“How do you know that?”
“It’s just one of those things a man knows.”
Leonora cast her eyes heavenward, but she could not prevent a smile from forming, or a chuckle from escaping. “That ducal arrogance alone is enough for me to not set my sights anywhere near you. How long before the interval, do you think?”
“I’ve never met a woman so eager to relieve herself from my company. It still amazes me.”
“Oh? I’ve never met a duke so eager to be led by the lapels.”
“I’m a spectator of life. It’s the best cure for boredom.”
“How pleasant formethat I could relieve your boredom some.”
“Ah, well, it’s the cost of having a meddlesome brother. I suppose you would much rather be here with your Lord Dare.”
Leonora jolted in response to Dare’s name uttered on the duke’s lips. A tiny sliver of the earlier dwindled thrill shot up her belly and burrowed in her chest. “He is notmyLord Dare. Why does everyone assume so?” Because they flirted so much?
“I don’t mean anything by the statement, only that the two of you seemed drawn to each other.”
“It’s called friendship.” Or the relationship between the ravager and the ravaged. Did that have a name?
“Friends bat their eyes at each other?”
Leonora cocked her head at the duke, who gazed back smiling at her. Had she batted her lashes at Dare? Maybe. The picture of him batting his lashes at her, however, brought a matching grin to her face. What a delightful picture!
The earl certainly had the face of an angel and the attitude of a devil, but there was also an endearing part of him that could make her laugh despite his harrowing reputation and the chaos that was his past.
The wordsinfamousandnotoriousandrakeall vanished when she was with him. Even when she called him rakish orhe himself referred to himself as such, it was more in a teasing manner than anything else. Leonora didn’t see the rake. She never really had.
She saw the man.
What did he see when he looked at her? Did he see a foolish flirt or a beguiling woman? Probably a bit of everything.
Perhaps not much of anything.
Now why had that unwelcome thought claimed a spot of torment in her heart?
*
“What the bloodyhell are they laughing at?”
Two chuckles followed Dare’s sour question.
He shot a glare to his left, to Drake. “And why didyoufollow me here? You never attend these sorts of events in this part of town.”
“For the former, I have my reasons,” Drake murmured, his eyes sweeping the interior of Dare’s private box. “As for the latter, you have inspired me.”
Inspired his arse! The man enjoyed watching him trip over his own damn proverbial boots, that’s what.
“Come now,” Knox drawled from his other side. “Let’s enjoy the play.”
There was no way he could do that, he bit out in his mind, glancing back at the box that housed Leonora and her perfect duke. At that moment, she was looking up at the man and smiling at something he’d said. Not one person here tonight needed a looking glass to see her lips curling upward. It was there. Plain for everyone to draw conclusions from.
And Lord, she looked beautiful. Even from this distance, he could tell. And she looked it while not beside him. She looked it beside another man.
“Why don’t you just admit you like the chit?” Drake asked, mockery dripping from every word.
“Why should I admit that?”To you of all people?Though he had admitted it to himself more times than he cared to count. Every look her way was an admission. Every touch. Every smile. But someone as jaded as Drake—cough—would never understand this.
