Her entire body clenched at the sound of Aiden’s voice, and a thrill went down her spine. Slowly, she turned and smiled. “Your Grace,” she said. “How nice to see you again.”
“Miss Fitzgilbert,” he said, holding her stare a fraction too long.
She blushed to her toes before she stammered, “H-have you met my friends, Your Grace?”
He nodded. “Yes, I was introduced to both at the Harrington ball. A pleasure to see you again Lady Honora, Miss Thornton.”
“Your Grace,” the girls said in unison, and curtseyed slightly.
“You’ll have to excuse us, my lord,” Tabitha said. “Honora and I were about to go find her mother for an important discussion.”
Honora blinked a moment, then nodded. “Oh, yes. Very important. Good evening.”
Celia barely kept herself from rolling her eyes as her friends abandoned her to the company of the man at her side. But in truth, she was pleased to be alone with him. Her heart began to race as she faced him fully.
“They aren’t very artful, I’m afraid,” she said with a laugh.
He smiled. “In leaving us alone, you mean?”
“Yes.”
“Does that mean that they believe you might wish to be alone with me?” he asked, leaning in just a fraction closer. Even though they were in public and the distance between them was entirely appropriate, she still thrilled at it.
“I would think any lady here would enjoy your company,” she breathed.
“I’m not talking about any lady, Celia. I’m talking aboutyou,” he pressed.
She swallowed past a sudden lump in her throat. “I’m very happy to see you again,” she admitted softly. “Is that enough?”
“Not nearly,” he replied. Then he motioned to the dance floor. “Is your card open for the next?”
She nodded. “It is.”
“Then will you do me the honor?”
Celia grinned, for her world seemed to lighten with his attention. “Yes. I’d very much like that.”
He took her hand rather than offer his arm, an intimate gesture even though they both wore gloves, and took her to the floor. She felt the eyes of the ballroom on her as the music began and they spun around the room in each other’s arms. Of course, the otherswouldlook. Aiden was the freshest catch in the room. Others would be jealous. They’d talk.
And Celia didn’t care. When she was with him, none of it mattered in the slightest.
“You are very quiet,” she said, searching his face as they moved.
“I’m counting in my head,” he said with a self-conscious laugh. “I’ve never been very good at this.”
She drew back. “Truly? You move very gracefully.”
“It is a study in pain, I assure you,” he said, and seemed to be speaking through gritted teeth, lending credence to his words.
“And yet you still do it,” she said, tightening her fingers on his arm and hoping it would reassure him.
Instead he stumbled slightly before he caught himself. “It’s expected,” he explained. “And it was the only way to hold you without starting talk that would ruin us both.”
Now it was she who stumbled at his words, but his strong arms kept her from falling. She stared up into his face, his handsome face, his focused expression, and saw so much of what she’d always secretly longed for. She saw passion, but also safety, security,home.
The last thought jolted her, and she turned her face in shock. She’d known this man for less than a week. These instantaneous feelings of connection to him were not right. They couldn’t be real. She had to get them under control.
The song ended and she smiled at him, even though she knew the expression was shaky at best. He returned the expression and led her from the floor. But instead of returning her to her friends or to Rosalinde and Gray, he guided her toward the terrace.
