“I must admit,” he said, his mouth awfully close to her ear, “I find this ball lacking.”
Cecelia was stunned, for she had been having a wondrous time. Yet, at his mention that he had not, she felt an immediate need to change that.
Remembering how they had always played games to pass the time during dance practice as children, she suggested, “Perhaps we might play pretend for a little while?”
His grace scoffed, and for a second, she feared he might find the notion too childish. Her cheeks grew hot, and she prepared to be snubbed.
“Why, your highness, I do believe that is an excellent idea, for I fear I may have been a little too hard on you previously,” he said, spinning her around in such a way that did, in fact, make her feel like a princess with all eyes upon her.
“I am glad to hear you think so, your highness,” she responded, holding back a giggle.
“This ball might be much more fun if I had spent more time in your company, princess,” he continued with their little game, and Cecelia's insides flipped.
“I have to agree, my prince,” she said, her heart skipping a beat.My?
“I have been wondering all evening how I might approach you,” he said, his mouth drawing closer to her ear, so close now that she felt his breath tickling her skin. “I fear to admit I have been watching you, and I would very much like to get to know you better.”
A surge of sensation rushed through her entire body at that, and she was sure that had he not been holding her up, her knees might have given way.
“I am glad that you have, your highness, for I feel much the same way,” she said, feeling once more as if she had stumbled intosome fairy tale that her sister so desperately loved. How would Mary react when she told her about all of this in the morning?
“Tell me about yourself, your highness,” she insisted, holding onto this moment for all its worth. She could feel the seconds ticking by, hoping that the music would last forever.
“Well, I am Prince Gabriel Montague of Italy,” he stated, and Cecelia's chest exploded. He remembered. The name he had given was the very same he had used so often during their childhood games. “And you are?”
He looked at her with such expectation in his gaze that for a second, Cecelia couldn't think.
Then, the answer came to her.
“I am Princess Isabella Conleone,” she said, the thrill running through her once more. “And I call Italy home, also.”
The smile that broadened across her face was not so disguisable as the flushing of her cheeks.
“Well, Princess Isabella, do tell me about yourself,” he said, his grip seeming to tighten on her. He held her close now, so close that she felt the buttons of his waistcoat pressed against her breasts.
“I … umm … my parents have sent me to England to marry,” she said, trying desperately to come up with a good story to keep their game going. “Though I admit, I have found my options severely limited.”
“Might I ask as to why?”
Cecelia's throat constricted.
“My chaperone, though he appears to have my best interests at heart, has been quite overbearing,” she said, her chest tightening as she wondered whether she might have perhaps chosen another answer.
If it grated upon him the wrong way, the duke – the prince – did not show it.
His lip brushed her ear then, as he said, “I can see why.”
Cecelia's breath caught in her throat. Her head started to spin almost as much as they were dancing, and suddenly she wasn't sure which way was up.
Then, suddenly, as if all the life had gone out of the room, the music came to an abrupt halt in the ending of the dance, and theduke was quick to pull away as the other dancers around them started to part.
Cecelia's only relief was that he continued to hold her hand, that he lifted it to his lips and pressed a kiss upon her gloved knuckles. Heat seared through her glove, up her arm.
“Your Grace, perhaps we might let bygones be bygones and start afresh?” she suggested, desperate to learn where they stood beyond this childish game.
At her words, she felt his grip on her hand loosen. She held her breath, fearful of his answer.
And when he released her hand to lift it to the ribbon of his mask, she started to feel light-headed.
