“Are you all right?” he asked quietly. “I saw you run out of the ballroom looking pale.”
He saw her.
Her heart lurched.
If he had seen her… how many others might have seen her too?
“Please, leave me be,” she whispered, her voice cracking despite her effort to sound composed. “Return to the ball, and to all the people who belong to that world.”
He did not leave. Instead, he stepped farther into the room, the door closing softly behind him.
“Tell me what happened, Lucy,” Daniel said firmly.
He moved closer. Too close.
“Nothing happened,” she said quickly, though the lie sounded weak even to her own ears.
His brows drew together slightly.
“You ran from the ballroom as though the room itself had caught fire.”
Heat rose to her cheeks.
“It was foolish of you to follow me,” she said instead, lifting her chin. “You should return before someone notices your absence.”
“And leave you alone out here?” he asked.
“Iwantto be alone.”
The words came out sharper than she intended.
Silence stretched between them.
Lucy looked away first, her fingers tightening in the fabric of her skirt.
“Everything,” she finally said in a low voice. “Everything is wrong. I am nothing but the object of cruel jest in my plain shroud of a dress.” Her laugh came out thin and brittle. “Mybrother will forever keep me in a cage. He treats me like a child. And the ton… the ton seems to find endless amusement in reminding me of my place.”
Her gaze flicked back to him.
“Are you here because of pity?” she asked quietly. “If so, I would rather you leave.”
Daniel stilled. “It isn’t pity that I feel.” His voice had lowered.
Here they were again, alone in a darkened room.
Why did he have to follow?
Being caught here with loosened stays and without a chaperone was already enough to ruin her. But to be seen with him?—
The scandal would be far worse.
Her throat tightened.
“What is it, then?” she asked, forcing her chin higher. “Why follow me?”
He hesitated.
The pause startled her.
