“I, for one, have no complaints about your flirtation skills.” His heated glance made her pulse flutter. “As long as you use them only with me.”
“I wouldn’t want to flirt with anyone else.”
“Which proves my point,” he murmured. “Your lack of artifice, sprite, don’t you know how irresistible it is? How irresistibleyouare?”
Her lips parted as she stared at him, loving him so much that her chest ached with it.
“Christ, stop being adorable. A man can only take so much,” he said in a low growl. “As it is, it’s requiring all my willpower not to drag you onto my lap and have my way with you.”
“I wouldn’t mind,” she whispered.
His smile was her favorite one: slow, a bit wicked. “Don’t tempt me, sweeting. Else I’ll forget that we’re in a carriage, in the middle of the day, with the maid and groom within earshot.”
Details that mattered, she supposed. She sighed.
“I thought I told you to stop being adorable.”
“I’m not doing anything,” she protested.
“You’re being you. That’s enough. Now tell me why you dread the masquerade.”
It felt good to confide. And Bennett’s gentle teasing made it easy to share her insecurities.
“For one, it’s likely that some of my former classmates from the Dungeon of Horrors will be there.” Just thinking of those smirking faces churned her insides.
His lips quirked. “By Dungeon of Horrors, I take it you’re referring to Mrs. Southbridge’s?”
“I hated every minute of that school,” she said with emphasis. “It wasn’t just the tedious lessons, either. The other girls made fun of me. How I looked…” She looked at her lap, fiddling with a primrose ribbon on her skirts. “How Iam.”
“Can this be true?” Before she could argue that yes, it definitelywas, he clarified, “You’re intimidated by a bunch of chits?”
“You don’t know how they are. They’remean.”
“They’re mean because they’re jealous,” he said flatly. “Of your beauty, spirit, and uniqueness. They’ll never hold a candle to you, and they know it.”
His compliment rendered her speechless. And he wasn’t done.
“You’re not the same girl you were back then. You know your worth. If someone is malicious, you hold your head up high and smile. Take no notice of their pettiness and envy.”
“Easy for you to say,” she grumbled. “What do you know about being an outcast?”
“More than you’d know.” Shadows darkened Bennett’s gaze. Before she could ask him what he meant, he stated, “Trust me, you won’t be a wallflower at the ball.”
“I suppose since Ransom invited me, he’s obligated to ask me to dance,” she said reluctantly.
“I wasn’t referring to the bloody duke.”
“Then how do you know I won’t be a wallflower?”
“I just know. Trust me on this,” he said resolutely.
The carriage was slowing. The ruckus of tradespeople doing business signaled their arrival at Alfred’s place in Whitechapel.
She took in all that was Bennett, his strapping good looks and noble nature, and longing throbbed in her voice. “I wish you could dance with me at the masquerade.”
“One day, sprite.” His eyes held a molten promise. “Until then, I’ll be there watching over you.”
24
