Page 58 of The Season of Lady Chastity

The dancers surrounding them faded into the background. The sound of the music could barely be heard over the pounding of his heart.

Not a thing existed beyond Chastity in his arms.

“I could never leave…” He wanted to add, “you.”

He had more than a mere woman in his arms, he held his future, his chance for love, and everything that had been lacking in his life thus far.

Only when he was with Chastity did he know what living actually was. He was no longer satisfied waiting on the fringes and watching as life happened around him…for other people.

As quickly as it had happened, and as surprising as it was, he loved Chastity, and he had no intention of letting her go without telling her where his heart lay.

Chapter 16

All these months, Chastity had misguidedly thought she longed for the opportunity to shed her wallflower ways, to take her place among society as more than Triston’s sister and Downshire’s unmemorable daughter. Now that every eye in the ballroom followed her and Bastian as they swept around the dance floor, Chastity realized it wasn’t the spotlight or attention of all of society she’d sought, but the notice and affection of one man.

Bastian Stanhope, the Earl of Mansfield.

It had taken their fateful meeting by the moat to put it all into motion.

It didn’t matter that her mother was a debutante of the first waters.

It didn’t matter that her mother had caught the attention of every unattached lord in England with her beauty and charm.

It didn’t even matter if her mother had found her dearest Cam that night, and they’d found a way to be together before she wed Downshire.

What was of significance was that Chastity mattered to Bastian. It was clear in everything he said and did.

She stared up into the strong face of the man she’d be content to gaze upon for the rest of her days. His quiet, reserved nature. His unending compassion. His fierce loyalty.

He was everything she’d ever longed for, and all she wanted in her future.

Her head—and her heart—swam with the knowledge. She’d been searching for something, but she hadn’t realized that it wasn’t her mother’s past she longed to find but her own future.

“I love you.” The words slipped unbidden past her lips, though not untruthfully.

“Chastity.” The longing in his stare and the tightening of his hold told her that he felt the same, even if his fist connecting with Lord Comstock’s nose weren’t proof enough. “I hold you in great esteem, as well.” He paused, glancing around them as if he hadn’t noticed they moved in a sea of other lords and ladies. “Wait, that is not true.”

Her heart skipped a beat before stopping completely, her feet following suit.

Had she been mistaken? Had she thought Bastian returned her feelings because it was what she longed for?

Slowly, the dancers around them halted and took notice of the couple frozen in the middle of the floor.

Twice in one evening, she’d been placed at the center of attention, and it did not suit her as she’d thought it would. She could sense every stare on her and Bastian, even that of her family.

“Bastian?” She needed him to go on, but fear coursed through her at what he might confess.

“I more than hold you in great esteem, my lady. I am convinced my love surpasses your own.”

Her knees weakened beneath her, and her mind swirled again.

“My dears.” Chastity glanced away from Bastian for the first time to see his mother at their sides, on the arm of Doc Durpentire. “I think it best you seek a moment of privacy.”

Had Bastian told his mother of his affection for Chastity?

The way the older pair smiled at her said that if he hadn’t, Lady Mansfield and Doc Durpentire had their own suspicions.

Lady Mansfield swept her arm toward the door Comstock had fled through. “Come, dears. The library is not far.”