Page 44 of The Lady Was Lying
“I wasn’t suggesting otherwise, but you…” He trailed off as if he didn’t know what he wanted to say before finishing with, “…never dance.”
“That’s untrue. I enjoy dancing. In all likeliness, I’ve danced more frequently than you have. In fact, I’ve danced in this very ballroom before.” While she had managed to avoid this particular event during her ill-fated season, the marquess had hosted a smaller engagement earlier that year, and she had danced then.
Later that same evening, in an alcove just beyond the stairs, she’d kissed a gentleman who smelled of peppermint but tasted of spirits. Although there had been nothing particularly objectionable about him, she had not enjoyed his kiss.
“Really?” James asked, looking around as if he didn’t believe her.
As improbable as it seemed, it appeared that no one had informed him of her popularity during her failed season. Or if they had, he hadn’t taken the information to heart, because he seemed quite skeptical that she even knew how to dance.
“Being proficient at dancing would be a rather ridiculous thing to lie about, wouldn’t it?” she asked, not waiting for a response before adding, “Just because I have avoided it lately, doesn’t mean that I always have.”
James glanced briefly at Sebastian, as if he hadn’t been the one to suggest they dance together in the first place. The peculiar expression on her brother’s face didn’t give any indication of whether he regretted the suggestion. “Apologies. In that case, it would be my pleasure to dance with you.”
Frowning slightly, she wondered why he was so hesitant. Annoyed with herself for even considering his feelings, let alone caring about them, she asked, “Shall we?”
He nodded and held out his arm. “We shall.”
Placing her hand in the crook of his elbow, she allowed him to lead her onto the dance floor. Instead of barreling into the middle as most men of her acquaintance tended to do, he halted on the outskirts. Part of her liked that he didn’t need to be in the center of the room. The other part wondered whether he was trying to avoid drawing attention. Did he not want to be noticed while dancing with her?
He halted, his expression somber when he pivoted to face her. One of his hands floated into the air and the other landed just above her hip. Her hand rose to fit into his as she settled into the loose embrace. To an outsider, they probably appeared the same as everyone else. Formal evening wear that was tailored to fit perfectly and appropriate space between their torsos, but something was different. For the first time in her life, she wanted to step closer.
More contact was completely unnecessary during a waltz. Not only would it be scandalous, but they also wouldn’t be able to adequately perform the steps if they were pressed tightly together.
Or would they?
She’d never seen anyone dance wrapped around each other, but the more she thought about it, the more it seemed possible. If they were close enough, perhaps they would move as one.
The first notes of the waltz rose above the din, and James swept her into the dance. It had been an age since she had danced with anyone other than her brothers, but it was surprisingly easy for her to follow his lead. He was sure-footed and moved confidently, swirling around the other dancers as if he could sense exactly how they were going to shift. There was a fluidity to his dancing that was entirely unexpected, and a grace that could only be natural.
Rarely did she allow herself the luxury of closing her eyes and letting herself become absorbed, but after a few rotations, she was so assured by his ability to lead that she allowed her lids to slide closed. If she’d taken the time to realize how relaxed she had become, she probably would have opened them again for no reason other than to break the aura of intimacy that had settled around them. As it was, she found herself uncharacteristically lost in the moment.
They spun around and around the crowded dance floor, and the world shrank until it seemed as if they were the only two people who existed.
The flickering candlelight.
The heavy perfume.
Everything faded away except for the lilting music and the sweeping motion of their bodies.
After several minutes of bliss, the music tapered off, and they glided to a slow stop on the opposite side of the ballroom from where they had begun. Her lids slid open and the unusual intensity in his gaze held her captive. Entranced by the amber depths, she might have remained in his arms for the rest of the evening if she hadn’t been jostled from behind.
He tightened his grip and kept her from falling, but the spell she was under shattered when their bodies collided, chest to chest, thigh to thigh. With one of his hands still resting on her hip and the other clutching her fingers, he was able to smoothly separate them so they only remained pressed together for the merest of seconds, but the damage had been done. He was warm and firm and strong, and the feeling of his body against hers had inspired something she’d never experienced before.
Was the sensation that spread through her attraction? And if it was, what on earth should she do about it?
For years, she had operated under the assumption that if she ever felt the stirrings of a true connection, she would innately know how to respond. How wrong she had been.
Nothing made sense.
Not in her head.
Or in her heart.
The ballroom was a blur as he escorted her back to her brother. Tingling warmth lingered in every spot they had touched, as awareness that they were in a crowded room surrounded by other aristocrats slowly returned.
When they halted next to her family, the conversation swirled around her, but she paid little attention to what was said. James conversed with Jane, who had returned from the retiring room, and with Sebastian and Emmeline.
Before Belinda had managed to gather her thoughts, James bowed and then, with a fleeting glance in her direction, disappeared into the crowd. A moment later, a young man who barely looked old enough to shave bowed over Jane’s hand and led her toward the dance floor. Relatively confident that Jane’s newest dance partner would not lead her astray, Belinda took the opportunity to slip away.
