Page 36 of The Lady’s Great Escape

The Duke of Roxburghe bowed at the same time Celia curtsied.

“Celia, it’s a treat to see you here this evening. You remember my wife, Gia,” the duke said. It was still strange to think of Hale as a married man. She’d once seen him naked as the day he was born after he’d lost his clothing at one of Graham’s games.

“Of course, it’s so good to see you again, Your Grace,” Celia addressed his wife.

“Please, Gia is fine.”

“What brings you all the way from Scotland? I didn’t think you cared much for the Season any longer,” Kit said.

Celia knew the duke had hated the country, at least until he had someone to enjoy it with.

“My father is to be wed, so we decided to attend a few events while we were in town.”

“Is Julian here as well?” Celia looked around the room.

“Nay. He and Elaina are expected to arrive back from Egypt in a few weeks with their little one,” Hale said.

She knew her brother’s friends well. Oddly enough, she’d always thought of Hale and Julian in a similar way as her brother. It was only Kit who had tempted her.

“I still can’t see Julian digging about in the desert. He was always so tidy,” Kit said earning a smile from everyone. Celia liked his easy charm. It would do him well in finding a wife.

The thought caused a slight twinge in her stomach. When he married, she would lose him. While she knew he would not be unfaithful to a wife and would therefore no longer be her lover, she now realized that because of their current relationship, she would most likely lose his friendship as well.

What wife would allow her husband to be friends with a previous lover?

The orchestra began playing the beginning notes of a waltz.

“I believe this is my dance,” Kit said, holding out his elbow for Celia.

She took his arm with a smile. For now, he was hers. Despite what she’d said, he was unlikely to find a bride tonight. While she didn’t want to waylay his plans to marry, she did hope she had a little more time with him first.

A hush of whispers seemed to follow them as they moved, but Celia didn’t hear any specific comments. She grew nervous being in front of everyone. What if they were staring at her? She fought the urge to touch the spot on her face. Was everyone wondering why someone as dashing as Christopher Sinclair, Viscount Stormont, was dancing with a woman with a large mark on her face?

Her hand brushed over her temple. She had asked Nettie to do her hair in a way to help hide the spot, but now she felt exposed.

“Celia, I swear to you upon pain of death, if you touch that birthmark again, I’ll carry you from the room and take you somewhere to give you a good spanking,” Kit said sternly.

“Hmm…” She tilted her head to the side thinking over why that threat didn’t seem much like a threat at all.

Kit’s eyes darkened with lust. “Now you’ve made me want to carry you from the room regardless to explore what put that look on your face.”

She smiled and glanced about her. No one was looking at Celia at all, and she was happy for it. It was easy enough to ignore the people surrounding the dance floor as Kit whirled her around the room.

She didn’t know those people nor did she much care what they thought of her.

As Arthur had told her once, life was much too short to spend it in fear of doing what one wanted to do.

“The things one most regrets at the end of their life are the things one didn’t have the courage to do.”

“What was that?” Kit asked, causing her to realize she’d said it out loud.

“I’m glad you’re here for the first step of my journey.”

He smiled and twirled her once again.