Allan waited. If Miss Catherine tried to decline on Miss Georgina’s behalf, he thought that perhaps he might insist. He felt tense with frustration, and he needed something to go his way tonight.
But Miss Catherine looked haughtily away from Miss Georgina. It was clear that she didn’t like the idea of Allan dancing with her friend instead of with her, but it was just as clear that she recognized her own inability to do anything about it. Allan was grateful for small mercies.
“Yes, Your Grace,” Miss Georgina said. She took his outstretched hand and allowed him to lead her onto the floor.
As they began to dance, Allan was immediately aware that he was being impolite. He had no real interest in Miss Georgina or in dancing with her, and as a result, he paid her hardly any attention at all. He didn’t attempt to strike up a conversation as he might ordinarily have done. Of course, there was no question of any serious involvement with Miss Georgina. She was far too shallow to be the perfect duchess he sought. But ordinarily, he would have wanted to enjoy the dance anyway. He would have tried to enjoy his time with her.
Today he was hardly aware that there was a lovely young lady in his arms at all. He went through the motions of the dance without thinking. It was a good thing that he had done these steps so many times, for if he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have beenable to keep up with the others. He couldn’t spare a thought for what he was doing. All his attention was on scanning the room, looking for Lady Edwina.
And then he saw her.
She had returned to Lord Kentrow.
It made him feel ill to see it. Perhaps the truth was as simple as what was right before his eyes—could it be that there really was something between the two of them?
She couldn’t possibly have feelings for Lord Kentrow, of course. He knew that. There was no chance that the feelings between the two of them could be as strong as they so clearly were if she also harbored affections for someone else.
And even as he watched, she glanced in his direction.
What made that so incredible was not that she had attention to spare for him, but that she had known so instantly where he was. She hadn’t been searching the room for him. She had known where to look. The realization ignited a flame within Allan. She was every bit as aware of him as he was of her.
And yet he was dancing with Miss Georgina, and she was standing there with Lord Kentrow…why?
Well, being with Miss Georgina was simply easier. For one thing, she never ordered him away, Allan thought ruefully. It waseasier to be in her presence because she didn’t keep pretending to despise him in spite of the fact that anyone could see Lady Edwina’s true feelings were much more complicated than that.
“Your Grace,” Miss Georgina said, sounding rather irritated, “you haven’t been listening to a word I’ve said, have you?”
“Forgive me, Miss Georgina,” Allan said. “I’m afraid I find myself a bit distracted this evening.”
“Well, I can see that. What do you keep looking at? Is it Catherine?”
“What? No, I haven’t been looking at Miss Catherine.”
“Because she wants to marry you. You do know that, I hope?”
“I hadn’t thought about that.”
“She’s hoping you’ll decide to court her. I’m sure she’s very angry that you’re dancing with me instead of her. She’ll probably spend the rest of the evening ignoring me. But I would stay away from her if I were you, Your Grace. She’s very bossy. Very controlling. She’ll do whatever she can to get everything she wants. And right now, what she wants is to become a duchess, so I think you should be careful.”
“Thank you for warning me,” Allan said. “You may as well let your friend know that I haven’t even thought of marriage yet.” It was close enough to being true. Though hewasseeking his perfect duchess, he hadn’t found anyone who fit the requirements he had in his mind. Certainly, Miss Catherine didn’t come close. The thought of her in the role of duchess was almost enough to make him laugh in spite of his troubles. A duchess had to be aware of the way she was perceived, to be sure, and Miss Catherine rarely seemed to think about anything else—but that wasn’t enough. She had to be clever. She had to be wise and in possession of social graces that Miss Catherine simply didn’t have. She had to be able to make people like her.
And Allan realized he had another requirement of the lady he married—one that hadn’t occurred to him until now. He wanted to feel something for her. It wasn’t enough for her to be perfect in the role of duchess when they were out in public. He wanted someone who would be ideal when they were alone together, too.
And when he thought of being alone with someone, it was Lady Edwina who came to his mind. She, of course, was the person he wanted most to get on her own. She was the one for whom he had the most powerful feelings.
He looked over in her direction again.
She was no longer standing where she had been. She had left. And as he scanned the room, he saw her walking toward the door…with Lord Kentrow at her side.
The feeling that flared up in him was so sudden and powerful that he couldn’t put a name to it. All he knew was that he couldn’t stand here knowing that the two of them had gone outdoors together.
He dropped Miss Georgina’s hand.
She stared at him. “Your Grace?”
“You’ll have to pardon me,” he said. “I have to go.”
“But the dance isn’t over!”
