The music stopped, the bars of enchantment coming to rest, and he switched his arm from around my waist to underneath my gloved hand. Escorting me from the floor—the twinkling lights followed in our wake.
Admiring glances lined our path. More than one woman was eyeing Noble with an avaricious gleam. Apart from the standardmasquerade wear, he hadn’t attempted to disguise himself tonight. And even if he had, after that turn about the dance floor, his identity was assuredly obvious to all who knew him.
We stopped at the refreshment area.
“Gabriel,” a voice purred, a woman in a fashionable royal blue dress slinking to his side. “I haven’t seen you in a double fortnight. Naughty you, keeping away from us.”
“Lady Dalworth. How is your husband?”
She waved a hand, then brushed it down his sleeve. “Away, as usual.”
“I see. Lord Sixth’s Lady of Dalworth, this is my companion, Mistress Rose.”
The beautiful woman, a merchant’s daughter who had married decidedlyuptwo years past and refused her natal name in address, barely spared me a look and a baring of teeth. “Charming. I wanted to extend an invitation to meet with the ladies for tea, Gabriel. We are interested in sponsoring your foundation. A formal note will be sent, of course, but I wanted to let you know in person. I stopped by your residence today, but your butler said you were out.”
“How unfortunate to have missed you there. I will respond to your note as soon as I receive it. You do serve the best tea.” His smile was charming. She preened, and I wondered how she couldn’t see the hard light in the back of his eyes, the edge underlining his curved lips. Lady Dalworth seemed only to be taken in by his sweet guile.
Perhaps she only saw what she wished to see.
Or what he wished her to see. He manipulated women as easily as making a turn on the dance floor. I had to remember that.
“I will see you soon, then, dear. I hope you enjoy yourself this evening. I have found patience never lets me down.” Her voice lilted as she sashayed off.
The woman wasn’t even trying to be ambiguous. She had a fine figure, and beneath her mask her features were decidedly fine as well—I had briefly met her the year before. But she didn’t have a chance with Noble. Couldn’t she tell?
“No, they never can. What is intriguing is how you can tell?”
I looked up to see Noble watching me, eyes calculating. I realized with a dawning sense of horror that I had said that last bit out loud.
“Your eyes,” I replied.
They immediately shuttered and I cursed myself. I had just begun to be able to read him and I had given my advantage away.
The shutters lifted as quickly as they’d been erected, leaving behind amusement and interest. “Mmm. I’m curious to see if you continue to guess correctly. Most see only what they wish to see.”
I didn’t comment on his part in that equation—that of providing the canvas upon which to project.
I didn’t think myself so different from most. I also liked to see what I wished. But desperate times required rationality and attention, and the last few years had made me look more deeply beneath a surface.
“A game?”
“A challenge. Come, Marietta, take my challenge.” His voice was husky and deep, sexual and mysterious. The truth was in his eyes, though, watchful and keen.
“I accept.”
Pleasure and increased interest joined the watchfulness. “Not everything is singular. There is nothing wrong with discovery alongside victory. It is all in how you approach the challenge itself.”
His hand slid along my back, dipping to touch my natural waist. “I hope you give in to the desire I discovered earlier.” Heturned me and pulled me back against him, my rear nestled in the juncture of his legs. Heat shot straight up my spine.
We were attracting attention. I tried to calm myself by repeating that no one knew who I was. I was just some wanton woman who had arrived with a too attractive man.
“I want to discover how to get my brother released.” His lips brushed the back of my ear and I forgot to breathe. “That is how I’m approaching this.”
He murmured against my skin. “If we are lucky tonight, John will know of a way to delay the trial. What will you do for the weeks that it might take to search?”
I pushed away and turned to face him, an angry retort on my lips.
His smile was lazy and rakish, but his eyes were watchful, calculating.
