“You hardly left me any choice.”
“Of course, you had a choice,” the Duke countered. “You’ve always had choices, Lady Edwina. If you had no choice in your life, you would not still be a spinster. You would have been forced into marriage long ago. You know perfectly well that it’s what your whole family wants for you.”
Edwina couldn’t answer. She had no argument. He was perfectly right, of course, and she felt as if the words had been stolen right from her mouth.
“And if you truly didn’t want to dance with me,” he added, “you would have simply told me no. You know me well enough by now to know that I wouldn’t have dragged you onto the dance floor against your will.”
“You never seem to go away when I ask you to,” she argued. “I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve told you now that I want nothing further to do with you, and yet?—”
“And yet your actions prove you wrong at every turn,” he said. “You accept a dance when I offer it to you. You nearly kiss me?—”
“You’re the one who nearly kissed me,” she protested.
“You could have walked away from me at any time, and yet you didn’t,” he said. “And for all you say about wanting nothing to do with me, you keep coming back, and it’s simply impossible to believe it. I think you’re confused as to what you want.”
Edwina would rather have kissed him right here in front of everyone than admit it, but he was right. Shewasconfused and desperately so. She didn’t know what to do about the way she was feeling except to pull away, to put distance between the two of them.
“You can’t keep doing this,” she said. “I’ve told you to leave me alone.”
“And I don’t believe that’s truly what you want. Convince me.”
“Lord Kentrow is going to ask me to marry him.”
The Duke dropped her hand and stared. Now, he was the one who was clearly lost for words, and Edwina felt a sense of satisfaction knowing that she had set him back like that.
“You don’t wish to marry,” he managed eventually.
“And neither do you,” she said evenly. “So, what are we doing here? Why do you continue to bother me? Why do you care what I do? Why can’t you hear me when I tell you that all I want is to be left in peace?”
He opened his mouth and then closed it again, and she felt satisfied by the knowledge that she had finally managed to say something that had left him feeling just as taken aback as he usually left her.
“Enough,” she said. “I’m going now. Thank you for the dance, Your Grace—but it will be the last that the two of us share.”
She turned and walked away quickly before he could call out to her and try to bring her back—and before she could change her mind. Her heart continued to race madly until she left the dance floor behind. She hurried over to the table where drinks were being served and collected a glass of wine, hoping that it would be enough to settle her nerves.
CHAPTER 32
Had Seth known this? That Lord Kentrow was going to ask Lady Edwina to marry him? Had he known and simply chosen not to tell Allan? If that was the case, what could the reason be?
But then, Allan thought, why did he care as much as he did? Why did the thought of the proposal make him want to chase after Lady Edwina and drag her into the library to speak to him in private—the very thing he had just finished assuring her he would never do? And he wouldn’t, of course. He had no desire to disgrace her, and he couldn’t possibly bring himself to be rough with her. She deserved much better treatment than that, and that wasn’t the kind of man he was.
But would she really consider a proposal from Lord Kentrow?
Perhaps it was only troubling to him because he had been telling himself all this time that he would be the one to break through her defenses. It had been a point of pride for him. He wouldbe the one to win over the unattainable spinster. He would be the one, after all the time she had spent keeping to herself and keeping men at arm’s length, who would finally charm her.
He hadn’t done it.
He knew there was something between the two of them. It was unmistakable. It was like magnetism. Every time he was near her, he felt compelled to get even closer. And she felt it, too. It was the only way to account for the fact that every time she ordered him away, she found herself pulled back into his company. She wanted him gone, and yet she had agreed to dance with him. And the kiss they had nearly shared…he was no fool. She’d been every bit as tempted as he had, and he knew that by the way she had closed her eyes and leaned in.
So why on Earth was she even talking about a marriage to Lord Kentrow? Could she truly be thinking about it?
Something else had to be behind it all.
Needing a distraction—or perhaps just needing to show that he wasn’t standing here watching Lady Edwina with no ability to look away—he went over to Miss Georgina. She was standing with Miss Olivia and Miss Catherine, naturally, and Allan noticed that Miss Catherine perked up hopefully at his approach, but he was sure to keep his eyes firmly on Miss Georgina. He didn’t want to have to cope with the results of giving Miss Catherine the wrong idea about his intentions.
“Miss Georgina,” he said, “will you do me the honor of a dance?”
Miss Georgina glanced at Miss Catherine, as if perhaps she was unsure whether she had permission to accept his request.
