Deena waved back, chest aching with affection. The crowd swallowed them up, leaving Deena with the lingering echo of Dominic’s questions.
As she stood alone, a stir ran through the ladies.
“He’s here!” Lady Amelia whispered loudly.
Deena looked around and found Austin striding in leisurely across the lawn, coat unbuttoned, cravat slightly loosened, looking unfairly handsome in the morning light. His gaze sweptthe group and landed on Deena. She held his gaze and tried not to swoon like the other young ladies.
Lady Amelia fluttered forward, blocking Deena’s view of him. “We’ve been waiting for you, Your Grace.”
Austin’s mouth curved in that devastating half-smile, but his eyes stayed on Deena a fraction longer than necessary. All around him, the whispers began, but he seemed unfazed by it, and she envied his confidence.
The dowager rang her bell triumphantly. “Excellent! Everyone is here.” She glared at Austin, who, in return, smiled dashingly. Her Grandmother sighed before her announcement.
“Let the Greystone Gallop commence!”
Austin grinned as a handful of ladies followed him; his gaze flickered towards Deena momentarily. The crowd parted them, but with just a look, she felt the phantom warmth of his kiss flaring anew. Whatever game they were playing now, she feared she was already losing.
Ten
“Lady Deena, it’s a pleasure to be your first—I mean first partner in the Greystone Gallop.” Lord Harrowby, the Earl of Edenburgh, greeted Deena nervously.
He was an earnest, quiet, and freckled man with the kindest eyes. But Deena felt nothing but camaraderie towards the man as he sat across from her, red-faced and hands shaking slightly over the hourglass.
Deena smiled sweetly at him. “Shall we begin, Lord Harrowby?”
“Y—yes, my lady,” Lord Harrowby stuttered, his cheeks already turning an alarming shade of scarlet as he fumbled with the hourglass. His fingers shook so badly that sand trickled unevenly before he managed to flip it properly. “I—I understand you have lately returned from Paris. Do… do tell—did you visit any art galleries?”
Deena offered a polite smile, folding her hands in her lap to hide her amusement. The poor man looked as though he might bolt if she breathed too loudly. “Only the gardens, my lord. I have been studying and had no time for leisure.”
“Ah!” He brightened for a moment, then seemed to realize he needed to respond further. His gaze darted everywhere before settling somewhere near her left ear. “The gardens are… are magnificent. Truly. All those fountains and—and hedges. Though I daresay not as magnificent as English roses.”
He leaned forward an inch, then apparently thought better of it, and jerked back as if the table had burned him. “Present company included, of course,” he added in a rush, voice cracking on the last word.
Deena’s smile remained fixed; she prayed the awkwardness twisting inside her did not show on her face. “How sweet?—”
Across the way, she heard the Countess of Harrow laugh too loudly at something Austin had said. Her gaze landed on him, and she was surprised to see him smirking at her. Despite her annoyance, she felt her skin prickle under his stare.
Deena bit the inside of her cheek.
Lord Harrowby cleared his throat for her attention. “Th—thank you, Lady Deena. For your time.”
“Oh, I—” She hadn’t noticed that their three minutes was over.
“You aren’t like other ladies,” he said before he stood up. “I—I meant that as a compliment! You’re— you’re?—”
The bell rang, signaling the swap.
Lord Harrowby looked devastated before he continued to the next table, and Deena felt slightly guilty.
Yet she could not help herself; she turned her head to look at Austin, who sat opposite a lady she recognized but couldn’t quite remember. The young woman was strikingly beautiful, and Deena swore she met her before.
“Lady Deena! I collect porcelain. Do you admire porcelain?” Lord Bennington, a stout and florid viscount, wasted no time when he sat opposite her.
Deena tore her eyes away from Austin and tried to focus on the man in front of her.
“I admire many things,” she answered him carefully.
“Capital! I have a Meissen shepherdess that would look charming on your mantel.”
