What did that mean? That Lord Hennington was easier for her to be around?
Well…perhaps.
But perhaps it meant something else. Maybe what it meant was that she didn’t have any particular feelings for him; that he didn’t excite her. Maybe she wasn’t interested in Lord Hennington. Would she even realize it, if that were the case? Would she even understand that the calm she felt in his presence could mean that she had no feelings for him?
Well, whether she realized it or not, he couldn’t be the one to tell her. He couldn’t be responsible for the task of letting her know that the outing she’d had today might be meaningless. He was here to teach her to dance, nothing more. Honestly, he had already taken far too much responsibility for her.
“Shall we?” he asked.
“There’s no music.”
“For heaven’s sake—you’re stalling, Lady Lavinia. You knew that there wouldn’t be music. What did you think, that I would bring musicians along to observe what we were doing? That I wouldhave them play music that would wake people up and possibly even draw them here? We would be discovered in a moment if I did that. You couldn’t have honestly believed that was going to happen.”
She flushed. “I’m sorry,” she said. “You don’t need to be so critical. I was a little uncertain, that’s all.”
“Well, what did you and your sister do when you practiced? You wouldn’t have had any music to dance to.”
“We sang,” she said. “We sang as we danced, and we danced to our songs.”
“You may sing, if you’d like to,” he said. “As long as you keep your voice low.”
She blushed even more fiercely. “I’m not going to do that,” she said. “I only told you because you asked about it. I’m sorry I made any comment about the lack of music. It’s just that I’m…” She trailed off.
“You’re what?”
“I’m just a little nervous,” she said quietly.
Seth felt as if the words had hit him like a splash of water to the face. She said it over and over again—he made her nervous. She was nervous around him. The thought of it made him feel almost giddy.
He reached out, took her hand, and pulled her slowly into his arms. He held her at a respectful distance, resisting the temptation to pull her closer.
But the temptation was powerful—more powerful than he would have imagined it would be. He had to avoid looking her in the eyes. He swallowed hard and forced himself to remain calm.
“Just follow my lead,” he said quietly. “Let me take you through the steps, and I’ll see how naturally you’re able to follow along.”
She nodded. “I do believe I’m good at this,” she said. “But I suppose a person can always be wrong—you’ll correct me if I’m making any mistakes.
Seth knew himself to be a good dancer. His mother had insisted when he was growing up that he learn, and that had involved regular practice. It wasn’t a skill he utilized very often, but he knew it was one that he possessed. No matter how good Lady Lavinia was, he was sure she wouldn’t be able to match him.
But—as she so often did—she took him by surprise.
She hadn’t been wrong. Shewasa skilled dancer. All that time spent practicing with her sister that she had alluded to must have served her well. She had the steps down immediately and was able to move with a relaxed grace that usually eluded her.
If only she could have danced all the time, he reflected, and never had to worry about simply walking around like a normalperson, she would probably have caught the eye of dozens of gentlemen. At the very least, she wouldn’t have stood out for being awkward the way she did now, and that would have been an improvement.
He had expected to have to correct the way she did things. Instead, he found himself getting caught up in their shared dance.
Seth allowed himself to pull her just a little bit closer, telling himself that it was a necessary part of what they were doing. He couldn’t hold her at arm’s length, the way he had been, and expect her to learn the steps of the dance.
But she didn’t need to learn them. That was already clear to him. She had been right to say she was good at this, and he had been wrong to insist that she needed lessons. She didn’t need any lessons. They could stop the evening right here and now. He could send her back to her room.
He should do that.
He should—but she was warm in his arms, and he couldn’t bring himself to let her go.
Instead, he gripped her more tightly, pulling her against him and drawing her into a turn. She moved with him easily, following his lead, her steps sure and more confident than she had been in anything he had ever seen her do. And yet…shewasstill nervous. He could feel the tension in her body.
“Relax,” he said. That was one piece of advice he was still capable of giving her, one thing she still needed to learn. “You’re still nervous, aren’t you?”
