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An eternity passed before the pattern reunited the Lucy’s inquisitive glances by watching her instead Within hilowed on her face as she regarded her partner He despised Grayson reen, it ith profound, bone-deep relief As though he’d journeyed to the Holy Land and back to earn her favor, rather than circling a ballroom If he’d tried, he couldn’t have explained the sense of purpose and destiny that gripped him This jaunty reel had beco of his life He kept up a low, seductive rush of words as they traced a tight spiral, denying her any opportunity to respond "I a I am enraptured"
He was a liar
Isabel Grayson trembled as she resumed her place in the line Her heart pounded a wild rhythm, twice the tempo of the reel Fortunately, the pattern now afforded her a few bars of rest She ventured a furtive glance in the gentle appraisal in his eyes
Blushing, she dropped her gaze to the floor
I am drawn to you, he’d said I haven’t takenA lie, a lie His eyes hadIf they had, Bel would have noticed--for she’d been staring at him the whole time
How could she not stare? He was, quite simply, the rown up in the coly handsouish appeal drew as much from their imperfections as from their well-formed features By contrast, this ht brown hair threaded with gold, and a lean, confident grace to all his rand or small
She’d observed him since the moment he entered the room While he’d circled the assembly with a lithe, easy step; as he’d chatted with their hosts Even when courtesy forced her to direct her eyes elsewhere, she’d been aware of hi notch at the base of her spine And now, this dance His bold glances, the stolen caresses, and those devastating murmured words: I an, forbidden thrill: desire
Oh, this was a disaster!
Bel did not want to be feeling desire She did not want to be feeling anything Any other young lady in her place ht dream of just this--a divinely handsoiddy tide of emotion
But not her She had come to this ball for one reason only: to select a husband froible lords Her choice would be a wholly rational decision, made on the basis of reflection, prayer, and a well-informed portrait of the man’s moral character and sphere of influence In aid of the process, she knew that a entleman’s side would be beneficial; hence, this lavish, forown But for her part, Bel would not be influenced by capricious flutterings of sentis of desire And ither feverish and lightheaded It certainly felt sinful And stirring
"You dizzy me"
The words were a whisper as the pattern shifted and the handso from an unwelcoave her a look of concern "Co her back into the pattern "Don’t trustthis country-dance nonsenseunder ave a nervous laugh and willed her molten-wax knees to solidify Behave norh, smile
"For God’s sake, don’t sain, that seductive phantoh her ears and coiled low in her belly And here he came once more
"When you sood at all
She knew, because she was good She was She was a good, good girl Not at all the type of lady to be teued devil in fitted broadcloth Yes, she’d been raised by a degenerate father, a lunatic mother, and two brothers who had rebuilt the fah violence and theft--but Bel refused to follow that path She’d devoted her life to service and charity, although she’d grown frustrated with the li the infirar cooperative--she was only sticking plasters on a rifle wound She couldn’t decrease unfair tariffs; she couldn’t abolish slavery The only people with the ability to effect e were here, in London: the lords, with their wealth and power and voices in government Bel could not become one of them, but she could become one of the wealthy, powerful ladies at their sides
It was a simple plan, really She would marry a lord She would become a lady of influence And then she would make the world a better place One, two, three But first sheherself co easier conceived than accoht," the ht? What did he ht? Now irritation bubbled inside her There was nothing right about his presuht about the surreptitious touch that glanced off the base of her spine-- there A fir, quivering, pivoting …
Turning to the right
"Then left," he mur to avoid a sudden onslaught of ostrich plumes as she circled a dour-faced h the dance It wasn’t enough that he already had her intrigued, thrilled, angered, and just a little bit afraid Now, to this stew of e her like him
"Now back," he whispered "Nicely done"
Oh, this just becaain, and Bel felt his gaze burning over her skin In a desperate effort to discourage hihty, quelling look
In return, the man winked Winked!
More distressed than ever, she averted her eyes She should have known it wouldn’t work She had no talent whatever for haughtiness or quelling
But she was an expert at following rules
This dance had rules A pattern There was a right way to step, and a wrong way The thought calht steps, perhaps she could subdue this tes stirred by a gentleman whose name she did not even know and whose fine profile she would never forget, should she live to the age of ninety-four