We looked at each other and shared a private thought. I did not want him to dance with anyone else, despite that being the polite thing to do. In truth, this would be my last ball without my title. I wanted to have Charlie all to myself, checking off my list like we always did. After all, I was not quite finished.
“I think your grandmother was right. This party is not as improper as I expected. Where are the couples escaping to the gardens?”
“Hidden,” Charlie laughed. “Dover or not, a masked identity is the perfect opportunity for making choices you wish to remain a secret.”
I chewed my lips, glancing around the room. If scandal would not show itself, then I’d have to find it. “Come, then. Let us discover them all.”
Charlie obliged all too easily, and with one last glance to Liza, we snuck out of the ballroom. We were not alone, for the spaces were busy with ordinary people in ordinary conversation. But they were not who we sought.
Charlie led me through the other rooms in the building as though he’d been there before. Casually, he pointed to which doors would likely lead to the gardens, or the back of the house, or hidden balconies. But we did not find a soul out of place.
“Where are all thescandals?” I whined, placing my hands on my hips. “There is nothing untoward going on here.”
Couples meandered here and there, but they walked arm in arm with chaperones and ever-watchful onlookers.
“The night is still young,” Charlie said.
I shook my head in disappointment. “I’d even settle forhalfa scandal. The mere intent of a scandal. Anything.”
I huffed like a child, then caught Charlie staring hard at me. His throat bobbed, then he blinked away. “The mere intent, hmm? Are you certain?”
“Yes,” I said in exasperation. “Anything.”
Then all I’d have to do to finish my list was change someone’s life for the better. The list was working, too. I had never felt so alive and happy in all my life.
Charlie looked up and down the hallway as people walked in and out of the ballroom, a card room, and others. Then he took my hand and said, “Come with me.”
In a flash, he tugged me along, and I struggled to match his quick pace.
“Where are we going?” I whispered, confused by his quick turns.
We headed down a dimly lit, vacant hallway that led to more rooms, when suddenly Charlie tugged me to the side and pulled me into a hidden space. My back hit the wall, and I laughed from the thrill of it.
“What is this?” I whispered, though we were far from anyone who might overhear.
He stepped inside the space, the warmth of his body filling it, and my heart skipped to an uneven beat. He had to know there wasn’t enough space for both of us. Then our eyes met, and I realized hedidknow.
He took a half step closer, not speaking, and his fingers brushed my hair as he untied my mask, then his. He tucked them away behind him.
“What are you doing?” My voice came out breathless, and he smiled. Without our masks, all pretense faded. We were suddenly bare before each other, vulnerable in a way we’d never been before. “Where are we?”
“We are in an alcove.” His voice was low and raspy. “And this is what a near-scandal feels like.”
My eyes fell to his parted lips. Analcove. Where couples hid away. Charlie and I were not a couple, and yet, my entire body gravitated toward him. I did not protest when he rested his hand on the wall at my back. Nor when he gently rubbed my arm with his free hand.
“Ros,” he whispered. “Do not ever let a man make you feel uncomfortable.”
“I am not uncomfortable,” I said. Or breathed, really. What was wrong with my voice? And what had I just said? I should most certainly be uncomfortable here!
Charlie’s eyes flashed with some deep emotion, but only for a second. His thumb brushed my cheek, sending sparks into my chest that tightened my stomach. “This is the part when a gentleman would lean in closer.”
“Closer?”
He placed a hand on my waist, and said, “Closer.”
I swallowed hard. I could feel my pulse racing, hear it in my ears. Could he?
“And then?”
