Page 26 of Making of a Scandal
“I cannot make sense of it. You’re too beautiful to be a spinster. The prospect of getting you into bed should be enough to have half the men of thetonclamoring after you. Then there’s the fact that you’re an heiress.”
“The amount of my inheritance has not been widely touted and I’d like to keep it that way. I don’t want someone to offer for me to get their hands on my fortune. As far as my beauty goes, I have no interest in a superficial connection based only on lust.”
Mr. Burke issued a sarcastic snort, which had her whipping her head to stare at him. She found him watching her instead of paying attention to their surroundings. Odd, how they managed to keep time with the music anyway, their bodies moving in perfect rhythm in the sea of other couples.
“You make it sound as if attraction is of no importance. It is the foundation on which your covetedloveis built. If you want Mr. Lewes to lose his heart, he must first lose control of his cock. It wouldn’t hurt for you to flirt and show a little bosom.”
Calliope forgot about the room full of people. Just now, she couldn’t keep her face from showing just how badly she wanted to do him bodily harm.
“A man of your background and professionwouldthink flashing a little cleavage is enough to snare a marriage offer. The reasons for my state of spinsterhood are none of your concern. I am not paying you to prod into my personal affairs.”
Mr. Burke’s mouth twisted into an insolent smirk. “I beg to differ. You want me to help lure a husband into your little trap, and that requires me to find out what will make Lewes latch onto the bait. It is my opinion that the man likes you well enough, but cannot yet picture you warming his bed … and how can he when you’re as cold as an icicle in winter?”
Something within her reacted viscerally, and before she could think better of it, she reeled away from him, breaking the hold of his hand at her back. The dratted man recovered without misstep, tightening his grip on her hand and giving her a twirl that would seem to their onlookers like a display of flair and skill. She gasped as he reeled her back in, his fingers digging into her spine as he anchored her back in place. This time, there would be no escaping him. If she fought him, it would only press them closer together, and his nearness was already wreaking havoc on her senses.
Did he have to be so blastedhot? The man gave off warmth as if a furnace roared in his belly, and Calliope found herself feeling a bit lightheaded. Surely that, plus the dizzying speed of their waltz was what had her out of sorts—not his words or the shrewd sharpness of his eyes as he stared as if trying to see through the layers of her clothes.
“How dare you?” she hissed, narrowing her eyes at him, her body thrumming with tightly-leashed rage.
“Quite easily, I assure you. It is the truth, whether you wish to hear it or not. You hired me to dance attention on you in public, yes, but if you want this over with sooner rather than later, you’d do well to heed my advice. Otherwise, we’ll still be at this six months from now.”
Calliope’s stomach churned as she found herself unable to look away or back down now that he’d baited her. It didn’t matter that he seemed to derive satisfaction from rattling her. Just now, he’d pushed her past the usual limits of her control.
“I thought it was simply spirits that made you act the obnoxious boor the first time we met, but I can see now that this is your natural state. It is a wonder you’re accepted anywhere in polite society.”
He raised one mocking eyebrow. “It surprises me as much as it does you, believe me. Something you ought to learn about me if we are to get through this … I never lie. I may say things you do not wish to hear, and I might offend your delicate sensibilities, but I am honest to a fault. How many men of your acquaintance can say the same? How many of them will speak plainly rather than veil their true intentions behind polite civility?”
Damn him, he was right. She had hired a courtesan to avoid the complication of ulterior motives. He needed money, she wanted Martin Lewes for her husband. There was nothing more to it than that. Understanding this didn’t make it any easier to face the fact that he might be right. However, there was so much more to this than he realized. He was like Diana that way, unable to fathom that she walked a different path than the other women of theton. She couldn’t do what they did so easily and with impunity.
“You don’t understand,” she whispered, finally breaking his gaze. “It isn’t as simple as you’re making it out to be.”
They began to slow, then eventually came to a stop as the music around them faded away. Yet, she could still feel Mr. Burke’s eyes on her, hot and intent.
“Then make me understand it. There is no reason I can think of why you couldn’t have any man you wanted. So, what’s holding you back?”
Calliope suddenly couldn’t breathe, her chest burning and her hands shaking as she clenched them in her skirts. She ought to be used to scrutiny by now. After all, she was the daughter of a scandalous viscount and his foreign wife. Her very existence made her a walking scandal, and she’d endured her share of stares and whispers. However, the way Mr. Burke was looking at her, she had the devil of a time erecting her usual defenses. He didn’t seem like the kind of man who would allow her to keep them up even if she could.
Before she could think up a response—anything to keep him from delving any further—the assembly seemed to shift in one direction. The sudden change in the atmosphere brought her back to her senses, and she blinked, finding that supper had been announced. Everyone was now making their way to the parted doors leading into the Covington’s opulent dining room.
Pursing his lips, Mr. Burke crooked his arm in her direction, sending horror lancing through her. Something else she hadn’t counted on when accepting his offer to dance—her partner for the before-supper dance would also be her escort into dinner.
Calliope couldn’t think of anything she’d like less—except perhaps having a tooth extracted or stepping barefoot on a pebble. Her hopes for sitting beside Mr. Lewes dashed, she resigned herself to more time in her courtesan’s company, when all she wanted was to be away from him.
As they approached the dining room, Diana appeared at her side on Hastings’s arm. Eyes bright and cheeks flushed, she grinned at Calliope as if she could hardly contain her excitement.
“I daresay you’ve achieved your goal tonight, sister,” she whispered. “Your dance with Mr. Burke cannot have failed to escape his notice. Goodness, if I didn’t know better, I’d think the two of you were actually attracted to one another.”
Calliope flinched, one hand coming up to her throat, but a quick glance put her at ease. No one had overheard them. However, she was now horrified that her sister thought she had any interest whatsoever in Mr. Burke.
“What on Earth are you talking about?” she demanded, keeping her voice low.
“Do you mean you hadn’t noticed? Darling, no one could take their eyes off you and Mr. Burke during your waltz. I doubt any of us would have been surprised if the two of you began shooting off sparks. It’s all anyone is talking about.”
“Nonsense,” she mumbled, though her protest was a feeble one.
Now that Diana mentioned it, she could feel the eyes on her, and heard the occasional whisper. Holding her head high, she ignored it as she always did.
So what if she and her courtesan had caused a bit of a stir? If it made Mr. Lewes pay closer attention to her, then their dance would have served its purpose. If people chose to derive romantic notions from what they’d seen, then so be it.
