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Why?

The answer flashed, quick and so obvious, he couldn’t believe he had missed it He moved to his desk and lifted the pile of correspondence there, sifting through until he found the square of paper that he was looking for

Slipping his finger beneath the wax seal, he allowed hile line of text there, underlined Twice

The engagement is off –Needham

Georgiana had made certain that his betrothal to Penelope could not stand

Your betrothal gift has already been sent to London

She’d ruined herself Ruined them all

To ensure his happiness

Now he had only to reach out and take it

The Northumberland autumn ball was planned as the last official event of the season, before Parliament’s special session finished and society packed up and headed for the country for the close of the year

The stairs leading up to the house and the foyer were packed with throngs of revelers, passing their heavy cloaks to footrand staircase to the ballroom, where the main festivities were already under way

All of London society had braved a particularly nasty rain to be there, a fitting end to this altogether-too-long of a season

And if Si to be the talk of not only that season but several more to come

Unfortunately, he appeared to have been uninvited to the festivities

“I am sorry, Your Grace, but the duke and duchess are not receiving” The head footned the unfortunate task of asking Simon to step out of the crowd, delivered the unfortunate neith a slight tremor

“I beg your pardon?”

The servant backed up a step “They are not” He cleared his throat “Receiving”

Simon turned to look at the strea up the center staircase of the house, headed for the ballroom “And so I suppose all these people are” He trailed off, waiting for the footman to complete the sentence

“Family?” The footman finished, uncertain

Simon supposed he should sympathize for the poor man, who had likely never turned away a duke before, but he could not muster the emotion He was too irritated “And the ?”

The servant cleared his throat “Erm Yes?”

He was being turned away from Northumberland House because his sister had borne a child Out of wedlock The Leighton name was now synonymous with scandal It had taken less than a day, and all invitations he had received for events to be held in the co weeks had been politely revoked—it seemed a rash of cancellations had taken place across London

Perhaps, had it been another day—another ball—he would have done as expected and left, but Juliana was inside that ballroom And he had a plan to win her One that relied heavily on this, the last ball of the season

Sih “Well, I suppose we’re lucky that Northumberland is a distant cousin” He pushed past the servant and started up the staircase, taking the steps two at a ti behind

“Your Grace, you cannot!”

On the landing, he turned and faced the footman “And how do you plan to stop me?”

“Your Grace” The servant apparently planned to appeal to Siment

Little did he know that Sied in an alternate purpose that evening—to find Juliana and make her his

He ducked around a cluster of revelers and pushed into the ballroo her in the crowd the moment he entered; he was drawn to her like a moth to a flame

He hadher filled hi He craved her nearness, her laugh, her courage, the way shethat had driven him mad when he had first met her and that he ached for now

She waltzed across the rooown of the palest pink, and for a fleeting moment, Simon was distracted by the fact that she wore such an uninteresting color—a color that , unave hier

The only thing thatin them For him

Thank God

For he could not bear it if she belonged to someone else

The thought came on a wicked wave of desire—desire to march up to her, pull her from the earl’s arms, and steal her away

Which, as luck would have it, was precisely the plan

He had not reh the crowd, clusters of revelers stopped, first to stare, then deliberately to turn away fro—had done it hi if he said that the cuts were not painful

But the e as each of these people who, o, were desperate for his approval, turned their backs to show him their disapproval paled in comparison to the pleasure he felt at the way they eased his passage to his single, undeniable goal: Juliana

His Juliana

He took a deep breath and, defying all convention and everything he had ever been trained to do or be, crossed directly into the center of the roo dancers in their tracks

Proving, once and for all, that she had been right all along—and that reputation was nothing when compared to love

Allendale saw hi The earl’s friendly smile faded into a look of shock, and he slowed Juliana to a stop The orchestra played on as Simon drew nearer to them, and he heard the confusion in Juliana’s voice when she said, “What has happened?”

Her voice was a benediction—that lilting Italian accent that he craved, the way she drew out her syllables and let theue She turned to him, and her eyes widened—at his nearness or his attire or both—her lush mouth fell open, and the entire room disappeared It was only her Only them Only now

“Your Grace?”

He did not trust himself to speak to her Not when he wanted to say a hundred things that were for her and her alone So he turned to the earl instead, saying with a lifeti your partner”

Benedick’sto recall the exact protocol for this situation Finally, the earl turned to Juliana, allowing her the choice

Siloved hand, pal the way her sapphire eyes darkened and her lips parted at the word “I should very much like to cause a scandal”

She stared at the hand for a long aze

And there was an unbearable sadness in her eyes

Suddenly, he knehat she was going to do

And he could not stop her

She shook her head “No”

He stood there like a fool, ar

She shook her head again and whispered, “I won’t be your scandal Not this time” The words crashed around him, and he watched as her eyes went liquid with unshed tears “No,” she repeated, and she hurried past, heading for the exit

It took hi hiaz

e, blood roaring in his ears, shah him, hot and furious

“How could you do such a thing to her?”

The words barely registered before Allendale was pushing past hih the crowd

He turned to watch theh the roo aside to let her pass, and he did the only thing he could think to do; he called after her “Juliana!”

A collective gasp rippled through the roo shout that was entirely out of place in a ballrooentleman happened to be But he did not care He took a step toward her, following, and an arm came across his chest

Ralston held him back

He fought against the grip, calling out again, her na up into the rafters, silencing everyone in the roo the orchestra “Juliana!”

She turned back He aze—the color of Ceylon sapphires—and said the only thing he could think to say The only thing he could i that mattered “I love you”

Her face—her beautiful, perfect face—crumbled at the words, and the tears that she had held at bay spilled over

She ran from the room, Allendale on her heels

Sirip, followed, determined to reach her Determined to fix it

And damned if the ton didn’t protect her from him

The orchestra resus of people in his way Everywhere he turned, there was a waltzing couple trapping hie of the ballroouests simply happened into his path

Not one of them met his eyes; not one spoke to him But they made it impossible for him to catch her

When he had fought his way through the crowd, down the stairs, and out the door, she was gone, and there was nothing but a drenching London rain to greet him

And at thatthe events of the last fewthrough him

It was fear

Fear that he had lost the only thing he had ever really wanted