Page 22 of The Scarlet Lady's Duke of Desire
Glancing down at her hands where she was playing with a feather on her fan, Miss Thornton looked him in the eye for only a second before returning her gaze there once more. “I fear that I should not have come.”
James saw the way she glanced out of the corner of her eye and when he followed her gaze, he saw that there were people close by still watching them. They talked amongst themselves, clearly about Miss Thornton, and again James felt a wave of disquiet and guilt wash over him.
Clearing his throat all over again, determined for everyone about them to be certain that he would not stand for it, he said, “Miss Thornton, would you do me the honour of giving me your first dance?”
And every dance after that until everyone stops looking at you as though you are unwelcome,James thought, though he could not quite bring himself to say the words. Perhaps he would later, but for now he was more concerned with whether she might deny him a dance at all. He still half-expected her to turn tail and run right back out of the Faversham’s’ manor. And he wouldn’t have blamed her if she had.
Miss Thornton’s gaze shot to his again. She looked utterly shocked. Her gaze flitted to the crowd and back to him. Then, still pale yet blushing, she smiled and said, “I would be honoured, Your Grace.”
A wave of warmth spread down his arm the moment that Miss Thornton placed her hand in his. Though the crowd closest to them began to mutter, James never broke his stride as he led his partner out onto the dancefloor. And as he took her into his arms, James was astonished at how good it already felt.
In fact, as James took the lead and they danced gracefully about the floor, James quickly came to learn that it felt entirely natural. In fact, it felt as though they had danced together a thousand times before, and yet James would have given anything to dance with her a thousand times more.
Never taking his eyes off hers, they danced in utter silence, and yet not a single moment of it was awkward. The only awkwardness there was to be had was the crowd all around them that continued to glare long after the dance had begun.
To the rest of the room, it seemed as though they were the only two dancers on the floor. They may as well have been as all eyes were on them. Even the other dancers had their gazes upon them whenever they passed and yet James found he smiled all the way through. Never in his life had a dance felt quite so good.
Miss Thornton fit perfectly into his arms and the longer that they danced, the more concerned he grew that it would soon come to an end. She was simply too beautiful for him to even try to look anywhere else. And for the life of him, James could not understand how anyone else in thetoncould possibly treat her the way that they had all treated her so far, as though she were a leper that had no right to be anywhere among their number.
By the time that the dance came to an end, the smile upon Miss Thornton’s face suggested that she too had entirely forgotten about the rest of the room.
“Do you think you have caused enough trouble to satisfy this evening, Your Grace?” she asked as he guided her to a halt at the end of the dance.
The mischievous smirk on her face caused his heart to skip a beat. Against his better judgement, he leaned in and whispered into her ear, “I would certainly like to cause a little more if it means spending more time with you, Miss Thornton.”
A wave of tension and desire passed from Miss Thornton’s body into his and James felt as though he knew her response even before she said a word. Yet, she never quite got the chance to do so.
Though she opened her mouth to respond, the clearing of a throat behind James caused them both to take pause.
It was only when James turned to find another nobleman standing behind him that he realised he might well have stirred up far more trouble than he had bargained for.
“Lord Faversham,” James said, greeting their host with a respectable bow of his head. “Did you have need of me?”
But it was not him that Lord Faversham was looking at. In fact, the host was glowering at Miss Thornton as though he would have liked to tell every single servant in the room to barrel her out of the room before she could spend another single moment in their presence.
In a scathing tone, one clearly spoken through gritted teeth, Lord Faversham said, “I should like a moment with my niece, Your Grace.”
Niece?James thought but then just as suddenly the truth dawned upon him, and he quickly came to realise just how much of a fool he had been. How could he possibly have forgotten such a vital piece of the scandal that surrounded Miss Thornton and her family?
He opened his mouth to say something to Miss Thornton, hoping to apologise for getting her into such a hairy situation, but before he could do so Lord Faversham started to usher her from the room.
All James could do was watch them go as the rest of the crowd looked on, and not for the first time he realised just how much he had messed up. His aunt would likely flay him alive when she heard of this but that was the least of his troubles right now.
He did not care for himself. All he could think about in that moment was the kind of scolding that Miss Thornton would receive for having crashed her own uncle’s ball after not having received a personal invitation.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Lady Florence. The smirk upon her face was enough to tell him that her father was not likely to go easy upon her cousin. Lady Florence had always seemed like the kind of woman who took pleasure in the torture of others but tonight she seemed even more pleased than usual. And bile rose in James’ throat at the thought of the fact he had his own part to play in such a thing.
Even as the next dance began and people all around him started to move, James could not move even a single muscle.What have I done?
Chapter 10
Melody was terrified. Standing in her uncle's library with her head bowed, she tried to hide her pale face from not only him but also the butler and maid he had dragged in with them in order to keep thingsappropriate.
Yet it felt as though there was nothing appropriate about this situation as Lord Faversham demanded, "Well, what are you doing here, girl?"
No sooner had Melody opened her mouth to defend herself than he continued, "You were not invited here, nor do you have any right to be!"
Melody felt his glare burning into her and she would have liked to shrink in on herself, disappearing from existence entirely. The discomfort coming from the servants by the door suggested they weren't best pleased to be there either though she would have much preferred to be standing where they were.
