Page 44 of The Marquis' Game of Seduction
“Yes, but I’m the governess,” Rose said, almost wanting to insist it. After all, fear had wrapped itself around her heart.
But Judith’s eyes were almost stern as she continued. “Duncan belongs in bed very soon. And besides, you know very well he can play well on his own. No. You’re a young lady, Rose, and you deserve a night off. Please. Have fun tonight.”
Judith tugged lightly at Duncan’s shoulder and led him toward the doorway. Rose watched them go as the music swelled behind her, from the yonder orchestra in the corner. At the doorway, Duncan turned to give her a final wave, his palm flashing toward her.
Somehow, Rose had nearly forgotten about Colin. She felt him beside her: tall and dominant and foreboding. Rose inhaled slowly.
“He’s such a wretched little boy, isn’t he?” Colin said. But his tone was warm and open, and it was clear he meant no harm.
“Always up to no good,” Rose murmured.
They turned toward one another and found themselves to be a bit too close. Colin’s nose was mere inches from Rose’s forehead. She felt flushed, immediately wondering what everyone around them thought. She swallowed sharply, and felt that all the blood drained from her fingers. It seemed that Colin was going to say something, especially as the song switched, and partners changed. But he was either too afraid or didn’t care to.
Allan appeared beside them. His voice boomed out as the music swelled into yet another chanson.
“It’s marvelous to see you again, Lady Hollingsworth,” Allan said.
Rose nearly leaped from her skin, hearing herself addressed in this manner. She flashed him a smile and gave him her hand and curtsied low. “Thank you, my lord,” she said. “You as well.”
“What a fine idea, wasn’t it? To have such a party?” Allan asked. His eyes flashed toward Colin, as though he was attempting to get a rise out of him. Rose recognised such mannerisms from her time at the orphanage.
Rose felt suddenly dumb and quiet. She switched her weight from foot to foot and turned her eyes toward Colin. It seemed he’d just been mouthing something to Allan, something to the effect of—please. Stop what you’re doing this moment.
“It really was,” Rose said. “But after so long? I have to wonder why such a gap occurred. Especially since it seems that you’re quite marvelous at throwing parties.”
“Isn’t it quite curious?” Allan said. “Colin can be quite a strange one. I’ve struggled years and years to dig into him. Get into his mind. But I imagine it’s a fool’s errand.”
At this, Allan winked at Rose. She blushed. Colin cast his eyes toward the ground, but a smile had snaked between his cheeks. It was difficult to see, but Rose knew it was there. And she had half a sense that she’d caused it.
Finally, Colin drew his head back up, looked at her directly in the eye, and said, “I don’t suppose you’d like to dance, Lady Hollingsworth?”
They were the perfect words. They were words that Rose hadn’t even thought she would ever hear—words that solidified her as something more, something greater than she’d been at the orphanage. Her heart fluttered as she whispered, “Yes. I’d love to.”
The world seemed to tilt away from them. Colin swept his hand behind Rose’s back and tugged her against him, so that her breasts pressed against his flat stomach. Her hand splayed against his, and she inhaled softly, slowly, loving the smell of him, the glint in his eyes. She knew, on some level, that nearly 30 couples swirled around them, each lost in their own adventure, their own dance.
But right then, this moment was just for them. And she felt her heart might bulge out of her chest.
“Duncan is correct,” Colin murmured. “You really do look marvelous tonight.”
Rose hadn’t expected this. She swallowed. What was she meant to say? Was a word of thanks too awkward? Or just right?
“You look quite good yourself,” she said. “Handsome, some might say.”
“Some might say?” Colin asked. He let out a little laugh, then said, “Who are these some? They’re certainly not you, I suppose.”
“They’re lurking all around us,” Rose said, trying to suppress her own laughter. “Just when you think you’re safe, suddenly you turn about and you find—yet another person who thinks you’re handsome.”
“How dreadful. How do we stop it?” Colin asked.
Rose gave a sad sigh. “It’s quite a sad story, isn’t it? For truthfully, there’s no stopping it. It’s something you might have to deal with for the rest of your life.”
Colin beamed at her. Rose could do nothing but smile back. He swirled her deeper onto the dance floor, almost too quickly—almost without control. Her head buzzed with dizziness. And their laughter rang out through the crowd.
Chapter 19
Colin stood outside as his guests tapped out of the ballroom, wrapped in their coats and wandering toward their awaiting carriages. Men and women he only knew off-handedly, who certainly knew him well, shook his hand and kissed his cheek, respectively, and declared that it was the “greatest party” of autumn.
“Do have another soon, my lord,” one woman sighed as she slipped past. She sounded youthful, naive, the sort of woman ready to flit off to another party already tomorrow. Colin marveled at the sort of person who could live so frivolously. His mind felt continually bogged down, weighted, so much so that that night had been the first in recent memory in which he’d allowed himself to truly feel something.
