She was dressed in white, like all the other débutantes in attendance, and danced with some officer of the Crown resplendent in bright uniform. He wanted to tear her from the other man’s arms, but of course he could not. He merely gazed at her in wonder, for Charles looked, remarkably enough, happy. She flashed a grin at the fellow spinning her about, her feet seamlessly following his lead. Wells felt a surge of envy overtake him, to see her so joyous, breathless almost in her twirling.
He could not tear his eyes away.
He remained rooted in agony, watching as she stepped into the next dance with another fashionably dressed gentleman who guided her to the center of the terrace. He could sense theTon’scollective curiosity peering at this scandalous young lady so recently, shockingly returned to the bosom of the Earl of Denbigh. He saw her throughtheir eyes: dancing with abandon unlike the other prim misses who kept themselves in check.Charles Merrinan, by contrast, exuded raw sensuality as she swept across the dance floor, and Wells suspected every man there felt it. Gazes young and old shifted almost imperceptibly, unconsciously, to follow the graceful movements of his Fox.
He was gripped with an intense desire to spirit her into his parents’ carriage right then and there, but he restrained himself. He would not impose his will upon her, though it killed him to remain a prisoner of propriety. It was her choice with whom she danced. He would not spoil her enjoyment. He dared not.
“Youwillask her to dance, Roland, won’t you?” The Duchess snuck up from behind to look down at the sea of bodies swirling to the strains of a quartet.
“She will decline the offer, Mother, I know it.”
“You cannot know unless you try, dear,” she nudged. “Go and ask her. I am sorry I suggested so devious a plan to you before.”
Had Maman just apologized?
“I have given it more thought, since last we spoke, and you are right not to trick her into marriage.”
Wells blinked;wonders never ceased. “Why, I do believe the earth just shifted beneath my feet!” he exclaimed.
“Do not grow cocky, boy.” She smacked him lightly with her fan, lips twitching. “I merely suggest you may understand Miss Merrinan better than I, having known her more intimately.”
“Thank you,Maman.” He kissed her cheek. “I shall ask her to dance after this earthquake passes, for who knows, perhaps the entire universe has now shifted in my favor.”
He flashed her a smile before he headed downstairs to the dance, but not before he’d seen his mother touch her gloved hand to her face, as if to affirm his kiss were real.
“Miss Merrinan,” Lord Wellesley approached between numbers, “may I be so bold as to ask for this next dance?”
Charles was stunned to discover his lordship suddenly standing before her. She’d nervously searched the fête all afternoon for him.
He looked again different, dressed this time in a formal lawn suit, the expression on his face somehow softer, kinder. Who was this handsome stranger? Where was her demanding, imperious master?
“I should be delighted, sir.” She ignored the fact that her dance card was full; a duke’s heir trumped most.
Wellesley took her hand to lead her to the floor and assume his position across from her. He stared boldly into her eyes, and then, as the music began, circled her, their hands meeting lightly through their gloves, the advance and retreat a delight. Charles’s heart skipped a beat when he grasped her waist to lift her in a turn and set her back down. She felt breathless and flustered, though she fast regained her feet.
They turned in crossed handhold next, eyes locked as firmly as their steps, her mind now blank from the sheer pleasure of him as time ceased in the sway of bodies, music, and motion. Weeks of tension dissolved into the flagstone under her feet, her soul suddenly light as air as she floated across the terrace. And when the music slowed, bringing her down to earth—to the moment’s inevitable end—his hand at the small of her back burned hot through her dress, searing.
Charles tilted her head, her lips on his own sudden as a summer storm.
***
Wells felt her lips and was lost. He melded his mouth to hers without fear or frenzy. A union of souls.
They kissed in perfect, public silence.
TheTon’ssubsequent gasp barely registered until Charles broke from him and Wells heard titters ripple through the hushed crowd. He opened his eyes to a sea of faces staring with equal parts derision and delight. He was stunned by their interest—until his mind awoke with a curse.
It had come to this, after all.
Wells dragged Charles off the floor, his heart galloping in his chest. When he’d hauled her far enough into the Sedgewicks’ shrubbery so as to be hidden from spectacle, he dropped her hand to run his fingers through his newly shorn locks.
“Listen to me, Charles, I did not . . .” He heaved a great sigh. “Regardless of what you think of me, woman, I did not intend to kiss you just now so publicly, damn it.” He began to pace, noting how her brow knit with consternation.
“Which is not to say I regret it, mind you. I regret only where it happened, notthatit happened, because I am so in love with you, Charles—so unbearably in love, Fox—I won’t do the bloody honorable thing right now and insist you marry me to avoid a scandal. I’ll not do what they all expect, because I know you don’t give a whit about theTon, about any of this.” His hand swept the estate. “It is but one of many, many reasons why I love you so bloody much.” He took another deep, shuddering breath. “I also know you’d rather die penniless in a hovel somewhere than have a man like me dictate what you can and cannot do, but Charles?—”
She opened her mouth to speak, but his look beseeched her to let him finish.
“—when you left Cumberland, love, I swore that if I found you I would court you properly, which I have tried but clearly failed to do, failed to sway your opinion of me. And I’ve no one to blame but myself in this, I know. I cannot force your hand, nor will I entrap you now into marriage. But I want you as my wife, Fox. Every fiber of my being wants you. And if you won’t marry me I must insist you remain my housekeeper and return with me to Cumberland. And failing that, I must insist you remain my friend, if not my lover, because somehow, Charles Merrinan, I need you in my life. I cannot imagine life without you.”
