She looked at him askance, clearly having made up her own mind.
Joanna’s hand on his arm relieved him of further discussing it. “Have you seen Teddy?”
He thought for a moment. “Not since the second dance when he partnered Elsbeth.” He scanned the room. “Where is my popular cousin?”
“Third couple in the second set.” His aunt answered without hesitation.”
He grinned. “I see you do not take your duties as mother and chaperone lightly.”
“I do not. Nor do Joanna’s parents.” She nodded toward Lord and Lady Wakefield who spoke to friends but were faced their way.
“Yes, and I appreciate it. I would not want Joanna’s reputation to be harmed in any way by my attentions.”
She laughed. “Your attentions toward me are making me far more popular than I ever was. In fact, I have gained two more students. You didn’t have anything to do with that, did you?”
“I may have. Are they the daughters of Lady Dowling and Lady Egerton?”
She nodded.
“Then, yes.” At her surprised expression, he expanded on his answer. “I want to see this application of theory succeed. Every man deserves a wife as intelligent as mine.”
She froze. It may not have been obvious to the casual observer, but he knew her well.
What the devil was wrong with being his wife? They needed to discuss this. “I think it would be good to take some air, don’t you?” He dared her with his gaze. “It’s grown quite warm in here. Shall we?” He offered her his arm.
Her smile did not reach her eyes. “Yes, a brief walk in the cooler air would be welcome.”
He led her along the side of the ballroom, the two doors to a small courtyard had been thrown open earlier to allow the cold air to freshen the room full of bodies. Lord and Lady Stockton had invited a few too many guests for their home.
Once outside, Joanna removed her arm and sat stiffly on the stone bench within the light of the ballroom. Where was the woman who had visited him in his library unaccompanied?
He stood before her, every muscle tensed for rejection. “Do you love me?”
Her eyes rounded at his question, then her whole body relaxed as a soft smile appeared. She lifted her gloved hand and took his. “I do. Very much.”
His tension eased, and he sat next to her, not releasing her hand. “Then why do you avoid the topic of marrying me?”
She would have pulled her hand from his, but he refused to let her go. “Tell me. There should be no secrets between us. We are of like mind and like heart, but there is something.”
Shaking her head, she gave him a weak smile. “Your keen observation is one of the reasons I have fallen in love with you. You need to know that my hesitancy is not about you.” She pressed her other hand to her chest, opened her mouth and closed it.
While she relieved some of his concern, that she couldn’t quite explain to him hurt. It would seem that loving someone made his heart very sensitive, something he would have scoffed at earlier in the season. “If you are not hesitant about me, is it marriage that you fear?”
He’d swear there was confirmation in her gaze, but she turned her head at that moment to look toward the ballroom.
“Oh, good. I’m so glad I found you.” His cousin almost ran to them, his aunt following behind.
He stood. “Elsbeth, what is it.”
“It’s Teddy.” She turned to Joanna, who had also risen at her approach. “He’s gone.”
Foreboding had him taking his cousin’s hand. Teddy never left an event until Elsbeth had. “Did something happen between you?”
She looked down before finally meeting his gaze. “I told him that I cared for him like a brother, but I didn’t see him as a husband.”
“Why would you have broached this with him now?” Joanna was clearly angry.
Elsbeth wouldn’t look at her. “He asked me to marry him after our dance. I had been dreading telling him, knowing how much he cared for me.” She finally turned back to Joanna. “I had hoped he would come tell you.”
