Her eyes widened, and a small line appeared between her eyebrows, her lips parting as he slipped his arm around her waist, so they could promenade for the last time. His other hand grasped hers, joined in front of them, and though it was almost too subtle to notice, he could have sworn he felt her squeeze that hand.
A blush reddened her cheeks. “Not many people find my interests interesting.”
“Then, they lack intellect. Anyone who laughs at the passions of another is foolish and likely has no interests of their own,” he told her.
“What inspires you?” she asked.
He gazed down into her eyes, and his neck leaned with it. For a dangerous second, he wanted to say “you” before placing a kiss upon her slightly parted lips, but even he knew that society would have something to say if he behaved so brazenly. Nor did he believe she would appreciate another kiss after all they had discussed about the first.
“The sea,” he said instead, remembering her floating upon the crystalline surface for that one golden minute.
And the treasures it sends toward the shore,his mind added, just as the music slowed to a conclusion.
He bowed to her, and she curtseyed to him, both smiling as they realized they had finally made it to the end of a dance together.
“Shall we dance one more?” he asked, bending to kiss her hand. The closest he would ever get again to kissing her.
Her throat bobbed, her gulp no doubt louder than she had anticipated. “Why not?” she said, after a moment. “Tonight, we are making merry after all, and I am no rule-breaker.”
“Nor am I,” he vowed, taking his position once more.
But as he looked across the divide at his wife, his heart swelling as she flashed him the most charming smile, and he could feel a few cracks beginning to form inoneof his rules. Cracks that needed to be mended immediately, for it was the one rule of all of them that that they could never, ever break.
CHAPTERSEVENTEEN
“If I had not seen it with my own eyes, I would call you all liars!” Anna squealed, clapping her hands together so vigorously that it drew the attention of other ladies, clustered nearby.
Matilda struggled to hide her grin. “Would you calm yourself, Anna. It was a dance, nothing more.”
“It wasthreedances, and you were smiling like a giddy maid the entire time!” Anna insisted, hopping from foot to foot. “I know I was not entirely encouraging of this to begin with, but you have my wholehearted support now, Matilda! You makequitethe pair. I would not have believed it, but you do!”
Phoebe chuckled, flashing Matilda a knowing look. “Was it the wedding night that brought you closer? That smile upon your face is certainly one I know well, for I have seen it upon my own face often enough.”
“You are all scoundrels,” Matilda scolded playfully. “He and I are… becoming friends. There has been no wedding night, nor do I expect there will be. However, being in his company is pleasanter than I imagined. Do not start conjuring any notions, I beg of you; just accept that we are learning to appreciate each other’s company.”
Olivia grinned, wiggling her eyebrows. “I bet you are.”
“As friends!” Matilda urged, sweeping a clammy hand across her hair.
Leah nodded to Anna. “She is quite right, though. You do make quite the handsome pair. I cannot understand what has changed in him since the wedding, but he does not seem nearly as terrifying as he did. He has improved in appearance, and you can only be responsible for that, so do not attempt to deny it.”
“There was nothing amiss with his appearance to begin with,” Matilda argued, a shiver of protectiveness bristling through her chest. “He has always been handsome. A few scars do not change that.”
Anna shrieked. “She thinks he is handsome! Oh, this is marvelous. Oh, this is more than I had hoped for!”
“I meant his general appearance,” Leah explained, smiling slyly. “He has brushed his hair, shaved his face, and seems more kempt than before. I said nothing about him being or not being handsome though I am certain it pleases us all to hear that you find him so appealing.”
Matilda groaned. “You are all incorrigible.”
“And you are not denying it,” Phoebe jumped in, taking a pointed sip of her drink.
Ordinarily, Matilda would have called upon one of her friends to spare her from an uncomfortable conversation, but as they were the ones leading it, she let her frantic gaze dart elsewhere.
It was not hard to find Albion, for he stood a good head taller than most of the gentlemen present and possessed the most curious aura that seemed to draw her eye like an arrow to a target—not her arrow, of course, being useless at the art of archery, but someone gifted in it.
She noted him hiding a yawn behind his hand as a nearby gentleman spoke loudly and clearly at great length about something that was putting everyone else to sleep.
“If you will excuse me, there is something I must tend to so that my husband does not unravel all the fine work that I have done in turning him into a proper duke. It seems he is about to insult the Marquess of Winchfield by yawning too much,” Matilda announced. As she turned away, she paused and looked back at her beloved friends, flashing a wicked grin. “But before I go, I shall leave you with this morsel—thanks to him, I have had my first kiss… and you shall have to wait until my book is finished to find out more.”
