“Nothing,” he replied darkly as Nicholas approached.
“My dear Marissa,” the Frenchman said as he bowed and swept a kiss over Mari’s gloved hand, ignoring Jamie totally. “You look radiant. That shade of pink makes your face absolutely glow. I cannot wait to paint you.”
Jamie managed to keep from snarling, although the hair rose at the nape of his neck. The man set his teeth on edge, and it didn’t help to see Mari smiling at the dandy like some moonstruck bairn.
“I know it is horribly selfish of me,” Nicholas said as he reluctantly let go of her hand and straightened, “but I wish to claim every dance with you.”
“You may have one dance per set,” Aunt Agnes cut in before Jamie could. “My niece needs to make the acquaintance of other gentlemen as well.”
Nicholas put a hand over his heart. “Of course, as much as it pains me to part from her company. I should like to claim the last dance then.”
“The last dance is mine,” Jamie said as he picked up Mari’s hand, the dance card dangling from her wrist. He saw a flash of anger flare in Nicholas’s eyes and hoped the cur would call him out. He itched to give the Frenchman a good thrashing, but the man hesitated only briefly, then signed Mari’s card on the appropriate lines.
“I dinnae see why ye allowed me only one dance,” Jamie grumbled after Nicholas had departed.
“I told you balls are for mingling,” Mari answered. “Do you not have a full schedule? I can get Maddie—”
“’Tis nae the point.” He didn’t even want to look at the list he held. Those two trollops, Violetta and Amelia, had led the bevy of giggling, silly lasses that besieged him moments after he entered the room, all vying for his signature on their cards. He had made sure to ask Olivia for a dance to make up for not accepting her invitation to the park, which only made other girls gape at him. Under other circumstances, he might have appreciated the attention, but with all the rules that had to be followed, he’d not dare do more than smile lest one of the hawk-eyed mamas try to put the parson’s noose around his neck. Thank God, Maddie and her mother had intervened, the baroness efficiently dispatching the disappointed girls with one dance each. Even so, he doubted he’d have time to find his way to the game room where the husbands enjoyed cheroots and brandy.
At least there were no waltzes on the evening’s program. As wife to the Russian ambassador, Countess Lieven probably did not want the scandal of that particular dance at her ball. It was just as well, since Jamie only had one dance with Mari. He had no wish to see any man holding Mari that close. His own memories from Miss Berry’s studio were still vivid in his mind—the slimness of her waist flaring into delectably soft, rounded hips and the lush fullness of her breasts pressed against him…
Jamie groaned. It was going to be a long night.
Mari helped herself to some punch, delighted with the way the evening was progressing. She had enlisted Maddie’s mother’s help in making sure Jamie had a full slate of dances this evening so she would be free, for once, to pursue her own interests. From the dazed look on Olivia’s face, Mari assumed she had been included and smiled. Thetonwas not always kind, as she well knew.
At first, she had been disappointed when Aunt Agnes restricted Nicholas’s allowed dances to one per set, but as Mari switched partners during the reels and quadrilles, she began to see the wisdom in her aunt’s reasoning. The London bachelors were complimentary and even entertaining when time allowed for conversation. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Nicholas observing these interactions, which only caused her to laugh merrily at whatever halfway humorous thing some young swain said. It certainly would not hurt Nicholas to think other gentlemen found her interesting.
If only Jamie would quit glowering.
Since he had done well at the dance lessons, Mari had truly thought Jamie would enjoy himself, but the only time he appeared relaxed was when Maddie was his partner. With the other girls, he seemed aloof and formal. Perhaps he was not as confident as he looked. Maddie was an excellent dancer who had no trouble following even an oaf’s lead, so Jamie could afford to relax.
Yet every time he caught Mari’s gaze, he frowned and his eyes turned dark.
“Alas, this is the last dance I can claim this evening,” Nicholas said, coming up to her as the five-piece orchestra began a lengthy cotillion. “You seem to be enjoying yourself.”
Was he jealous? She couldn’t tell. “The evening has gone by so quickly,” Mari replied as he led her onto the floor, and then there was no time for talk as the couples formed their squares, beginning the elaborate footwork that demanded concentration.
By the time they finished, Mari was a bit breathless.
“Would you like to take some air?” Nicholas asked as he indicated the open French doors leading to the veranda.
With so many people also heading in the same direction, it surely would be acceptable. Mari sent a furtive look across the room for Jamie and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw him talking to the Duke of Argyll, George Campbell. His Grace was married to the sister-in-law of Lady Jersey, although the two did not seem to be close. The men were probably discussing Scottish politics or some such thing.
“That would be lovely,” Mari murmured.
The fresh air was crisp after the heat so many dancers had generated in the ballroom. Mari inhaled appreciatively as Nicholas led her to a somewhat secluded corner, although well within the light spilling through the doors. “I would be remiss if I did not thank you again for the lovely roses,” she said.
Nicolas smiled. “I am glad you liked them, although their beauty wanes besides yours.”
Mari’s cheeks warmed and she was glad the veranda was only dimly lit. She knew the words were courtly flattery, but she felt like a princess hearing them anyway. “It is kind of you to say that.”
“It is true,” Nicholas insisted. “Vous sont très belle.The pitiful rose is a poor comparison.”
“Well, the buds have begun to open.”
“Oui. I chose the buds specifically for you,chère. They remind me of your innocence. The full blossoms will be your journey to womanhood. I hope you will allow me to be a part of that journey?”
Oh, my. Was Nicholas asking to court her? She felt herself blush again. That would be beyond her wildest expectations. “Yes, I would quite like that.”
