Samantha sent the dowager marchioness a dazzling smile.“It seems we’re in excellent company this evening, my lady.”
The dowager marchioness snorted and swept past Samantha, cutting a path directly toward a couple of women of similar age with whom she immediately struck up a conversation.
“I must confess, I sometimes wish I were able to be just a little like them,” Melody murmured.She nodded toward the debutantes.“Or at the very least able to enjoy the excitement of courtship, with marriage and a family of my own still waiting upon the horizon.”
Samantha glanced at her in surprise.“I’m sorry.I never realized you might have such longings.”
Wishing for such things had never occurred to Samantha.She’d only ever focused on what she knew her life would be, instead of dreaming of something that couldn’t be hers.Seemed rather pointless really, if not a direct path to unhappiness.
“I try to keep these dreams buried,” Melody said.“But I do wonder what it might have been like to gain a suitor’s attention, to plan for a future with him and… Forget it.I’m being terribly silly.”
Samantha placed her hand on Melody’s arm.“You could still have those things if you truly wished it.”
An unhappy smile caught Melody’s lips.“How?None of the gentlemen of my acquaintance will have a tradesman’s by-blow, and I cannot imagine tying myself to the sort of man who would.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.I’m better off with Lady Heathbrooke.Everything else is just fanciful nonsense.I beg you not to spare it another thought.”Melody turned and her eyes brightened.“How marvelous.Violet Greene and Octavia Burley are also in attendance.Come, I’ll introduce you to them.”
Samantha prepared to follow her friend but paused when the Earl of Marsdale stepped to one side and a dark, familiar gaze met hers.A slow smile followed as Mr.Croft acknowledged her presence.She took a slow breath, accepted her stomach’s fluttery response even as she explained it away as the thrill of the hunt.
He was here.She’d known he would be, but Melody had distracted her with her comment and… She caught Melody’s hand.“You go ahead.There’s someone I need to greet first.”
Melody turned her head, her line of sight aligning with Samantha’s.“I’d want to greet him too if he looked at me that way.”
“And what way would that be?”Samantha asked, her heart skipping a beat.
“As though he’d like to whisk you away to a private corner somewhere and kiss you senseless,” Melody whispered.
“Hush,” Samantha chastised, but it was too late.Heat was already consuming her face.She knew she was blushing profusely despite her effort to keep her mind sharp and focused – on everything she disliked about Mr.Croft.
Melody gave her a pointed look before walking away with a chuckle.Samantha took a deep breath and told herself not to worry.Blushing was a good thing.It would help her look less of a threat while also suggesting an interest in Croft – an interest she needed for him to reciprocate since it would aid in her plan.
Cultivating a bit of romance was paramount to the next step.
But she mustn’t rush things.
She started forward, moving through the crowd with only one goal in mind.Him.He watched her with bold overtness, his gaze heating with each step she took.Samantha’s stomach tightened.The air around her crackled.An almost feverish feeling washed over her skin.She told herself the reaction was normal – an inevitable part of the act.
And then she reached him.
“Miss Carmichael,” Mr.Croft murmured, the low hum of his voice making something distinct yet foreign vibrate inside her.Holding her gaze, he took her gloved hand in his and placed a kiss upon her knuckles.“It’s lovely to see you again.I believe you must be acquainted with my friend, the Earl of Marsdale, since you were at the ball he hosted.”
Samantha withdrew her hand from Croft’s, annoyed with herself for missing the warmth of his touch, and faced the earl.“It’s a pleasure to see you again, my lord.”
“Indeed, the pleasure is entirely mine,” Marsdale said, a boyish smile contrasting the somber look in his eyes.“Croft has spoken of you at great length.It would seem you’ve made quite the impression on him.”
There was no need for Samantha to feign the smile that followed.It was real and full of appreciation, to say nothing of eager excitement.If Croft had mentioned her to his friend, then surely that meant he had more than a passing interest in her.
For the sake of her mission, she prayed this was true.
As far as her own wants and desires went, she dared not consider why Marsdale’s comment had filled her with so much pleasure.
“A positive one, I hope,” Samantha said, infusing her voice with amusement.
Marsdale laughed while Croft merely offered the sort of slow smile that reminded her of a cat who’d just spotted its prey.He dipped his head.“The best, Miss Carmichael, I can assure you.”
Sensing an opportunity to strengthen their bond, Samantha gave her attention to Marsdale.“Your friend and I had a wonderful time together at the Moorland ball recently.We danced and when I complained of my feet aching afterward, he sought out a spot for me to rest.He’s very considerate.”
