Page 42 of Her Royal Houseguest

He grinned at her. ‘English dancing is easy!’

She laughed. ‘Yes, it is.’

And fun, he realised. Then he did something new, something he had not done in public since he was a small boy.

He laughed out loud.

Chapter Thirteen

Anna was startled by the sound of Prince Deva’s laugh. It started out rusty, as if the man never made such full-bodied sounds. His voice had to remember how to do it. Then came a gurgle that made her giggle before he threw back his head and laughed.

She wanted to join him but he was spinning her around so fast she didn’t have the breath. She could barely keep up, yet the feel was so exhilarating that she gave herself over to it.

Such wonder to be held safe in a man’s arm as he whirled them about the room. She didn’t misstep and he made her feel like she was flying. By the time they slowed down, laughter suffused her. No man ever made her head spin but Prince Deva had and in the most literal way.

She didn’t have the words. She was too delighted to say anything. And given the way he grinned down at her, he had definitely had fun. She almost said something to that effect. The words were forming. Something like, ‘Thank you. That was amazing’. But before she could say it, a man cleared his throat just behind her.

Her father. She knew that sound and her heart sank. He was displeased. No need to wonder why. He hated it when she made a spectacle of herself. He hated it when she made herself a topic of conversation and this most certainly would be discussed.

She tried to brazen through it anyway.

She turned with a smile and spoke with as much dignity as she could manage. ‘The prince has certainly gotten a handle on dancing, hasn’t he?’ she asked. ‘He is a very quick study.’

Her father didn’t speak. He gave a shallow bow to the prince, then clasped her arm just above her glove. With a firm hand, he steered her to the edge of the ballroom and the chairs set for the wallflowers. With steady pressure, he pushed her into a seat.

‘Stay there until your mother collects you.’

She wanted to argue. She wanted to say that she hadn’t done anything wrong. Except she had been all too aware of the looks she was receiving from everyone else. People her age or older shook their heads at her. Some smirked at her misfortune. And anyone younger… Well, envy coloured their faces. They wanted to dance circles in the arms of a prince.

Too bad. It had been her who’d had the pleasure. And though her cheeks burned bright with embarrassment, part of her thrilled with the joy of what she’d experienced.

She’d done nothing wrong. She’d followed the prince’s lead, as was appropriate. He’d enjoyed himself. She’d enjoyed herself. There was nothing wrong with that.

‘Really,’ huffed Miss Riley from nearby, loud enough for everyone to hear. ‘People shouldn’t make a spectacle of themselves at my come out ball.’

Well, perhaps that was true. The only way to mitigate the disaster was for the prince to now dance a waltz with Miss Riley. That was only appropriate, right?

But before she could say as much to the prince, several gentlemen engaged the man in conversation, drawing him away from her. Eventually, they guided him to the card room. Which meant there would be no more dancing for the prince either. And damn it, that was so unfair! If he could just make some other women happy tonight, then the gossip wouldn’t focus so much on her.

But no one listened to her, so she sat on the sidelines with the wallflowers. Most gave her a sad smile but none dared speak. She was unpopular at the moment, and so they couldn’t risk damaging their own limited appeal by befriending her.

‘Well, that was…noticeable,’ drawled Lord Patrick as he came to her side.

‘Don’t start,’ she huffed. ‘He asked me to dance. What was I supposed to do? Say no to a prince?’

‘You should have gotten him dancing lessons first. You’ve embarrassed him as much as yourself.’

She shot him a glare. ‘I did offer it but he wanted me.’

‘Uh-huh.’ There was a wealth of condemnation in his tone. Sympathy, too, but the quiet challenge suggested she could have refused him if she’d wanted.

Which was true. ‘I like dancing,’ she said mulishly. ‘And he’d kept me on the side all evening.’

‘You certainly got your dance.’

She clenched her jaw to keep from responding. The dance had been wonderful. She didn’t regret it.

‘Come on,’ Lord Patrick said as he held out his hand. ‘You can dance with me now.’