“I thought you had a snotty nose?”
CHAPTERFIVE
Mary didn’t turn at the deep words growled in her ear. Instead, she stepped back onto his foot. Zach gave a satisfying grunt.
“Oh dear, do forgive me, sir. I did not see you there, which is surprising really considering how loud and obnoxious you are.”
“Me, obnoxious, when the word originated just to describe you,” Zach countered.
Tall with dark hair that was too long and curled, he was annoyingly handsome again tonight. A man highly regarded by the female population. He smiled, and their hearts fluttered. He danced with them, and they cooed all over him. It made Mary feel nauseous and just a little angry. She did not delve into why she felt the last.
“And speaking to a lady of nose mucus is not polite,” Mary snapped.
“Oh, so you’re a lady today, are you?”
“Zach,” his eldest brother said in a sharp warning tone. “Good evening, Mary.”
“Lord Raine.” She dropped into a curtsey. She liked this brother, as she did the other two. They were handsome, intelligent, and always found time to dance and converse with her.
Of course, Mary knew this was likely due to their wives, but still, they did it.
“I believe we are on first name terms, Mary,” the earl said.
“Of course, and thank you.”
Dimity then dragged her husband to the floor, followed by Freya and Michael Deville. Mary was suddenly alone with Zach. She hated it when that happened because much as she wanted to loathe him, which she did, she was also aware of him far more than she should be. Which was extremely vexing, as she didn’t want to feel anything but dislike for Zachariel Deville.
“I thought you had a chest inflammation?” Zach said, moving to stand in front of her.
“No. I didn’t want to go to the theatre, so I spent the night in bed reading,” Mary said. In fact, she’d been doing something entirely different.
His eyes narrowed like they usually did when she was near.
“What’s wrong?”
“Other than you obscuring my view of the dancers by standing in front of me, what do you mean?” Mary smiled sweetly.
“You look tired and pale,” Zach said.
“How charming of you to notice.” She told herself it didn’t hurt that he didn’t see her as beautiful.
Mary had told herself repeatedly it was very shallow to worry about her mother’s clothing choices and the fact they made her look like a bowl of unappetizing pudding with too much garnish. But the truth was it did upset her. No one really wanted to be the butt of people’s jokes.
“You have smudges under your eyes, and—”
“Look.” Her voice came out with a snap as she cut Zach off. “Just because I am not one of the women you ruthlessly flirt with, there is no need to be insulting. I am very aware of what I am.”
“What are you talking about?”
Mary rolled her eyes at him.
“And I am not being insulting,” he gritted out. “I was showing concern. Please note the difference. Also, I never ruthlessly flirt. I do it with charm and wit.”
Mary snorted. “Spare me. When have you ever shown me concern?”
He frowned and then his next words had her tongue sticking to the roof of her mouth.
“Why are you friends with Plunge, Mary?”
