“She did not forget. She simply thought I would step aside so that Lord Alderton could dance with you instead.” His eyes finally found hers. “She did not realize, I think, how much I wanted to dance with you myself.”
It was as if a flame had been lit within her and Cassandra blinked in surprise at the heat now flooding her. Whatever did he mean by such a declaration? Was it simply a matter of honor? He had written his name there, and thus was intending to stick by it. Or was there something more?
Lord Sherbourne kept his gaze fixed on hers as they danced and, slowly, every other thought began to fade from her head. She could not look away from his hazel eyes, finding glimpses of gold there. The strength of his arm suddenly became much more apparent, his nearness to her sending fresh heat through her frame. Why was she reacting so? Her mouth went suddenly dry as his arm tugged her a little closer. She did not even concentrate on the steps, moving with him as one. He led and she followed.
The music came to a close, but Cassandra was not quite ready to pull herself away from Lord Sherbourne. They stared at each other for a few moments longer, his hand still about her waist and her hand resting on his shoulder. It was only when the hubbub of conversation began to grow that Lord Sherbourne swiftly released her and dropped into a sharp bow. Licking her lips, Cassandra inclined her head and then turned so that she might make her way back to her cousin, relieved to see that Lady Yardley was not gazing out at them.
“Shall we?”
Lord Sherbourne offered his arm and Cassandra took it without a word. She could not find anything to say; the tightness of her chest growing as Lord Sherbourne walked silently beside her. Whatever had taken place, it was so vastly overwhelming, she could not seem to catch her breath. This was nothing like she had ever experienced before and thus, she could make very little sense of it.
“An excellent waltz, Lady Cassandra.” Clearing his throat, Lord Sherbourne dropped his head for a moment, keeping his gaze away from her as he deposited her back beside Lady Yardley. “Pray excuse me now. I will seek out a little more about Lord Alderton this evening if I can.”
Cassandra nodded, still struggling to know what to say. Her eyes searched his face, but Lord Sherbourne refused to look at her. With another nod, he made to turn away, only for Cassandra to catch his fingers with hers. His head turned sharply, his eyes finally lifting to hers but, immediately after, he pulled his hand away.
“Thank you for dancing with me.” Her fingers were warm, her hand burning as she dropped it back to her side. “I enjoyed it very much.”
“But of course.”
There was a short, sharp response without a smile or a lingering glance and Cassandra’s heart twisted painfully, though she did not understand why it was so. As Lady Yardley began to express more about Lord Alderton, Cassandra allowed her thoughts to linger on Lord Sherbourne, watching him as he walked away. Whatever had happened between them during that waltz, something had shifted within her. Something that, as yet, she could not make head nor tail of – but it lingered there, nonetheless.
Chapter Nine
“And I thought you had an enjoyable evening.”
Jonathan rolled his eyes as Lord Knoxbridge sank down into the seat opposite him.
“I had a very pleasant evening, in fact.” His eyebrow lifted as Lord Knoxbridge rolled his eyes. “Why would you think otherwise?”
“Because a gentleman does not sit alone with a snifter of brandy in his hand in the middle of White’s, unless something unpleasant has occurred.” Lord Knoxbridge shrugged his shoulders, tilting his head. “Your expression is not exactly welcoming either.”
Jonathan resisted the urge to feign a smile, uncertain as to whether or not he should unburden himself to his friend. Lord Knoxbridge was a fine gentleman in many ways but he could not always be trusted.
“I swear to you, your words are quite safe.” Lord Knoxbridge grinned, as though he knew precisely what Jonathan was thinking. “Has someone done something to upset you?”
Rolling his eyes, Jonathan snorted.
“I am not as green as that.”
Lord Knoxbridge chucked.
“I am not suggesting for one moment that you are, only that there is something about a situation that now troubles you.”
Resisting the urge to roll his eyes to ignore the statement, Jonathan contented himself with a heavy sigh instead, which Lord Knoxbridge dutifully disregarded.
“If you must know, I shall tell you no single person has upset me in any way.”
Jonathan threw up a quick smile, hoping that this would put an end to his friend’s questions, only for Lord Knoxbridge’s eyes to light up.
“Then it is something thatyouhave done… or have not done,” he declared as Jonathan sighed heavily again. “What did you do? Was it most foolish?” Jonathan was not about to admit to his friend that the cause of his current frustration was his own foolish heart and the way that it clung to Lady Cassandra, so he simply shrugged, picked up his brandy, and took a sip. “Oh, so you will not tell an old friend.” Lord Knoxbridge shook his head. “Your silence is a little disappointing. I thought that we were better friends than that.”
“Tell me, do you know anything about Lord Alderton?” Changing the subject quickly, Jonathan looked over at Lord Knoxbridge, seeing the flicker of interest which jumped into his eyes, his eyebrows lifting slightly. “Do not ask me why I am enquiring about such things. Will you tell me if there is anything untoward you know about him?”
Someone pushed lightly into the back of his chair – another gentleman who appeared to be a little worse for wear – and Jonathan rolled his eyes, waiting until the fellow had moved away before gesturing to Lord Knoxbridge to answer.
His friend picked up his own glass of brandy and took a sip before he answered.
“Lord Alderton is not a gentleman I know well,” he remarked as Jonathan passed one hand over his eyes. “I should think he appears to be a fairly upright sort, for I have never heard anyone say a bad word about his character. He is a quiet fellow, certainly – and to my mind, gentlemen with such quiet dispositions are not generally very good company. So thus, I have not sought out his company very often at all.”
