Her gaze drifted further, down his throat, over his chest, his abdomen, his groin, his thighs.He felt it like a caress, like her fingers dragged against bare skin, and he couldn’t stop his own gaze from travelling over her.Bloody hell, he’d always tried really hard to not look, to disregard her breasts, or the curve of her hips, or the shape of her thighs, and yet each was burned into his memory, such that he knew each dip and curve.Bloody hell.
“Good,” he rasped.Clearing his throat, he said, “Good, El.”
She lowered the fan.“That is what you wanted?’
He was discovering he wanted many things, none of which he should.“Yes, precisely.”
A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, and then it spilled over her and she beamed.No matter the strange feelings overtaking him,hehad done that.He had given her what she desired, and he had made El smile.He only ever wanted to make her smile.
A peel of laughter split the air and, abruptly, the world returned.They were not alone, were they?Indeed, those about them had increased, the heat of the ballroom sending the crowd to seek cooler air.Not more than ten minutes had passed, but they had already been out here too long.“I think that a good first lesson, El.It bodes well, I feel.”
“Yes, I think so too.”Her fingers curled around his forearm, her smile happy as she squeezed.
He inhaled sharply, her touch like fire on his skin.Taking a step back, he offered his own smile to disguise his unease.“How would you like to proceed?”
“Well, the fan lesson seemed a good place to start.”Her brow creased.“Truly, though, I do not know how to attract a suitor.I only know how to repel them.And I should not know how to act with a lover.This fan business is all well and good, but perhaps I need to learn how to attract a lover and then how to behave.”
His fists tightened before he very deliberately unclenched them.The whole point of this was so El could take the earl as her lover.He had no call to be jealous.“Then we shall have to ensure you do know how to act,” he said with a lightness he did not feel.
She nodded.“We should return to the ballroom,” she said.“Victoria no doubt awaits me.”
“Yes.I should to.As well.To the ballroom.”
“Lady C is most likely desirous of your presence,” she said slyly.
“I suppose I am again to dance with Amanda,” he replied with a long-suffering sigh, returning to the banter they did so well.Returning to something that he very much hoped approached normal.
“Do not frown so, Benedict,” she teased.“It may very well be her dance card is full.”
“We can but hope.”
She gave him a quick smile.“I shall see you tomorrow at Penhurst House?”
“Yes.After lunch.Perhaps around three?”
“Ah.So I shall ask Mrs Johnson to prepare afternoon tea?”
“Her coconut cake is delicious,” he defended.
With a laugh, she shook her head.“Until tomorrow.”
“Until tomorrow.”
She gave him another smile and departed, disappearing into the crowded ballroom.
He stared after her and wondered if, by offering to tutor her, he’d gotten in over his head.
Chapter Five
Thebookinherlap could not hold her attention.
Closing it with a snap, Eleanor again glanced at the clock on the mantle.It had four minutes until three in the afternoon.At any moment, Benedict would arrive and his tutelage would continue.
Nerves and excitement roiled inside her.Ever since he’d proposed this course last night, she had been able to think of nothing else.She’d lain awake in her bed, staring at the canopy as her mind raced.This morning, she had twisted herself into a knot at the breakfast table and so she’d decided to clear her mind with a visit to her modiste.She had intended to distract herself only, but she had ended up ordering two new gowns, more daring in cut and bolder in colour than she usually wore.Then, before she could talk herself out of it, she’d bought decadent silk stockings she’d wanted forever but could never bring herself to purchase.
She’d stopped by Victoria’s townhouse but her friend had not been at home, so she’d taken lunch at Liddle’s Tea Shop and then made her way back to Penhurst House.Now she was in her drawing room, pretending she was not watching the clock and keeping up the pretence she was even remotely interested in reading the book in her lap.
The clock chimed the hour.Benedict would not come precisely at three, he always was ten minutes late to everything, and—
