‘I cannot look at it because I need to study my fingers.’
He tried not to laugh but a snort escaped him.
‘I am going to ignore that,’ she told him.
‘Good, because it was very ungentlemanly of me.’
‘It was,’ she agreed. She bent over the keys as if she needed to be close to them to see them and started to play.
If he were being kind, he would say itwasan improvement on her first attempt. It could not, however, be described as melodic. As she came towards the end, her spine began to straighten and she played the final note with something that could claim to be close to being a spirited attempt.
As the note faded away, he clapped. ‘That was a huge improvement. Well done.’
‘Hmm.’ She folded her arms under her chest.
He did manage to pull his gaze away from how the gesture enhanced her curves, but he wasn’t quite gentlemanly enough not to notice at all.
‘There is no need to sound so disbelieving. It really was better.’
‘You are using the tone of voice governesses use when they do not want their charges to become despondent.’
‘Ah. Well…’ There was nothing he could say to defend himself; he very probably had. He cleared his throat, trying for a deeper pitch. ‘It was an improvement.’
She swivelled on the chair. ‘That would not be hard though, would it?’
‘Admittedly not, no.’
She smiled at his admission, and the gesture lit up her face, making her even lovelier. Long moments passed and he realised they were just looking at one another, smiling.
‘You never got to learn the waltz yesterday.’
‘I did not.’
‘Would you like to go through the steps now?’ he asked, ignoring the warnings in his head. The voice that told him what a bad idea it would be, how he would always compare her with every other woman he waltzed with from now until the end of time. Why should he not hold her in his arms? What was wrong with that?
Her gaze dropped to her hands on her lap. ‘I thought you did not approve of me learning that dance.’
It wasn’t that he didn’t approve; it was that the thought of her standing close to a man who wasn’t him made him want to destroy worlds. To prevent her was not fair of him though. She should be free to meet a man who was her equal in every way. His fingers twitched and he clasped his hands behind his back. ‘I thought there would not be time to get permission from the Society matrons, but as Emily said, it will only be a small gathering tomorrow evening. No one will question whether you have acquired the permission or not.’
‘Very well, I should like to learn.’ She stood. ‘Should we get Emily?’
No. He did not want to get anyone else. He did not want to be bossed around by his sister-in-law as he ached to touch Kate. ‘I do not think she will be awake yet, but if you would prefer to wait…’
‘Oh no. It is fine.’
‘Or you can fetch Jane…’ Perhaps that would be better. He might want to indulge himself by holding her in his arms for a little while, but if there was someone else in the room, he would not forget himself.
‘No, it is not necessary.’
It is just a dance, he reminded himself as she walked towards him. Although older than him, she was still an innocent who trusted him not to take advantage of the situation. His fingers may be shaking but it did not mean he would behave anything less than the gentleman he was.
Coming to a stop opposite him, she left as much space between them as if this were a quadrille.
‘The reason this dance needs permission,’ he said, his voice husky even to his own ears, ‘is because the partners are much closer than in other dances. It is seen by some to be quite scandalous, even though the couples are barely touching.’
She nodded.
He held his hands up into the correct position, but he did not step forward. ‘If you would like to stop at any time, you must say.’
