a reel, and he scanned the dancers until he found her group. Seeing her… It was as if the breath had been sucked out of him.
He’d just seen her yesterday, but it was as if he’d forgotten how stunning she was. She wore a vibrant green gown with gold trim, and a gold band encircled her upswept dark hair. She looked elegant and beautiful, utterly feminine. And he wanted to pummel her dance partner. He craned his neck to see who it was. They were in a group, so he supposed it could be any of them.
Hell and the devil.
Greene was there. Was he her partner? Probably. Andrew circuited the dance floor, waiting impatiently for the set to end. He ended up near the doors leading to the terrace where he stood seething.
“My lord.”
The feminine voice came from his left. He turned his head to see Miss Breckenridge eyeing him disdainfully.
“Miss Breckenridge, to what do I owe this…pleasure?” He wasn’t in the mood to charm her. Besides, he had the distinct sense that she was immune.
“Let us walk to a more private location—closer to the wall, if you please.”
Andrew looked out at the dance floor and at potential places along the wall. His sight line might be impaired.
Her green eyes pierced him with their intensity. “My lord,if you please. This is a conversation I insist on having, and I won’t do it here.”
Resigned, he walked to the left of the terrace doors, near a potted tree. He turned, putting his back to the wall and made sure he could still see Lucy. “Will this do?”
She moved closer, taking a position beside him. “I came to ask you to leave Lucy alone.” She kept her voice low, just above a whisper.
That she referred to her friend as Lucy drew his attention. Miss Breckenridge didn’t mean this to be a formal, rule-abiding conversation.
“I came to speak with her about a matter of importance,” he said. He inwardly flinched as Greene took Lucy’s hand in the dance.
“Is it important enough that you would cause her distress in the delivery?”
He snapped his gaze to hers. “Perhaps you should progress directly to your point. You don’t strike me as a woman to mince words.”
She smiled, but he doubted it was prompted by humor or any sense of pleasantry. “You are very astute, my lord. Lucy is my very dear friend, and I don’t wish to see her hurt by the likes of you. She deserves far better.”
He agreed. “Yes, she does.” Miss Breckenridge blinked, and he knew he’d caught her off guard. “Isshe hurt, or are you protecting her from the potential?” He thought of how their walk had ended the day before, and while he knew she’d been angry, he hadn’t considered that it might be more than that. He didn’twantto consider it.
Miss Breckenridge’s eyes narrowed, and there was a fire in their depths. “You used her and tossed her aside.”
Bloody, bloody hell.
Was that how she felt—that he’d used her? “She told you that?” He looked out at the dance floor and saw Lucy laughing, her face glowing with pleasure. His chest tightened. He hated thinking that he’d hurt her.
“She told us enough. She doesn’t deserve that kind of treatment.”
No, she didn’t. But he hadn’t used her. He’d wanted her, and, yes, he’d probably taken advantage, but he hadn’t used her. He had, however, tossed her aside—he wouldn’t have put it quite so inelegantly, but there it was.
He’d thought she’d agreed that nothing had changed, that they were both still committed to independent lives. Except thingshadchanged. He felt a dangerous connection to her. A connection that could threaten the carefully constructed wall of protection he’d built after his family had died.
His throat constricted, and he fought to take a deep breath. “I have nothing but the utmost esteem and admiration for Miss Parnell. Please excuse me.”
He wanted to talk to Lucy, but he couldn’t do it here. Had he hurt her? He needed to know. He also needed to warn her about Greene. He cut his way through the crowd, his mind made up.
He directed his driver to drop him at Bolton Street.
Lucy watched her grandmother begin to nod off as they rode home in the carriage from the ball. They’d stayed later than normal, and Lucy wondered if Grandmama would even make it upstairs without assistance.
“That was quite a successful evening.” Grandmama’s sudden declaration surprised Lucy, making her twitch.
“Did you have a good time?” Lucy asked.
