If she married him, she would be safe.
And though she wasn’t sure exactly how it had happened, she knew that he did care for her. He had invested so much time and effort into her that it was impossible to think of anything else.
Maybe being married to such a man wouldn’t be so bad after all. Maybe she would be able to live with it. Maybe she would even enjoy it. Sharing her life with someone who was kind to her, someone who cared about her…things could certainly be worse!
She sighed. What a conundrum this was. She knew what Matthew would want her to do, of course, and what Lavinia would say, but she had been the unattainable spinster for such a long time. Letting go of that would be like setting herself adrift, leaving the harbor of the life she had chosen for the wild unpredictability of a life at sea.
And besides…she didn’t love him.
Was it fair to him to marry him if she couldn’t return his affections? And for that matter…was it fair toher?
She didn’t know.
The music ended, and Lord Kentrow offered her a little bow. “This was lovely,” he said. “It pains me that we must be parted, even for a short while…but perhaps we will meet again later tonight.”
Would he propose marriage later tonight? Could it come so quickly? She felt fearful at the thought. “Perhaps we will,” she said, having no idea of how she might respond if he did indeed offer her a proposal. If he had asked the question right then and there, her answer would have been as much a mystery to her as it could possibly have been to him.
Lord Kentrow smiled and gave her hand a squeeze before releasing it, and Edwina felt as exposed as if he had kissed her right in the middle of the room with everyone watching. Of course, no one would have been able to discern that little hand squeeze. It wasn’t the sort of thing one could observe. And yet, she felt as if surely everyone must know what had happened.
She was about to walk off the floor when a shadow appeared above her, and her stomach dropped. Even before she looked up, she felt certain of who she was going to see.
“Lady Edwina.”
She’d been right. The Duke stood over her, dark eyes brooding and intense, and Edwina wanted to run away, yet she also wanted to throw herself at him. Her heart rate seemed to accelerate to the pace of a galloping horse. It was difficult to breathe.
It occurred to her, sickeningly, that Lord Kentrow had never made her feel like this and that he never would.
Butthiscouldn’t be love. This was terrible. This felt like having a fever. There was something the matter with her.
And besides, she wasn’t in love with the Duke. She didn’t even like the Duke. What a thought. The fact that she lost control of her senses around him didn’t mean that she admired him. It only meant that he was a rake and that he was impossible to spend any time with.
“What do you want?” she demanded.
She thought he might laugh at her, that he might tease her for allowing her emotions to get the better of her. That would have been very like him.
But he didn’t even smile. He held out a hand. “Dance with me.”
“Why would I do that?” She blinked. “You know I have no interest in you, Your Grace.”
“That’s not true,” he said. “You know it, and so do I. You and I…there’s something between us. That’s why you want me to stay away. You’re afraid of the way you feel about me.”
“You’re not even trying to hide your flirtation anymore, are you?”
“No, I’m not,” he agreed. Now, he did smile, but the smile wasn’t the easy, open, friendly smile she’d gotten from Lord Kentrow. It was dark and a little intimidating, as if he understood something she did not. “I have nothing to hide,” he informed her. “I have no reason to pretend. I know you feel the same thing I do.”
“I feel nothing. You’ve tried all this time to charm me. You haven’t succeeded, and you won’t. Don’t bother.”
“If I haven’t succeeded, then dance with me,” he insisted. “What do you have to lose? Why would you refuse me unless you feel something that disturbs you? And if you feel nothing, what’s to stop you?”
“Verywell,” Edwina snapped, her anger spiking. She hated that he was capable of provoking her like this. She stalked onto the dance floor without waiting to see whether he had followed her.
He had. As the musicians began, he took her in his arms. He held her close, she observed—slightly closer than he should have. And she ought to have pulled back, established some distance between the two of them, but she didn’t. Being held like this made her feel alive, awake in a way she simply hadn’t felt when dancing with Lord Kentrow.
She wondered if Lord Kentrow was watching right now and, if he was, what he might think of what he was seeing. Would he be jealous? She had never known Lord Kentrow to act angry or unpleasant in any way. More likely, he would simply smile passively at the sight of her enjoying herself and never think toquestion whether something was moving her that hadn’t been present when she had danced with him.
For a moment, she actually felt angry. She wished he would fight for her. But it was Lord Kentrow. It was difficult to imagine him doing any such thing.
“I knew you’d give me a turn tonight,” the Duke said to Edwina.
