“What do you mean, my lord?” she asked as she extended her hand in congratulations. “You took the day.”
He took her hand and his thumb grazed across her skin briefly. “Did I?”
The others rushed in to congratulate him and console her before the group of them started back up toward the house for refreshments and then to separate to prepare for the ball that night. Kirkwood was pushed forward by the men, who were clearly celebrating whether he’d won the day by her move or his own. He smiled slightly but when he looked back over his shoulder at her, her heart beat a little faster. He arched a brow and then winked. Like he knew what she’d done.
Just as she knew what he’d been doing. She scowled.
“Oh, don’t feel badly,” Beatrice Vale said, mistaking her frown for disappointment. “The earl is such a good player.”
Clarissa shot her a look. “Yes,” she ground out.
“And he cuts a fine figure,” Beatrice continued, and all but batted her eyes at his retreating figure.
Why Clarissa was so annoyed by that, she couldn’t say. The widow could have him. Certainly she didn’t want him for herself. The Earl of Kirkwood could hang for all she cared. His good looks weren’t enough to tempt her. They never would be.
CHAPTER 4
Roderick stood at the edge of the ballroom, couples bobbing by him in dance after dance, and yet he hardly noticed them. His mind kept going back to hours ago on the pall-mall court. To the bright triumph on Clarissa Lockhart’s face when she had…well, she’d let him win.Forcedhim to win, if he was clear about it, entirely against his will. Why, he had no idea. It had become a battle between them, just as everything had felt like a battle with the woman since his arrival.
He glanced across the room and found her chatting with a group of women. Sometimes she would grow excited and her hands would begin to move in animated display, but she’d catch herself and immediately temper the action, bending her head. Returning to the demure exhibition she seemed to think was required in company.
It was all an act, just like her losing to him was an act. She was always pretending, it seemed. Only her dislike of Roderick appeared to be genuine, which was both infuriating and fascinating. And perhaps it was time to resolve all that at last so he could stop thinking about it.
He moved across the room just as the other ladies left her. She turned toward him and the smile fell from her face. She correctedherself quickly enough, becoming blank and serene, but he’d seen it. He would almost laugh at it, but there was some strange drive within him to understand it. Perhaps because she was the cousin of a good friend.
“Miss Lockhart, a pleasure to meet you again when we are not on the battlefield.”
She sniffed rather than laughed. “It was hardly a battle, my lord. I was routed.”
He arched a brow. “That isn’t exactly how I recall it, but I would never correct you.”
Her lips thinned a little, but she made no retort even if he sensed one on her tongue. “Are you enjoying yourself?” she asked.
He nodded. “Yes. A great deal. Many of the attending parties are friends or at least good companions. And those invited to the ball from the surrounding area have increased the pleasure of the night. This is a triumph for you and your parents.”
Her brows knitted together, as if she hadn’t expected that response. Didn’t trust it, it seemed. But she was thrown off and he had to believe this was the best time to…strikewas the word that came to mind. As if they were still engaged in mental combat on the pall-mall field.
“Would you do me the honor of dancing the next with me?”
The color left her cheeks and she hesitated. He could see she wished to reject him. It was almost comical. But then she inclined her head. “I could not refuse.”
“Of course you could,” he said.
Her gaze darted to the dancefloor. He realized then what the problem was. Propriety dictated that if she refused one partner, she was required to keep herself from the dancefloor for the rest of the night. He hadn’t meant to trap her like that and he took a step back with his hands slightly raised.
“I would retract the offer if you truly didn’t wish it, and say nothing about it so that you might continue your evening.”
She jerked her gaze to his and he caught his breath. Hidden withinthe dark brown of her stare was a little green. He hadn’t noticed it before, but it made her eyes so very different from any other lady’s.
“That is a chivalrous offer, but to do so would be dreadfully rude on my part. I-I would be happy to dance with you, my lord,” she said a little more softly both in volume and tone. She extended a hand and he took it to guide her to the dancefloor.
It was a waltz. He hadn’t intended that. It felt a little too close and intimate to perform with a woman who did not like him, nor wish to be near him, let alone fully in his arms. But it was too late now to change things. She placed a hand on his shoulder, another in his and he lightly touched her hip. They turned out together for a while, though she kept her gaze on a spot that wasn’t exactly his face.
“I have never been to this part of Leicestershire before,” he said, trying to find a benign topic to soften Miss Lockhart before he tried to determine the source of her dislike. “It’s lovely.”
“It is,” she agreed.
He waited for her to expound, but she didn’t and he sighed as they turned a few more times in silence. “Do you have any recommendations for things to do during my visit?”
