James nodded as he thought of Emma Liston. He’d seen her before at these things, though he had to admit she’d never caught his eye. He generally turned his attention toward showy women, ones who played along with the games of Society.
Miss Liston was a wallflower. He knew that about her. Her brown hair and her slender frame weren’t the kind of physical attributes he normally swung toward when he felt like flirting. But there had been one thing about her that had stood out. She had blue-green eyes. He’d never seen a color quite like them before. Lovely eyes.
“Is she the kind who would talk?” he asked, drawing his mind back to the matter at hand. “That little scene Mother created could easily gain a woman like that some interest if she chose to share it.”
Meg wrinkled her brow. “I don’t think so. I admit, I don’t know her very well, but there was nothing but kindness in the way she handled it. She even took the attention off Mother as we were moving through the crowd.”
James nodded slowly. “Then we owe her our thanks. But please don’t let Mother ruin your night, Meg. Go dance with Graham.”
Meg stiffened ever so slightly. “Northfield doesn’t care to dance, you know that.”
James frowned. “Then dance with Simon. He’s always up for a turn.”
Meg turned her face away a moment. “Very well, I shall see if Simon will dance. But only if you make me a promise.”
“What is that?” he asked, smiling at her. “You know it is almost impossible for me to refuse you.”
“Almost,” she repeated with a small smile of her own. “Willyoudance with Emma?”
“Meg—” he began.
She lifted her eyebrow in accusation. “After what she just did to help us, you would refuse her? Honestly, James, it’s a dance. You know if you do it, her card will likely fill for the night. We owe her that, don’t we?”
He nodded slowly. “Very well, I shall dance with Miss Emma Liston. At the very least, it will give me a chance to determine if she will say anything about Mother’s…state tonight.”
Meg frowned as they two of them fell into step back toward the ballroom. “If you need an ulterior motive, then by all means, James.”
He caught her arm before she moved into the crowd to find Simon. “Save one for me, too, will you?”
The tightness in his sister’s face faded and she leaned up to kiss his cheek lightly. “Always.”
She turned away and moved into the crowd, leaving James standing at the edge of the room. He looked into the milling group of people, all dressed in their finery. Right now, after that scene with his mother, he wanted nothing more than to go home to his bed.
But he had a part to play and a promise to keep to his sister. So he stepped out into the crowd to find Emma Liston. He did so quickly enough. She was standing in the corner, at the wall, her face taut with emotion. He set his shoulders back as he made his way across the room toward her.
The closer he got, the more he paid attention to her. It wasn’t just her eyes that were pretty. She had a fine mouth, as well, with full lips. Lips that parted when she turned her head to find him coming toward her.
She straightened up as he reached her. “Y-Your Grace,” she stammered.
“Miss Liston,” he said with a nod of his head. “I wondered if you’d like to have a dance with me, if your card is not already full.”
She stiffened at that statement and a guard lifted between them. Her tone became cool as she said, “This dance is open, yes.”
He held out an arm and she hesitated slightly before she slid her slender hand into the crook of his elbow. He was surprised by the shock of awareness that crackled through him at the action. He felt every single one of her fingers against his body, smelled a faint scent of lilac from her hair, heard the swish of her skirt as it brushed his leg.
He blinked. Hewason edge if he was noticing such things. He pushed them away and guided her to the dancefloor for the first waltz of the evening. Immediately, he felt dozens of pairs of eyes swing toward them and a ripple went through the crowd.
Miss Liston seemed to notice it, too, for she stumbled in the first step and he tightened his grip of her to keep her from falling.
She looked up apologetically. “I don’t often waltz,” she explained.
He ignored the statement as they turned through the crowd. “You were a great help with the…situation with my mother tonight,” he said softly.
Her lips parted again in surprise and he had a flash of a moment where he wondered what they would taste like. He shook his head again to clear his mind. Damn, but he was rattled by his mother’s actions.
“Everyone gets overheated from time to time at a ball,” Miss Liston said carefully. “I was happy to be of assistance. I hope she is feeling better.”
“She is going home,” he said. “And we both know she wasn’t merely overheated.”
