“I will say this once,” George said, his voice dropping. “You will not speak of my sister again, nor will you allow your thoughts to drift toward her debut. If you do, I shall ensure that no club in London will ever admit your shadow again.”
George stood, leaving the winnings on the table as if they were beneath his notice. “My father’s debts were a lapse in judgment. My repayment of them is an act of grace. And in one month, this will be over.”
The ballroom was warm, almost uncomfortably so. People filled every inch of it, and Cassandra stood perfectly still, feeling every bit the “spinster with her cats” she had joked about the day before.
The imagery sat heavier with every passing second, until she spotted her father weaving through the crowd. He looked triumphant, a hunter returning with a prize.
And so it begins…
“Stand tall,” her mother hissed, smiling brightly at her husband as he led a young gentleman toward them.
Cassandra thought that a rather ridiculous request, because shewastall. She was taller than most of the other ladies, and had soft curves that made her seem large in comparison to the others. She was not a waif-life lady, and she knew that was what the gentlemen in attendance wanted.
The man that her father had found for her was no exception. She saw the change in his expression the moment that he saw her; his gaze flickering as he considered her, and then he gave her father a nod of approval.
“This is the Earl of Lashton,” her father explained. “My lord, this is my daughter, Lady Cassandra Burrow.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you,” she said, curtsying dutifully.
“The pleasure is certainly all mine,” the man replied. “Would you care to dance?”
There was nothing that she wanted to do less than dance in the center of the ballroom. Truth be told, she was not a dancer and she never had been. She could play the music perfectly, in the privacy of her home, but once she had to set foot on a dancefloor she was entirely useless.
But she could not say that. She could not turn away the very first man to give her attention, not when her parents were standing there and certainly not when she was the one who had asked them for these introductions just a day ago.
“Of course,” she replied, and they made their way together.
He was not an unappealing man. He was slightly taller than her, and his hair was styled in neat blond curls. He had a kind enough face, though that was helped immensely by his warm brown eyes. In and of himself, he was not objectionable, though Cassandra knew that there was no real spark. He did not make her heart pound, nor skip, nor even beat any differently at all.
But she had made a promise to try.
The music began, and instinctively she named the piece, causing his eyebrows to raise.
“You enjoy music, then?” he asked as they began to dance.
“I do. I much prefer playing to dancing, to say the least.”
“I see, and what do you play? The pianoforte?”
“No, that would be my cousin. I play the violin.”
“That is… that is a difficult instrument to learn, is it not?”
“Not at all, only precise.”
She liked that he asked her about herself rather than only speaking of his own wants and accomplishments, but there wassomething in the way he was looking at her that made her feel ill at ease.
“And your father tells me that you do not wish to marry, or at least that you are hesitant.”
“That is one way to make your daughter seem like a good lady, I suppose,” she laughed nervously. “It is not quite like that. I only want to marry for love, and thus far I have not felt it.”
“I have. I feel it often, whenever I so choose. There are plenty of ladies that wish to love me.”
There it was, the part she had been waiting for. Gentlemen were simple creatures, and they always showed who they were in the end. Sometimes it took them longer than others, but they always made it known eventually.
Fortunately, he had made his status as a rake known during their first conversation.
“But you are looking for a wife now?” she asked.
