His bark of laughter was harsh. She was still half turned away from him, so when he leaned into her to breathe in her ear, she saw the way the observers' eyes widened.
“Anything but, princess,” he purred. “You are a tiny devil who has plagued my mind since you broke that little toy, and then the carriage. You were a menace then, and now you have become a menace tome.”
Strangely enough, she liked these words better than any flattery about her beauty. She shivered at the feel of his cheek hovering a hairsbreadth from hers.
Then she saw a flash of red hair—the woman from before—and she gathered herself.
“We’ve provoked the public enough, Your Grace,” she said stiffly, holding her arms to put more space between them. “People are already calling me your mistress.”
He was incorrigible, so of course, this did not deter him.
“Ah, but if you were mine, we could have more of those kisses that you seemed to like so much,” he told her, and she had to physically restrain herself from shuddering. “Of course, if you don’t like the title ‘mistress,’ you could always be my wife.”
“I should slap you,” she hissed at him. Her thoughts were in tumult, because he was being provoking, irritating, andawful …and some stupid part of her wanted to just agree to everything she proposed. “You’re lucky there are too many witnesses.”
“Oh, princess.” Hetsked. “If you were truly offended, you’d slap me anyway.”
Oh, forget this. She was already a scandal; walking away from the floor in the middle of a dance could hardly make it worse. She tried to tear free from his arms, but he held her tight.
“What do you really want, Clio?” Suddenly, his voice was all seriousness, none of the previous teasing anywhere to be found. “And why do you look so lost any time I ask you that question?”
Clio was sosickof people accusing her of not knowing her own mind. She was tired of everyone thinking that she was hiding—orlost, as Hector had put it. It was offensive. It was infantilizing.
And worst of all, she feared they were right.
She yanked free again, and this time he released her.
She raised her chin and gave him her haughtiest look, making herself every inch the princess he’d named her.
“Thank you for the dance, Your Grace,” she said, making politeness into a weapon. “I bid you goodnight.”
And then, before she could see how anyone reacted to this—Hector, least of all—she spun on her heel and left the room, determined not to dwell on how much this looked like running away.
“So, is your plan to justlurkat her until she gives in?” Ramsay’s voice didn’tstartleHector—he wasn’t a child playing hiding games—but it did make him jolt slightly.
Which was entirely different.
“I’m not lurking,” Hector protested, moving back to conceal himself more fully around the corner, from which vantage he had been watching Clio’s left ear as she talked to her brother’swife in the parlor. It was the most he’d seen of his would-be betrothed all day.
Her gaze darted to his, then held. He likely should have looked away. A true gentleman would have. But he didn’t.
And she didn’t, either.
He let his mouth quirk up at the corner.
A flush crossed her cheeks. Oh, that was pretty. He let himself think about other ways that he could make her blush. He let her see the thoughts in his eyes.
Ramsay cleared his throat. Hector was probably going to strike him before this whole stupid misadventure was over.
“Certainly not,” Ramsay agreed, with a broad grin that made Hectorreallywant to punch him. Some days, he lamented that they weren’t boys any longer. Ten years ago, he would have already had his friend on his arse in the dirt.
“She’s being obtuse,” Hector protested. “I told her: either she could find another man at this party, or she could marry me. It’s obvious she hasn’t got another suitor. So, it’s ridiculous for her to drag her feet.”
From behind Ramsay, Jonathan let out an exasperated groan that he failed to hide behind a cough. Those two had been thick as thieves these past few days, and they had combined theirefforts into something greater than the sum of its parts to drive Hector mad. Introducing them would no doubt go down as one of his life’s great regrets.
Ramsay, who was not employed by Hector and therefore felt no pressure to hide his disdain, rolled his eyes expansively.
“Oh, yes, youtoldher to marry you. It’s really no wonder she isn’t tripping all over herself to do your bidding.”
