Page 15 of Sinful Persuasion of a Lady in the Making
Chapter Seven
“Inever did catch your name,” she said, looking up at him with such expectation that he wanted to open his heart to her.
Yet I barely know her!
Facing the ballroom, she was lit from the lantern light that strained to reach them, the contours of her cheeks pronounced by the shadows. She looked, somehow, even more beautiful than she had before, like some ephemeral being. So much so that he let his eyes rove all over her face, drinking in the details and committing them to memory.
“Lord Hartwood,” he said in answer to her question, smiling back at her. He shook his head, thinking that was altogether too formal. “Sebastian,” he added, then shook his head again.Too informal!“Viscount. Er—”
He was awkward, and he knew he sounded awkward, too. He silently kicked himself—a man of his breeding unable to answer such a question as his name! It was her beauty that did it. It left him tongue tied and lost in thoughts of fair maidens and sweet nothings. Besides, he knew how much ladies liked a man to look inept and rendered speechless by their beauty. He would play on that.
He closed his eyes and sighed, but he heard her chuckle. It was such the sweetest sound he had heard in days—more beautiful than birdsong, more calling than a bell. He opened his eyes and saw her smiling, and he smiled, too.
She does not think me a fool, after all.
“Miss Jones,” she said by way of reply, an indicating hand to her chest. “Not a Viscountess, nor anything of any particular importance.”
“Everyone is important, Miss Jones,” he said, feeling the truth of it in his heart. “No matter their title.”
That she had even said such a thing showed her vulnerability, and it made Sebastian want to reach out and touch her, promise her the world.
“That’s a sweet thought,” she said, still holding herself rigid and offering him a false smile. “But one not many share with you, I’m afraid.”
Sebastian shrugged. He had no interest in whether others agreed with him, in that moment only wantingherto agree with him. There was a glimmer there, he could see it. She wanted to let go, but her guard was too fierce. He would find a way in, show her the true joy of being oneself.
“I don’t much care for the ideas of theton,” he said, finding himself on confident ground once more. “They are so often incorrect. And wrongfully judgmental.”
He saw her cock her head and look at him—really look at him—as though trying to work out if he was mocking her or not. He was not, of course. He knew how harsh and unfair these lords and ladies could be, and he had been on the receiving end of their sharp tongues often enough. But he couldn’t say all that, not without revealing who he truly was and risk putting off this wonderful, captivating young lady he had just met.
Still, I shall have her swooning before the night is out.
“That’s—” she didn’t finish her sentence and he smiled down at his hands.
“Unusual? Yes,” he admitted, “but don’t you agree?”
“I… yes,” she said, smiling at him, “yes, I suppose I do.”
He saw her relax—not fully, not even half the way, but a little, and that sent a thrill through him like he had never experienced before. He knew then that, unlike never before, he wanted to know this lady. He just prayed she didn’t know about him and his past. He couldn’t allow her to discover he was responsible for the death of his own parents.
“I haven’t seen you before,” he said smoothly, full of confidence and bluster. “I am certain of it because I would have remembered you had I seen you.”
“No,” she said, uncomfortable and looking away into the distance, “this is the first ball I have attended. Ever.”
Sebastian paused for a moment, not quite sure what to say. He had known she was new to the ways of theton, of course he had. And even if she had been to other balls, it was unlikely she would ever had seen him because he rarely attended them.
“Your first ever?” he chuckled. “And yet you seem to understand everyone so well already.”
“Why are they like that?” she asked, suddenly sincere and curious, letting herself fall happily into the conversation. She leaned against the bench frame, her back no longer rigid. “I was always under the impression that gentlemen were… well, gentlemen.”
“Don’t take it to heart,” Sebastian said, although he knew, from brutal experience, how difficult that would be. “These people, they are so set in their ways of doing things that anything out of the ordinary is difficult to comprehend.”
“You think I am out of the ordinary?” she asked, a hint of a smile playing on her lips.
He wasn’t sure if that was worry or jest he detected in her tone and he watched her carefully. The edges of her lips were turning up, despite her fight to keep them down, and he decided it must be the latter.
“I do,” he admitted, nodding his head. “You are, as I am, unlike the others. I suspect you are somewhat of an outsider.”
He saw her stiffen where, only moments before, she had relaxed, and he felt a rush of fear that he had somehow offended her.
