Page 28 of A Gentleman's Wife

“Oh, do forgive me.” Thomas cursed his clumsy steps and immediately found himself worrying for her.

“Be careful. If my feet are ruined, I’ll have nothing left.”

His gaze shot up to her face, thinking quickly to contradict her self-deprecating remark, but instead he found her eyes alight with joy, a wide grin set on her lips.

She was teasing him.

Thomas let out a laugh, his hand tightening around hers. His heart did a double beat as she took a moment of their closeness to examine his face without guile or pause. Her chest rose and fell with steady breathing, and Thomas longed to know what she was thinking.

Just as he’d opened his mouth to speak, the two doors opened again. “Apologies for my delay,” Mr. Sanders said. “I thought you’d gone to the ballroom.”

Marianne gave Thomas a knowing look with raised eyebrows, making him chuckle again. “Not to worry, Mr. Sanders,” he said. “Why don’t you come stand here with Marianne, and I can play a little tune for practice?”

When he released her hands, she seemed reluctant to let him go, or perhaps he imagined it. Thomas sat himself at the pianoforte and wiggled his fingers over the keys before settling them over the right set.

“Now I’m no Mozart, but I think we can get by. If ever you want me to stop, just tell me.”

Marianne nodded at him, and Thomas’s heart wound even tighter for her. He admired her bravery and her intelligence, her goodness and cheekiness, among many other things. And before he went on making a mental list of all the things he admired about her, he brought himself back to the present and pressed his fingers to the piano keys.

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