She nodded, but as he pulled her into the circle with the other dancers, she wondered just how much she could trust him, whether she could trust him about things more complicated than dancing.
“How did you come to be here?” she asked. She wanted answers to myriad other questions, but this seemed a safe place to start.
“I work near here, and I noticed you from afar,” he said. She wanted him to say more about what he did, but he continued about her instead. “You seemed intrigued by this whole affair. I merely wished you to have the complete experience and thought you’d make an excellent partner.”
“You admit to watching me?” Was it possible he enjoyed her presence as much as she did his?
“You are hard to miss, Miss Roylance.”
“And as a partner, how have I fared?”
He appraised her, his countenance full of mischief as he spun her under his arm.
When she faced him again, he shrugged. “You are decent for one so unfamiliar with this style.”
“Mr. Jenkins!” She shook her head at his jest.
He squeezed her hand playfully, and they continued to follow the other dancers. His touch conveyed excitement and safety, and she didn’t understand exactly how. His eyes teased her as he continued leading her around the circle, and despite how much she enjoyed his skill, she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of admitting it to him.
“You know,” he said, “if you do feel like you’d wish to practice a dance like this again in the future, I wouldn’t mind helping you sometime.”
The dance dictated he turn her under his arm again, and this time she caught the scent of mint and something else. Coal. That recognition from her senses conjured up questions. Where had this man been, and what had he been doing for these nine years? Feelings from her childhood flooded her heart. Admiration, gratitude, excitement. If he was anything now like he was then, she’d be daft not to enjoy every minute of this dance.
“Why are you looking at me like that, Miss Roylance? Is there something stuck in my teeth?”
Charlotte swallowed. Shehadbeen staring, and very much liking who she saw. There were a multitude of replies she might give, and his eyes widened with anticipation as they continued their jig around the circle. He did have very nice teeth, but that wasn’t what had distracted her. A few of the dance steps repeated, and she caught on more quickly while her thoughts ran toward friendship and future rather than focusing on her feet. “I suppose I must concede to your point,” she settled on at last. “Youarea very capable dance partner.”
His infectious smile grew with a flash of his dazzling white teeth again. “And the handsome bit, Miss Roylance. What say you to that?”
Her blush proved her only answer.
The fiddler played a final cadenza, and Charlotte relished Alex’s last spin before the music ceased. She curtsied, wishing the song hadn’t ended so quickly.
“Will you stay and continue watching the dancers? Perhaps the performers will play another jig.” Alex’s brow perspired slightly, and the exercise had brought more color to his cheeks, giving him an energetic, lighthearted look that complemented his full, dark hair.
“I must be going,” Charlotte said, noticing Ellen approaching. It wasn’t proper for a lady of Charlotte’s wealth and status, even with a maid near, to be dancing jigs in the open air among factory workers. Especially those whom her family despised and who had an unknown past.
“Are you sure?” he asked, squeezing her hand gently. She couldn’t believe how familiar it felt between them, despite their being apart for so many years.
“I truly wish I could stay.” She dismissed his inviting touch with a sigh. “I have tried my luck for far too long. Leaving is for the best.”
His brow pulled down in disappointment until he rallied, his look suddenly easy again. “Surely this is the start of a renewed friendship, is it not, Miss Roylance?”
She longed for it to be so.
But Christopher.
Her father.
There were rules and prohibitions a mile long that she knew she, as their sister and daughter, must keep. Not seeing Alex Jenkins was written in ink at the top of them all.
“My brother has forbidden me from your presence.” The words felt painful on her tongue. “We cannot plan to see each other again.” She’d already begun to have feelings for Alex, even in so short a time. It was better that she stop them now, before they blossomed into something deeper and more complicated. “I am so sorry.”
She curtsied and turned, fighting against the turmoil inside her.
Chapter 4
The door of another Alnwicksolicitor’s office slammed behind Alex. Nearly a week had passed since his visit to Christopher Roylance, and it seemed that not one businessman in this entire town wanted to even look in his direction. The solicitor had utterly refused to listen to Alex’s proposal to purchase the man’s excess land for mines, and two more had turned him down before even letting him inside their offices.
