Page 29 of A Chance to Dance with the Duke
Why was he telling her all this?
It was the way she looked at him. The same way she had that first fateful day when he’d asked her to dance.
And again when he’d held her in his arms.
There was no cowardice and no ingratiating fawning. She looked him straight in the eye like he was a man. Like he was…
Well, like he was Ian, and not The Duke of Carver.
And because of that he felt like he could talk to her like he would a friend, which was so frightfully rare, he wondered if she had any notion how grateful he was to her. “I was not close with my father. Or my brother, for that matter.”
Her brows hitched, but only slightly. She didn’t seem overly alarmed that he was bearing his soul to her, and that was encouraging. After a heartbeat, she finally asked, “Why weren’t you close?”
“My father was not a kind man. He had a well-earned reputation for being…” Ian swallowed hard as memories surfaced. “Cruel.”
She winced. “I’m sorry.”
“My brother was much older than me, and as he was the heir and I was the spare, well…”
She nodded when he trailed off. “Yes, I understand that.”
He regarded her with a new interest. Of course she did.
“At least you weren’t born a girl.” Her eyes shimmered with laughter. “And a disappointing one at that.” She glanced down meaningfully as she said it.
“You are not a disappointment, Meg.”
“Am I not?” Her voice was light with laughter and she shocked him by leaning over to gently bump her shoulder against his. “It’s all right, Your Grace—er, Ian.” Her smile spread into a full grin that stole his breath and made the air feel hot despite the early spring breeze. “You mustn’t look so serious. I’ve had many years to become accustomed to my lot in life, and I no longer feel sorry for myself.”
“But you did,” he said.
“Of course I did,” she laughed. “I am no saint. Of course, when I fell ill I was only a child, so I wasn’t quite aware of just how badly my illness would affect my future, but even then I understood that I’d disappointed my family by not being as healthy as I ought to be.” She shrugged, and he found himself drowning in her eyes.
The way she looked at him so directly, and saw so much. And that way she had of showing everything she was feeling in return.
Her heart was right there in her eyes for him to see…
And it was intoxicating. Her honesty, her vulnerability, her strength…
He’d never known anyone like her, and he knew he’d never meet anyone like her again. She was one of a kind. A true gem hidden amongst a world full of sparkling paste jewelry.
“A physical ailment is not your fault,” he argued. “How can anyone be disappointed?—”
“It’s fine,” she interjected with another laugh. “Truly, there are so many who are worse off than I am. I do not mind that I cannot run and…and dance.”
There it was. The reminder of that first interaction had her glancing away.
“Meg, I must apologize?—”
“You already have.”
“No, you don’t understand?—”
“I assure you, I do?—”
“But you don’t,” he argued.
Her cheeks flushed, and he wasn’t sure if it was with embarrassment or anger.
