Her cheeks flushed, and she caught her husband’s heated look before his gaze paused on the ribbon woven into her hair. He averted his eyes.
What wasthat?
Harriet cleared her throat and returned the duke’s grin. “Thank you.”
Calstone inclined his head, his eyes sweeping over the ballroom. “Quite the crush tonight. I daresay the perfect night to come out, wouldn’t you agree, Lady Leeds? Dances beneath candlelit chandeliers. Fabulous wine. Stolen kisses in garden strolls.”
What was this man on about? “Are you informing us of your plans for the night?”
Calstone’s smile slipped.
Beside her, Leeds chuckled. “He is meddling—that’s what he’s doing, love.”
“You don’t find the mood of the night romantic? This is your first event as a married couple. You must tryeverythingtonight.”
On the contrary, she thought it felt rather more like the calm before the storm. Nothing romantic about that. “Well, a ball certainly looks better while dancing than it does from a post against the wall.”
Leeds took a tendril of her hair between his fingers. “You can’t even imagine how much better it looks to me, love.”
Harriet’s heartbeat sped up. She didn’t need candlelit chandeliers, fabulous wine, or stolen kisses in garden strolls to set a romantic mood. All she needed was Leeds’s charming mouth. It melted her like nothing else.
“Come on now,” Calstone insisted. “This is where reality meets the imagination.”
“You and I have different views on that, Duke.” She shrugged. “Unfortunately, the first night of my debut shattered that illusion.”
Both men stared at her.
“What?” Harriet asked. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“What happened on the night you debuted?” Calstone asked.
“Calstone,” Leeds warned.
Calstone’s gaze flicked between the two of them, but he didn’t press further.That’s right.She’d told Leeds about Cromby. He must have deduced the reason was that odious man.
“Well, I shall make it my life’s mission to restore the magic of the ballroom for you,” Calstone announced.
“Find your own wife,” Leeds retorted. “If my wife wants any magic restored anywhere, I’ll be the one to do it.”
Harriet bit back a smile. “Boys.”
Both men turned to her. “I think you’ve both forgotten I was a wallflower once. Now I’m one no longer. That is enough magic for me, thank you very much.”
“You never belonged amongst them.”
“Well, you certainly plucked me from them, did you not?”
Calstone groaned. “Have a heart. Flirting before the bachelors. That is considered unconscionably rude.”
Harriet chuckled. “How about I introduce you to my good friend, Lady Leonora? I believe she is looking for a spot of fun.”
A look of horror fell across his face. “Please don’t do that.”
“I think that’s a brilliant plan,” Leeds agreed.
“It’s a bad, bad plan.”
“Why? Aren’t you looking to dance beneath sparkling chandeliers and take garden strolls? A spot of fun?”
