But even as his charming smile caused a wave of hushed giggles and fluttering fans, Juliana found him oddly…lacking.
He was barely two hands taller than she was, and there was nothing in his smile that did funny things to her insides—unlike that of a certain smug grin that had her subconsciously rubbing her thighs at the mere memory of it.
Stop it, Juliana,she admonished herself with a slight pat on her heated cheeks. She had no business thinking abouthimin a crowded ballroom. She had no business thinking about himat all.
The man was trouble of the highest order, and she would do well to avoid him at all costs.
“Lady Hawthorne, it is a pleasure to see you here tonight.”
Her wayward thoughts were disrupted by a rare, friendly voice, causing Juliana to blink at the unexpected interference. A young gentleman with light brown hair and green eyes smiled politely at her grandmama.
“Lord Manderley!” Her grandmother’s fan began to flutter wildly, even as she managed to elbow Juliana in a not-so-discreet manner. “I do believe that I have yet to introduce you to my granddaughter, Miss Juliana Hawthorne!”
Juliana found herself so indecorously shoved onto the poor gentleman that she felt twice the embarrassment on behalf of her overeager grandmother.
“Forgive me, my lord,” she murmured, casting her eyes to the hem of her skirts.
“No offense taken, Miss Hawthorne,” he smiled at her. “Although if you insist on making amends, then you must allow me to so boorishly force you to the dance floor.”
“D-dance?” she stammered like the complete and utter ninny that she was.
He smiled. “I believe that it is what gentlemen and young ladies occupy themselves with at events such as these.”
Juliana felt the heat rising to her cheeks. “Oh, yes. Yes, of course.”
When he offered Juliana his arm, Grandmama looked as if she would die from happiness. When she gingerly took it, her grandmama appeared to have been ushered to the pearly gates by the archangels themselves.
With Grandmama so ecstatic, how could she refuse? Besides, it had been so long since she allowed herself to enjoy the company of people other than Grandmama, Kit, and their disappearing domestics.
“You must forgive me for my dancing skills, which leave much to be desired, my lord,” she managed with a hesitant smile.
Lord Manderley smiled, his eyes twinkling. “Then you need not fear on that account, Miss Hawthorne, for my own mother still grieves my lack of coordination and grace on the dance floor.”
Juliana finally allowed herself to smile wider. “I find that rather hard to believe, my lord.”
“Then I hope I do not prove to be a disgrace before you.”
Juliana supposed there had never been an odder variation of the quadrille, although they muddled along just fine without drawing the ire of the other couples on the dance floor.
“We survived that one,” the young lord shook his head with a rueful smile. “I hope your opinion of me has not sunk so abysmally that you will not allow me to fetch you some refreshments.”
She looked up at him gratefully. “A glass of lemonade will be much appreciated, thank you.”
Lord Manderley clicked his heels and, with a dramatic bow, excused himself to fetch the lemonade. Left on her own, Juliana managed a soft sigh as she leaned against a pillar, rotating her foot underneath her skirts to relieve the tension that had been building in her ankle throughout the dance.
Lord Manderley was so polite and so pleasant that she felt a keen sense of remorse for the stab of disappointment in her gut when she realized that she found his eyes the wrongshadeof green. Or that his shoulders were not as broad, his smile not as arrogant a smirk, his hands not as warm and as wicked as the ones that held her in their thrall in that house of sin.
Perhaps shewasgoing mad, after all, and these feral feelings were simply a symptom of the disease. That had to be the only reason as to why she found herself in such a state over a man she had met only twice. She was not even sure shelikedhim enough to want him!
“Juliana? Oh, Juliana, it truly is you!”
She turned to find Catherine rushing toward her, breathless, her eyes alight. She grasped Juliana’s hands with such fervor, and when she dragged her outside, beyond the open doors, Julianafeared her friend might have rattled her brains against her skull.
“Oh, I am so glad to see you! The ballroom was ever so stifling, I feared I was going to faint and embarrass myself,” Catherine gushed. She looked around and then leaned in to whisper, “It was a bit of a struggle to get away from Aunt Caroline, but here I am now.”
Juliana frowned. “Why would you want to get away from—”
“Hush, my dear!” her friend glanced around frantically. “Aunt Caroline… She does not exactly approve of Lord Thompson, and he and I…”
