“You hoyden.” Bridget’s tone was filled with awe and humor. “Tell me you haven’t…”
Her voice dropped off as Eleanor met her gaze. The other woman knew instantly that shehad.
“Bloody hell,” Bridget exclaimed in a heavy whisper, the expletive drawing the sharp, censorious gaze of an older lady passing by. Bridget, quickly lifted her glass for another sip, though her eyes never left Eleanor’s.
“I can’t believe it.”
Eleanor was almost offended by her cousin’s level of shock, but quickly acknowledged that it was warranted.
“Has he—? Do you—?” Bridget stuttered before giving up.
“It’s complicated,” Eleanor answered, inspiring a snort from the other woman. “I’ll explain it all to you and Lydia when I have the chance,” Eleanor muttered quickly as she spotted Ralston coming toward them again. “A lot has happened.”
“An understatement,” Bridget retorted. “Lydia is going to lose her sanity.”
As Ralston reached them, Eleanor gave her cousin a fierce stare, silently ordering the other woman to keep her mouth shut.
Judging by her brother’s tense manner and ferocious scowl, he hadn’t found Miss Dickson. Eleanor suddenly wondered if the youngwoman might be avoiding her brother. The thought annoyed her. Ralston was a bit stiff and focused on duty, but he was also loyal and steady, and many claimed him to be quite handsome. He was a catch by any standards.
Before she could dwell too long on her brother’s romantic entanglements, the music started up again. Bridget was quickly approached by an eager partner and Ralston took up position beside Eleanor as she prepared to watch the dancing from the edge of the room, as usual.
A moment later, however, she was stunned to see Lord Ackerly striding toward her with an uncharacteristically focused expression. She instantly tensed. She’d hoped he’d respect her wishes and refrain from future interactions.
Apparently, not.
In fact, he walked right up to her and bowed before offering his hand. “Would you grace me with this dance, my lady?”
The request shocked her. Not only because she’d made it clear at their last encounter that she would not welcome any advances from him, but also because he’d never once before in their acquaintance asked her to dance. He’d always played the wallflower, like her.
She considered that maybe he simply wanted an opportunity to apologize for his prior behavior. But when she met his gaze, she discounted that theory.
How had she never noticed before how calculating his stare was? A shiver coursed over her skin.
Eleanor wanted to refuse. But with her brother right there and others nearby watching the shocking event, she couldn’t do so without causing a scene. By the look in the lord’s eyes, he knew it. He was intent upon getting his way and apparently had no trouble trapping her into compliance.
Deciding she had no choice, and suddenly wishing to just get the interaction over with, she put her hand in his and allowed him to lead her to the dance floor. Considering how rare it was for her to have apartner, people took notice. Their peering glances shot through her like icy spears and her insides started to shake.
Not now.
Forcing herself to take long, slow inhales, she lowered her gaze. She could not allow her weakness to present itself now. Not while in Lord Ackerly’s hands, where she suddenly felt so unsafe.
The dance was a waltz and Lord Ackerly swept her gracefully into the steps.
His initial silence almost lulled her into thinking she may have been a bit foolish in her initial reaction. She even glanced up at him, allowing the possibility that the scheming look she’d seen in his eyes had been a trick of the light.
It hadn’t been.
The intensity of the man’s focus sent a frisson of alarm straight through her center. An iciness flowed through her veins, but it wasn’t her usual fear of social judgment. This was sharper, more direct and piercing. Something was off.
Instinctively, she pulled back. She wasn’t sure if she intended to leave him there and then on the dance floor. But it didn’t matter, because his grip on her tightened and his expression hardened instantly.
“You’re going nowhere,” he said in a clipped but quiet tone.
Panic threatened for a moment before Eleanor recalled with a flash the way Phin had looked at her last night in the garden when she’d lifted Aadesh’s blade against him. He’d called her brave.
She lifted her chin and narrowed her gaze. “What do you want?”
His hand curled painfully around her fingers and his eyes flickered dangerously. Again, his voice was low and filled with intensity as he replied. “I want what is mine by right and destiny.”
