Page 44 of Fit for a Duke
The opening stanza of a waltz struck up. Without giving her the opportunity to object, he pulled her into his arms, swung her through the doors and into the ballroom. She gasped but then laughed as her feet followed his, as light as air. Her floral halo had slipped again, a fitting tribute to her unorthodox character, and this time Ezra didn’t bother to set it straight.
‘Everyone is staring at us,’ she chided. ‘They think you have taken leave of your senses, which of course you have, as well as offending just about every other young lady in the room.’
‘I enjoy giving offence. It is one of the few pleasures I take from this wretched dukedom.’
‘And you know you are safe with me, I suppose,’ she added, ‘and that I will not read anything unrealistic into a simple dance. After all, I am not fit for a duke.’
Ezra smiled at her simple logic as he swung her into a turn, conscious of his cousin Silas watching them with a scowl on his face.
Chapter Twelve
Clio felt dizzy for reasons that had nothing to do with the manner in which Ezra whirled her around the floor, holding her firmly in his strong arms as the rest of the gathering looked on with varying degrees of astonishment. Lady Walder, she couldn’t help noticing, struggled to hide her disdain. Ezra hadn’t danced all evening, and had finally chosen to take to the floor as a waltz, the opportunity for a gentleman to hold a lady closer than was respectable, struck up. Ezrawasholding Clio too close, much too close, and quite deliberately so, she was absolutely sure of it. Why he felt the need to make such a public declaration she had yet to decide. Be that as it may, barely an inch separated their bodies and her skirts constantly tangled with his legs as a consequence.
‘You do realise that we are the only couple dancing,’ she said, following where his feet led. ‘And that Lady Walder assumed it would be she whom you would invite to waltz.’
Ezra grunted. ‘Lady Walder is a fantasist.’
‘Perhaps, but she would enjoy showing off whereas I dislike being the centre of attention—or fodder for the gossips, for that matter.’
‘You make a delightful centre of attention.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous! But I have never waltzed in public before.’
‘Where did you learn?’
‘In my aunt’s drawing room. Adele was my partner but I am taller, so I had to take the man’s part. Don’t be surprised if I try to take the lead.’
Ezra laughed. ‘Nothing you do would ever surprise me.’
‘Now Captain Salford is glaring too. I hope he doesn’t attempt to cut in.’
Ezra’s expression hardened. ‘He is welcome to try.’ The grip of winter left his eyes as quickly as it had arrived. ‘Let’s give him something to glare about.’ His arm tightened across her back and he pulled her even closer.
‘Don’t you dare!’ she cried, laughing.
‘I did not take you for a coward.’
‘If it was only myself I had to consider, I would gladly join in your capers, but I would not for the world disappoint my aunt, or give rise to baseless speculation. My aunt has been so very kind to me, and you know very well that you only have to smile at a lady for the speculation I would prefer to avoid to abound. I am well aware that you are being whimsical, playing them at their own game, if you like, but they don’t know that and probably think you have taken complete leave of your senses.’
‘In which case, it is they who lack wisdom.’
His eyes gleamed with an unfathomable emotion as their gazes clashed and held. The manner in which his expression softened as he issued some sort of unspoken challenge brought with it an air of expectancy that heightened her perceptions and produced an involuntary rush of desire that pooled deliciously in the pit of her stomach. She felt as light as a summer breeze in his arms, capable at that moment of conquering the world. Ezra Delaney—the glamorous, albeit reluctant, Duke of Wickham—found something to admire in her. There could be no denying it. His eyes did the talking for him and that knowledge filled her with a heady feeling of invincibility.
Other couples had joined them—Beth and her Mr Adcock, Adele and Lord Fryer amongst others—and Clio felt the moment of intimacy slipping away.
‘Your determination to protect your aunt’s feelings does you credit, and I would not have you disappoint her. It is I who shall be a disappointment, since marriage to her daughter is out of the question.’
‘Yes, I can quite see that it would be amésalliance, and I think Beth will be relieved. At least she tried.’
‘Relieved?’ He affected mock affrontery. ‘I am not an ogre.’
‘Well obviously, I know that…’
‘He laughed. ‘You keep me honest with your plain speaking.’
‘I am glad to oblige. And as for respecting my aunt, it is easy to be grateful to her when one has been passed around between relatives like an inconvenient parcel. I firmly believe that my Welsh family only took me in because they were paid handsomely by my trustees who were also my official guardians to do so. My aunt is paid too, of course, although nothing that vulgar is ever discussed between us. However, I am perfectly sure that she would have taken me anyway. She has a soft and warm heart and has made me feel as though I am doing her a service rather than the other way around.’
‘I am glad that you are comfortable and well protected here.’
