Page 14 of How to Seduce a Duke this Autumn
His thin smile held no humor, but he inclined his head. “If you must,” he said dryly.
His mother laughed lightly, as if the matter was already decided. “I taught you how to dance for a reason,hijo mío. You’ll do me proud yet.”
Before Adam could muster a retort, she rose again, brushing an invisible wrinkle from her skirts. She paused at the door, looking over her shoulder with a mischievous gleam that made her seem almost youthful again. “Oh, and be sure to dance with a lady or two. Perhaps even Lady Charlene. That’s the thing about life, Adam. You either dance or you sit alone at the edge of the ballroom. I suggest you do what you do best.”
Dance. While just out of mourning. It felt abhorrent, a betrayal of the quiet grief that had settled in his chest like an unwanted companion. Yet society demanded appearances over substance, forcing a man to paint over his sorrows as if they no longer mattered.
Why did he have to be born first?
But then, David as Rotheworth? No, it was lucky he had been born first, rather than that do-no-good brother of his.
However, the very notion of waltzing amid the clamor of music and chatter struck him as tasteless. But the mask—at least the mask offered him a reprieve, hiding the truth that his eyes would reveal, concealing the weight of what he refused to speak aloud. Behind its veil, Adam supposed he could be anyone but himself, and perhaps, for one evening, that would be easier.
His gaze lowered to the invitation, his chest tight with something like longing—and something sharper than regret.
You look just like him.
Her parting words of one year ago burned through his gut.
Adam dragged a hand through his hair. Perhaps, just maybe, they could move on from the past?
Chapter Four
Masquerade Ball…
Charlene adjusted hermask for the third time, the satin ribbon refusing to sit comfortably around her head. “I don’t want to be here.”
“What are you talking about?” Maddie asked, casting her a sidelong glance while ensuring her own mask sat perfectly across her face. “You’re the one who wanted to find a man, remember?”
“Not at a masquerade ball.” Charlene motioned toward her brother, Waylon, who was loitering a few feet away from them, his arms crossed and his gaze vigilant. His fiancée stood at his side, her elegant figure draped in a gown that practically sparkled like glitter under moonlight. Well, for a moment before he slipped away like a true gentleman who had no intention of torturing himself with feminine shenanigans.
“This is still the perfect place,” Ashley countered from the side. They had all dressed at Charlene’s house and set out together. “Consider it a trial endeavor.”
Trying, yes. But a trial? Could a woman’s reputation ever survive a trial?
Truth be told, she neither wanted to be there nor did she think it wise.
Still, she wasn’t going to leave.
Charlene broke into goosebumps at the thought of the scandal that night might have unleashed.
Oh, the Cross brothers. Or at least one of them.
“For what is this trial, exactly? Looking beyond the masks in the ballroom?”
Ashley chuckled, lowering her voice. “Flirting, dancing, and stealing kisses. Masquerade balls are the playground for romance and adventure. Practice!” Ashley winked at her.
Aha! Certainly not something Charlene felt her reputation could survive. And even that was an understatement!
Charlene almost groaned. She wanted to find romance and adventure, yes, but she wasn’t sure that was the way to go about it. Stealing kisses? That would mean being alone with a man she didn’t know, and given what had happened a year ago with a man shedidknow…
No, she couldn’t do it.
“I might just try all that,” Maddie said with a laugh.
“Can you two be serious?” Charlene tried to hide her exasperation. Fighting back a smile, Charlene bit her tongue. She was forever grateful for her friends and wanted them to be happy. But she also wanted to be happy. Not merely wed. Not merely shelved. Not merely anything, no! She didn’t want to settle for anything less than bone-melting kisses and adventurous romance that was the material even most naughty books left out. And yet, her heart wasn’t complete.
“Oh, I’m very serious,” Ashley replied, her grin widening. “The men in disguises are your playground. You’re here to find one, aren’t you? What better place than a room full of masked ones to consider which traits you cherish the most?”
