Page 50 of A Marriage of Convenience with a Rake
She smiled at Sebastian, and he smiled back.
“I’ll go and find the butler. A moment, my dear.”
“Thank you,” Eleanor murmured.
“And then, perhaps, we could retire to the terrace. Though retiring to bed might be rather pleasant, too.” His eyes sparkled and Eleanor felt blood rush to her cheeks.
He grinned and took her hand, pressing it to his lips. She looked up at him in utter astonishment, but he laughed and inclined his head towards the door.
“A moment, my lady. I will go and find the butler.”
“Thank you,” Eleanor said at once. Her heart soared and she had almost forgotten to breathe.
Sebastian grinned and hurried off, and she stood where she was, her gaze moving across the ballroom. As she stood there, her eyes widened in shock. There, coming across the ballroom, looking around as if he was terrified, pushing his way through the crowd from the front door, was her brother.
Chapter 19
“Did my father retire to his chamber?” Sebastian asked the butler swiftly.
He nodded. “Yes, my lord. He went upstairs around ten minutes ago.”
Sebastian sighed. “Good,” he said briskly. He breathed out. He could barely think—all that was in his mind was the sweet way Eleanor had blushed as he pressed her hand to his lips. The scent of her skin—rosewater and lavender-flowers—clung in his nostrils, making his senses swim. He longed to kiss her again, and this time on her lips.
“Should I check on your father, my lord?” the butler asked.
“No...I am certain he is well. His manservant will attend him if he needs help, and he is instructed to fetch me if Papa takes ill again.” He had organized that almost a week ago, when Papa was first ill.
“Yes, my lord,” the butler replied.
Sebastian nodded to him and hurried off. He could not wait to return to the ballroom. Eleanor was there, and he was about to go to the terrace with her. There, he could kiss her lips and hold her close and whisper to her how much longing for her tormented him. He walked briskly into the ballroom.
The marble floor where the guests stood about or danced was a little lower than the doorway, accessed by a shallow flight of stairs. Sebastian stood at the top of the steps, gaze scanning the crowd.
“Where is she?” he murmured to himself.
Eleanor was the only woman in attendance in an emerald-green dress with brown hair, and even if there had been a dozen such, he would have spotted her anywhere. His senses wouldseek her across any distance. He let his eyes scan the crowd and frowned. She was not there.
Sebastian blinked, letting his gaze rove the assembled people again. He spotted Matthew, talking with a woman with auburn hair and a tall man. He didn’t recognize them from so far away, but Matthew was obvious in his stylish tailcoat. He wandered over, heart thumping with tension.
“Matthew? Have you seen Eleanor anywhere?”
Matthew frowned. “No. No, I haven’t, old chap. Is she on the terrace, mayhap? It is hot here.”
“Good point,” Sebastian agreed. Surely, she would have waited for him before going out there? But then, that was the logical place to be waiting for him.
He walked briskly through the crowd, heading for the doors.
“Excuse me. Pardon me,” he murmured, slipping between people, or stepping neatly around them. A few people glared at him as he almost bumped into them, but he ignored that. He needed to find Eleanor.
He reached the doors to the terrace and walked swiftly through. Outside, the sound of talk and laughter hit him like a wave. More guests than he would have imagined had decided to seek refuge from the heat of the ballroom outdoors, even though the wind was decidedly cold, and he drew his tailcoat closer, shivering. He bit his lip. Unless Eleanor had fetched a mantle from upstairs, she would be freezing out here.
He spotted Lord Grovedale on the edge of the group and wandered over.
“Sorry to interrupt,” he said, casting a brief gaze around the two or three people who stood chatting with the fellow. “But none of you happen to have seen Lady Glenfield, have you?”
An uncomfortable silence descended on the group. Sebastian frowned at them.
“What?” he demanded when nobody spoke. “What is thematter? If you have something to say, share it.”
