Grandmama was inquiring after his grandfather.
“The earl prefers to ride across his lands these days,” Grainger said. “He loathes traveling by coach, as he suffers badly from gout.”
“A complaint of aged gentlemen.” Grandmama sighed. “Our beloved Prince Regent suffers from it.”
“Quite so.” Grainger turned and captured Thea’s gaze. She had been admiring his profile but was struck by his expression. He looked like a man about to tackle a difficult matter. Was that her?
The master of ceremonies announced a quadrille. “Shall we?”
Determined not to allow him to browbeat her, Thea rested her hand on his arm, and they proceeded onto the dance floor, where couples joined sets.
While they stood waiting for the last of their set to join them, his gaze roamed her face as if he were trying to understand her. “You danced with a mutual associate of ours, Miss Tothill. He is a friend of your family?”
She supposed this oblique reference to Farnborough was because there were others within earshot. “My father thinks well of him.”
Grainger nodded and lowered his head close to hers. “But we do not,” he murmured.
“The man makes me shudder,” she admitted. “Even when he smiles, his eyes are cold. I have wondered what interests him about me.”
“Tread carefully.” His voice was a low warning rumble meant only for her ears. “If you should dance with him again, never let your guard down.”
“He has requested the supper dance,” she said. “I hope to discover something then.”
“That is unfortunate.”
She had expected him to be pleased. “But I might learn something of use to you.”
“Make no attempt. He is a dangerous man and well-practiced in obfuscation, while a young woman such as yourself is not.”
Thea frowned, annoyed and surprisingly disappointed. He must think her graceless and inexperienced. “I know what he is. Naturally, I shall take great care.”
“You cannot match your wits with such a man,” he repeated. “He has a reason for pursuing you, which may not end in a marriage proposal.”
Although that occurred to her, too, his words sent a cold bolt of fear through her. “Do you think he could have spied me in the garden beneath his window?”
“I don’t know. Perhaps we should accept the possibility that he did and continue accordingly.”
Thea tamped down a shiver. “He might let something slip when I dance with him again.”
“I prefer you to avoid him if you can.”
She shook her head. “Should he ask me, I must dance with him. Ladies cannot refuse a gentleman’s request. And my father will be watching.” She glanced around, but at least for now, her father was engaged with friends at the far end of the ballroom, his back turned to them.
“Do not give Farnborough a reason to suspect you. If he does, it could turn nasty. We need time to discover what lies behind this. If you feel threatened by him, go to your father. Tell him the truth.”
“Very well.” Thea had no intention of revealing any of this to her father. Not until she absolutely had to. It could put an end to her first Season. Father would send her home, and he might not permit her to return. She wasn’t about to become a reporter for theChedworth Chronical.
The quadrille began. It was several minutes before she could speak briefly to Grainger again. “You haven’t discovered who the victim is? Or if he’s arrived in London?”
“Leave it to me, Miss Tothill.”
“But I might discover some small but vital thing from Farnborough, which you could not. You are not an acquaintance of his, are you?”
She danced away, feeling pleased to have the last word. Let him think about that!
Grainger made no attempt to speak to her again, and at the conclusion of the dance, his jaw set, he led her from the floor. Before they reached her seat, he stopped and spoke in an undertone. “I don’t intend to spend precious time trying to discover what dangerous plan you have decided upon, Miss Tothill. Or to have you on my conscience after something bad happens to you because of it. It would be wise if you could make him believe you are merely a young debutante with nothing in your head except fashion and snaring a husband.”
“Oh! How rude.”
