He looked thoughtful for a moment. ‘Well,’ he said, ‘I may have said that you could easily become the belle of the Brighton summer.’
‘You didn’t!’
Those spellbinding blue eyes of his crinkled in amusement. ‘I think I did.’
She was astounded. ‘Was it a joke?’
He was shaking his head. ‘I absolutely meant it. You are an original, Miss Summerby. For instance, not many people have the spirit to argue with me quite as much as you do.’
At first, she was indignant, but then she burst into laughter. ‘Even so, it was absurd for you to make such an extravagant claim. The belle of the Brighton summer? Ridiculous!’
‘Why is it ridiculous? If you take a look around, you will find that quite a number of gentlemen hold the same opinion as me.’
She realised that several men were indeed glancing in her direction, but she shook her head. ‘They are merely wondering,’ she said loftily, ‘what has driven you to bring me here tonight.’
‘Are you hunting for compliments, Miss Summerby?’ He clicked his tongue in mock disapproval.
‘Certainly not!’
Deftly he seized two glasses of champagne from a passing footman and gave her one, lifting his own glass in a salute. ‘To your good health, then, and to your refreshing determination not to indulge in vanity. Tell me, though. On the whole, I’m not behaving too badly, am I? Not making you feel too uncomfortable?’
Kate’s heart missed a beat.Yes, you are. In a quite alarming way.But when she spoke, her voice was steady. ‘You’ve made no blunders yet, my lord. In fact, your behaviour is so far from scandalous that your female admirers over there are looking quite crestfallen.’ She gestured towards a group of young women who were gazing raptly at him. ‘Perhaps you should give them a hint of encouragement. Acknowledge them with a wave, maybe?’
He chuckled, a husky sound that set her senses tingling. ‘I don’t wave to ladies. It’s dreadfully unsubtle. Besides, they’ll be hunting for dancing partners soon, and I’m not going to oblige.’
‘I don’t mind at all if you wish to dance, my lord.’
‘Haven’t we been through this? If I did dance, what would you do?’
‘Oh, I can sit with the matrons, as I used to. It’s really no problem.’
‘It is to me. Anyway, I don’t want to dance. I’d rather stay with you. And for God’s sake, call me Dan, will you? For tonight, at any rate!’
Her unguarded heart gave another unsettling bump, but she managed to say lightly, ‘Very well… Dan. But I’m not flattered, if that’s what you’re hoping.’
‘Well, you should be flattered. Your dress suits you exceedingly well, as it happens. But you would outshine the others here whatever you wore.’
This time she gazed up at him in absolute astonishment. Her heart gave another bump, and she was confused again because his name sounded too familiar on her lips, hinting at an intimacy that didn’t and never could exist. She inwardly shook herself. ‘What I wanted to say is, there there’s no need for you to stay with me all evening.’
‘Why not? We’re hoping your sister will hear about it, aren’t we? Besides, you promised to help ward off my female admirers.’
He was laughing again, the wretch! ‘I should think,’ she said a little crossly, ‘that you spend half your life doing that anyway, unless they’re the kind of females you’re happy to welcome into your bed for the night—Oh!’
She clapped her hand to her mouth in horror. How could she have said that? How could she have let slip that being welcomed into his bed was the kind of thought most women must fight against every time theylookedat the man?
She had never seen him look so startled, and her spirits plummeted. She said, rather miserably, ‘I would like to go home now, Dan.’
But that ever-lurking smile was tugging mischievously at the corners of his mouth. ‘No, you don’t,’ he replied. ‘And I’m not going to take you home, because I’m enjoying your companyenormously. And Kate, it would be unkind of me to deprive everyone else, particularly the gentlemen, of your presence.’
‘Why?’
He leaned closer. ‘Because,’ he murmured, ‘you are by far the prettiest lady at the party. Believe it or not, it’s true. Anyway, I’d like to eat now. Are you hungry? I hope so, because I get weary of ladies who pretend to have the appetite of a sparrow. By the way, if it makes you any happier, I can lie and tell you that you look an absolute dowd if you wish.’
She had to laugh. ‘No need to go that far. And my appetite is not at all sparrow-like, so let us eat.’
They never reached the dining room though, because on their way the Earl was surrounded by yet more people he knew. The men spoke to Kate with courtesy, but almost instantly Kate recognised their wives from her early outings in Brighton and her defences were up. When the Earl set off again towards the dining room she started to follow him—but three of the women barred her way.
‘Kate,’ one of them exclaimed, ‘how delightful to see you here!’
