Page 56 of When the Viscount Seduces
He couldnotsee her. They’d agreed to end their association, but even if they hadn’t, he was in no condition to converse with her. He didn’t want to stain her with his shameful presence.
Turning, he stalked toward the Grosvenor Gate, walking as quickly as possible without breaking into a run, which he dearly wanted to do. Indeed, he wanted to run straight out of London directly to Winterstoke in Somerset, where he would hide under the bed as he used to do when he was a boy trying to escape his older sisters.
How had this day gone from imminently brilliant to horrifically awful? He’d walked into the park hoping to see the woman he loved, to tell her how he was ready to put aside every bit of roguishness, except that which he would reserve entirely for her. He’d yearned to see his love reflected in her gaze, and her eager acceptance to his proposal of marriage.
But now that dream was gone. It had crumbled completely and irrevocably to ash. There was no way he could be with Gwen. The piece of him he feared he would lose was, in fact, all of him.
Though Gwen had been at the Phoenix Club ball for an hour, she had yet to see Lazarus. Perhaps he wasn’t coming tonight. She hated that she now had to settle for seeing him from afar. It wasn’t fair.
But what more did she want?
At least to help him with his reading and to prepare for his speech. She felt as though she’d let him down, and that was the last thing she would ever want to do.
She saw that Min and Ellis had arrived. They were just moving into the ballroom from the ladies’ side. Min’s mother was with them, but she immediately went to speak with someone. Gwen’s own mother was a few feet away chatting with a couple of her friends.
Gwen caught Min’s and Ellis’s attention, and they made their way to her side. Min looked especially pretty in a pink gown decorated with rows of silk roses near the hem.
“Have we missed anything so far?” Min asked.
“I danced with Mr. Fortescue, and I’m proud to say I only made one tiny error.”
They both looked at Gwen with sheer happiness. “That’s so wonderful!” Ellis exclaimed. “You must be feeling quite accomplished.”
“It seems your new dancing master has had an impact,” Min said.
Gwen shuddered. “Hardly. I think I performed better this evening out of spite. I want to prove to my mother that I don’tneed more lessons. I will definitely not be seeing Mr. Tremblay again.”
“But why not?” Min asked. “He’s so highly recommended. And devilish handsome,” she added with a wink and a smile.
“Ugh,” Gwen groaned. “He’s also very free with his hands. I did not care for the way he ‘instructed’ me. He always found it necessary to hold me longer than appropriate, or his touch would stray to my backside or my hip or, once, the underside of my breast. It was most distressing. He seemed to be purposely provoking me because he was also flirtatious in his eye contact and the way he spoke to me. I do think he was disappointed when I did not flirt back.”
“I did hear he was charming,” Min said, frowning. “And charming can often mean flirtatious. But it sounds as though he’s aggressive about it.” Her nose wrinkled with distaste. “How perfectly awful.”
“I’ve heard of more than one young lady falling in love with him.” Ellis rolled her eyes. “Or so they claim. I suspect it’s infatuation, not love.”
“I’m sure you’re right,” Min agreed. She looked to Gwen. “You won’t be having lessons with him any longer?”
“No. Thankfully, my mother allowed me to terminate them after I explained my concerns. I can’t imagine I’m the only student who found him offensive.” She shrugged. “I’m just glad I won’t be seeing him anymore. I do wish I could prevent him from exerting his odious behavior on other young ladies, but it’s not as if I can publicly share my experience so others can decide if they wish to hire him.”
“That would be incredibly useful, though, wouldn’t it?” Ellis mused. “A published record of people and places you could recommend.”
Min nodded. “A numbered rating would be most helpful. You could give Mr. Tremblay a negative number.”
They all laughed, and Gwen was most grateful for her friends. “I will also ask my mother if she will refrain from recommending him. Thank you for the laugh. I needed it.”
“I did notice a slight furrow in your brow when we arrived,” Min said. “What’s troubling you?”
It wasn’t that Gwen didn’t want to tell them. She just didn’t want to sound as though she were whinging. Furthermore, she couldn’t tell them about the cessation of her tutoring lessons with Lazarus because they didn’t know about those. Nor could she inform them since it involved a secret that wasn’t hers to share. “I was looking for Somerton. I caught his eye in the park earlier, to wave and perhaps exchange a few words, but he turned away from me and left.”
“Perhaps he had an appointment,” Min suggested.
Gwen sighed, wishing things were different but not entirely sure what she wanted them to be. “I suppose that’s possible.”
Ellis met her gaze with sympathy. “You seem disappointed. Is there any chance you’ve developed a tendre for him?”
Oh dear.How had Gwen not seen that? There seemed more than a chance. “I think I may have,” she whispered. “But there’s nothing to be done about it.”
“I should think not,” Min said, briefly touching Gwen’s arm. “He’s a rogue, and there are nice, nonrogue gentlemen who are interested in courting you.”
