“Then we had best give them something exciting to whisper about,” he said, his voice slightly husky as he swept her onto his feet once more.
“For a man who claims to have no interest in me, you are certainly determined to hold me close.”
Not a single response came to his mind, so he simply huffed and kept dancing with her.
Felix felt his heart threatening to beat its way right out of his chest. He didn’t know how much longer he could hold on for, or how the night would end. All he knew was that when the imp came out to play, he had met his match in her.
A part of me loves this far more than I care to admit. What is happening here?Many years have passed since anyone has treated me as anything other than a duke.
He spun Isabelle in a circle and dipped her low before pulling her back to him. Their faces were just a touch too close to be considered proper, and he fought the urge to close the distance between them. Even when her gaze dropped longingly to his mouth, he resisted.
But it was a Herculean test.
Felix cleared his throat, his fingers drifting higher up her back, pressing her closer to him. “I think that after this dance I should speak with Lord Stanford. He has been getting far too comfortable with Victoria.”
Isabelle looked over her shoulder, smiling when she saw the two of them tucked into a corner near Edith. “The pair of them are nothing more than friends. I do not think you have reason to worry.”
“I believe there is great reason to worry. You do not know what Lord Stanford is thinking. He may not wish to mature, but there will soon come a time when he no longer has a choice.”
“And what of yourself?”
“What do you mean?”
“You cannot stay a bachelor forever, can you? There will come a time when you need a son to whom you can pass your money and estate, and then what will you do?”
The corner of his mouth twitched with mirth. “I will find an American urchin. One who reminds me of an angry old goose I used to fear.”
Isabelle’s head tipped back as she laughed and shook her head. “You are too much!”
“And you are entirely so much more than that.”
She chuckled and stepped away from him to clap as the musicians finished their song.
All Felix could do was watch her. He tried to commit that smile to memory, but the attempt was futile. He was never going to be able to capture it in its full glory.
As Isabelle turned and looked at him again, Felix stepped back from the thin line he was walking.
Nineteen
Isabelle glanced to the side of the room where Miss Fitzroy stood at Windham’s side. His posture was stiff as he spoke with Miss Fitzroy and her mother.
She supposed he would have to, given that this was the Fitzroys’ ball. It was only proper to speak with the host and yet it left her feeling unsettled. She didn’t lie the way Miss Fitzroy batted her eyes at him or hung off his arm.
It’s not my job to worry about him. He is a grown man who is capable of handling himself. If he didn’t wish to speak with her, he simply wouldn’t.
Lord Milton drew her from her thoughts as he came back over with a glass of water in his hand. “I thought that you could use this. You look parched.”
Isabelle forced a smile. “Thank you, but I’m fine for now.”
Lord Milton shrugged and set the glass on the table to the side. “I don’t think I’ve ever much cared for balls. There seems to be too much going on and not enough at the same time. People are altogether too involved with who is courting who, and who might glance at another for a second too long.”
The corner of Isabelle’s mouth twitched. “If you aren’t a fan, then what are you doing here?”
“Well, there was a rumor that a beautiful American woman was going to be here and I thought it best to come see her.”
Her cheeks warmed as she rolled her eyes. “And there you go, being like all the other charmers.”
“You think I’m charming?” he teased, shuffling a little closer to her.
