Dash stepped a fraction closer, just enough to block the view of his lips from most angles, enough to make the exchange private without appearing intimate. “You will,” he said in a firm tone.
Thornhill’s smile lingered a bit longer and then shifted into something else. It was less teasing and held more intent. Only Dash would have caught the change. “You are being obvious,” Thornhill murmured, so low it would have been nothing but air to anyone else.
“So are you,” Dash returned. “Why are you here?”
Thornhill met his gaze and said, “I might ask the same.”
Dash did not blink. “You know precisely why I am here.”
Thornhill stared at him, his blue eyes appeared far too innocent to be believed. “Do I? I had heard you were not fond of balls or polite conversation”
“You do not know me as well as you believe you do,” Dash said in a dry tone. “Stop pretending that you do.” Thornhill had never been one of the men he had a close relationship. The man was a damn good spy though. “I have attended a ball before.”
“Clearly you enjoy them,” Thornhill replied, “Considering the glower you sent in my direction.”
Dash dropped his voice into a low tone. “Do not test me tonight.”
Thornhill smiled. But it was not a friendly smile. It was far too sharp around the edges to ever be considered warm. “Ah. So, something is amiss. Care to share it with a fellow compatriot?”
Lavinia’s gaze flicked between them, her impatience mounting. “If you two are going to continue to speak as if you’re about to come to blows,” she said coolly, “might I suggest you do so somewhere less crowded? You are drawing attention.”
Dash’s instincts urged him to agree, but he didn’t feel comfortable leaving her alone. He slid his gaze throughout the room. No one appeared to be watching them. There were no lingering gazes or any footman hovering too long in any area. There did not seem to be any danger to be concerned about.
Still, Dash kept vigil, because danger was not always obvious…
“Lady Lavinia is correct,” Thornhill said with an insufferable sigh. “Ravenwood you’re being quite cantankerous. It is so… unbecoming.”
Dash leveled his gaze on him. “You should be elsewhere. Don’t you have another lady or two to charm?”
“And leave Lady Lavinia to you?” Thornhill’s voice warmed as though he were savoring the provocation. “What a dreary prospect. I should feel guilty.”
“You’re incorrigible,” Dash returned. “Guilty is the last thing you should feel. What you should feel is terrified. If you do not leave, I might throttle you in full view of the entire ton.”
Thornhill lifted his brow. “Jealousy, Ravenwood? I would not have suspected you capable of such an emotion.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Lavinia lifted her chin. “No one is jealous.”
Dash could not believe he was arguing with Thornhill about something so trivial. It also irritated him that the blasted man was right. He was jealous. Lavinia seemed to be paying far more attention to the charmer than to him and he did not like it. He glared at him and said, “No one asked you.”
“That is an answer in itself, is it not,” Thornhill said, pleased.
Dash turned to Lavinia, because if he kept sparring with Thornhill, he would be tempted to do something that would require an apology, explanation, or perhaps both. Either way he hoped to avoid that possibility. “Lady Lavinia,” he said, in a controlled tone, “you will dance this next set with me.”
She stared with astonishment. “That does not sound like a request.”
“It is,” Dash said evenly. “I simply have very little patience at the moment. Please dance with me.”
The flare in her eyes was immediate and filled with so much heat it almost burned him. “You have even less patience for being contradicted, it seems.”
“He does have a point, Lady Lavinia,” Thornhill made a thoughtful sound. “Refusing him in public would be a scandal. A delicious one, but still.”
“Do not encourage her,” Dash bit out.
Lavinia turned her gaze toward Thornhill, then back to Dash. Her voice softened into sweetness, which was a warning in itself. “If I agree, answer a few questions?”
“I will consider it,” Dash said.
“Only consider it?” she retorted as she raised a brow. “That hardly seems fair. Perhaps I should consider causing a scandal after all.”
