Page 31 of A Rogue's Downfall
“Will she?” he asked. “Every male member of the family? Not every male in the ballroom?”
She laughed again at the expression on his face. “Are you disappointed?” she asked. “Her card will doubtlessbe too full for such a lowly mortal as you to find aspace.”
“Well,” he said, “what about tonight, Caroline? One is not to be confined to only two dances with the samepartner or any such absurdity as that, is one?”
“It is not a formal ball,” she said.
“Good,” he said. “You will reserve the first and last sets and every one in between for me if you please.”
If she pleased? She was absurdly pleased. “This is part of your campaign?” she said. “You are going towaltz me into love with you?”
“Perhaps,” he said. “But I was thinking more of taking you out for turns on the terrace or perhaps for strange disappearances into the gardens. What have youtold your brother?”
She felt her cheeks grow hot. “That we are using today to get to know each other,” she said. “That I amto give you my answer tomorrow morning.”
“Ah,” he said. “That rather plays into my hands, does it not?”
“Into mine,” she said. “There is nothing like darkness and moonlight and music to arouse feelings of romance.I shall have you sleepless with love tonight, Alistair.”
“It sounds distinctly promising,” he said, using that low seductive voice she was beginning to recognize.
“I did not mean it quite like that,” she said hastily, wishing fervently that she could recall the words andreframe them.
“A pity,” he said. “A great pity.”
Great-Aunt Sabrina was being helped slowly to her feet and the ladies followed her at snail’s pace from thedining room, leaving the gentlemen to their port.
Sleepless with love, Caroline thought, her knees feeling quite weak. What an unfortunate thing to say. And what a glorious thing to imagine. Oh dear, she wasgrowing to like him so very much. She had never talkedwith anyone more amusing. And all she had left waspart of an evening and a morning.
“Caro,” Irene said, taking her arm and squeezing it, “what is this? You lucky, lucky thing. He is quite smitten with you. Mama had a fit of the vapors when sheknew that Lyndon was to be a guest here this week.So did I, but for a different reason.”
“We are merely friends,” Caroline said.
Irene laughed derisively.
Dancing in a room full of eager, sweet young things and bright sparks and gossiping matrons and older,sober blades had never been Viscount Lyndon’s idea offun. But this evening was different. He was close towinning his wager, he believed, if it was not won already. She had glowed at dinner and had clearly enjoyed his company.
As he had hers, of course. She was delightful and pretty and desirable. He rather wished that they hadset the terms of the wager at one week instead of oneday. But he had the evening left. He would make themost of it.
“My country dance, I believe, ma’am,” he said when one of the matrons finally sat down at the pianoforteand began to play sprightly scales to warm up her fingers. He bowed formally over Caroline’s hand and wona dazzling smile from her and inquisitive looks from theyoung people surrounding her.
“My pleasure, my lord,” she said, dipping into a deep curtsy.
“Was that the one you practiced to deliver to the queen on your presentation, Caroline?” he asked as heled her onto the floor, from which the Turkish carpethad been rolled back. “Your forehead was in danger ofscraping the floor.”
She laughed. “It would have been a shame to practice such a curtsy for two full hours daily for six monthsand use it only once on the queen,” she said.
She danced with energy and grace, smiling at him and at the other partners with whom she sometimeshad to execute certain measures of the dance. Hewatched her the whole while, not even noticing his owntemporary partners, and found it difficult to imaginethat he could have missed her throughout the Season.Why had his eyes not been drawn to her as to a magnet? She was altogether more lovely than any other ladyin the room. More lovely than any other lady he hadknown.
He frowned at the thought.
“Oh, this is marvelous,” she said breathlessly as he twirled her down the set. “You don’t expect me to appear bored, do you, Alistair, this not being a formalaffair?”
“If you dare to look bored,” he said, “I shall twirl you at double speed and then let go of you so that youspin off into space?”
She laughed.
He had always thought of young virtuous women as dull, humorless, timid, unexciting—the list could go on.But then he had not met Caroline Astor until last night.
