Page 80 of The Good Girl's Guide to Rakes
“Naturally. Though,” she added, “it won’t be the same kind of dancing we did at Mr. Longbridge’s.”More’s the pity.
“They’d need a crate full of sal volatile to revive the other guests.” She tried to smile, yet the precious, fleeting moment couldn’t last.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Ransome.” Dolly came trotting up. “Begging your pardon, miss, but we’ve an appointment with the modiste.”
“Are you hurrying her there to meet another scoundrel hiding in the fitting room?” Kieran asked.
“You’re the only scoundrel she knows, sir.”
“Dolly!” Celeste exclaimed, but Kieran bit back his laughter.
Her maid feigned abashment, muttering, “Apologies.”
“Tomorrow night, then,” Celeste said to Kieran.
“My anticipation’s already growing.” He bent over her hand, and she didn’t miss the wicked gleam in his eyes.
Her body responded at once, even as her heart cracked. At the very least, she and Kieran would spend more time together. This magic with him would end, but for a little while longer, it didn’t have to. And for that, she was grateful.
“Don’t see why I have to attend a sodding ball,” Finn grumbled as their hired carriage slowly lurched forward, bringing them closer and closer to the front of the queue of vehicles waiting to disgorge their passengers.
“Because, you ass,” Kieran said, “the stipulations in our family’s ultimatum are quite clear. Unless you, me, and Domallmarry,noneof us gets a farthing. And I might be mistaken, but eligible ladies aren’t given out at gaming hells like chits.”
“Thank God for that,” his brother muttered, “or else I wouldn’t go. Stop fussing like a colicky babe.”
“As thoughyouhave experience with babes of any sort, let alone colicky ones.” Ignoring his brother, Kieran brushed a hand down the sleeve of his deep gray coat, though his valet had already done an excellent job of making his appearance flawless before Kieran had left his rooms tonight. A strange, unwanted edginess danced beneath the surface of his skin, and keeping still seemed nigh impossible.
His mood had been restless and apprehensive since parting company with Celeste yesterday afternoon. There was no reason to be uneasy, not when they’d agreed that they would continue with their arrangement for as long as possible.
Yet it wasn’t enough. He wantedmore. More than these sanctioned events, more than stolen moments in between their nighttime adventures. A metamorphosis was happening within him, and he approached it both eagerly and warily, as if being granted the gift of wings. You could soar into the heavens, or fly too close to the sun.
At the bare minimum, he’d see her tonight, and he’d every intention of having that dance with her.
“Nervous?” Finn asked.
“No reason to be.”
“Except,” his brother drawled, “the last respectable ball you attended was years ago, and if I recallcorrectly, the host of that ball bodily threw you outhimselfafter you shot at his chandelier with a dueling pistol. Left a bloody big hole in the ceiling.”
“I only missed because some fop knocked into me when I pulled the trigger,” Kieran said sullenly. “Andyouwere the fop.”
Finn seemed to ignore this last comment. “It stands to reason that going to a ball where all of Society is watching and judging your every movement and word might cause some trepidation.”
“I’m not a bit anxious.” He did need to appear properly reformed before the other guests, but with the right amount of bravado and a goodly helping of charm, he could manage them. But knowing he’d see Celeste tonight made his heart race and his body eager for movement.
Something had changed between them. He now knew the taste of her, and how she held him with a ferocious grip when he pleasured her, and the sounds she made when she came. He’d seen her dance. And he craved all of it, all of her. His mind was full of rhymes and metaphors, his notebooks bursting with new verses.
The hired carriage finally came to a stop, and a footman opened the door so Kieran and Finn could step down. When they did, they joined the line of people in tastefully ornate clothing waiting to enter the Duke and Duchess of Greyland’s massive Mayfair home.
“Are you certain the duke’s invitation extends to me?” Finn asked.
“His Grace wants one Ransome brother, he gets two of them.”
“Care to wager how many people ask me what I’m doing here?”
Kieran snorted. “Betting against you is always a fool’s proposition.”
Finally, he and his brother crossed the threshold and went up the stairs to the ballroom. It was, as Celeste had promised, a crush, and he didn’t know if the fact that he was beginning to recognize many of the guests was a good sign or something to cause dismay.
