“Is this a dream?” she murmured.
“If it is, it’s the best one I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing.”
She nestled into his chest, relishing the warmth there. “Me too.” Silence settled between them, and she breathed in his cinnamon scent. It had always been her favorite smell, but she’d never recognized the significance of Algenon’s use of the fragrance. Maybe it was his quiet way of saying he loved her when he’d felt silenced.
“You will need to go to my father,” she finally said.
“I already have.”
She pulled back. “And was he certain I’d say yes?”
Algenon chuckled. “Eventually. However, he might have said I’d have to cross swords with you before you’d agree to such an arrangement.”
She shoved his chest. “No, he did not.”
Algenon laughed. “All right, that might be a bit of a stretch.”
Looping her fingers around his lapels, she gave them a little tug. “Either way, we both know I would have won.”
He tightened his hold, swaying her in his arms. “Oh, do we now?” He leaned in, muddling her mind with his closeness. “I think one day we will have to put this challenge to the test.”
The huskiness of his voice sent a pleasant shiver up her spine. “Name the day.”
Maidstone’s Twelfth Night celebration drew families from all the neighboring counties, its masquerade the most popular for miles around. Algenon smiled as dancers twirled about the assembly hall. Word had come from Lord Falcross that he wished to meet with him, but Algenon had yet to reply to any of his letters, knowing it would probably make the man livid.
No, he had a much better idea in mind. So when Miss Weston and her father entered the assembly hall, he hung back, confident that his black domino mask and black and white dress clothes would confuse them. They would look for a brightly clad gentleman with a black armband.
Javenia leaned toward him, her flowery scent tickling his nose. “It seems our company has arrived.”
He smiled down at her. “Onlyyouwould considerthemcompany.”
She scoffed. “I wasn’t the one nearly engaged to that well-dressed disaster.”
Eddie snickered from Algenon’s other side. “Nice to see you two getting along again.”
“No thanks to you,” Javenia quipped.
“Me?” He peered around Algenon. “What did I do?”
“After our first kiss in the grove, you plagued Algenon to no end with jests at my expense. You all thought I didn’t hear you, but I distinctly remember a discussion about not knowing if anyone would marry a harpy like me.”
“I knew it,” Eddie exclaimed at the same time Algenon’s eyes widened in horror. “Al swore nothing had happened, but I knew better.”
Javenia tsked. “I would say you didn’t know better, judging by your heckling.”
Algenon dropped his voice low. “You heard that?”
She raised an eyebrow. “Why do you think I searched elsewhere for a suitable match?”
Eddie groaned. “Can we claim idiocy?”
Algenon rocked back on his heels. “Youthful lunacy might fit better.”
“Idiocy is no excuse for being rude.” She lifted her chin, a haughty tilt to her head, but her smirk removed any bite her words might have held.
Algenon grinned. He loved her set downs.
The song ended and ladies and gentlemen cleared the floor. Across the room, John flicked his chin in Lord Falcross’s direction. Algenon nodded. John and Susannah moved toward Miss Weston and her father.
