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The poor sweet dear. He might not be the cleverest man, but at least he had the courage to be seen dancing with her. At least he did not let things like duty and responsibility stand in the way of his feelings for a young lady.

So although she could never return them, she held out her hand to let him lead her to the floor. She ignored the people who whispered as she passed by. Let the others disdain her if they wished; she would stay above it all. She would dance and laugh and pretend to be the pure virgin she wasn’t. She would smile until her face hurt, and if nobody smiled back, she’d keep on smiling anyway.

Most of all, she would try not to dwell on the treacherous Sebastian Blakely, who’d landed her in this muddle in the first place.

The treacherous Sebastian Blakely had come to London to clean up his muddle. Which had mushroomed this afternoon at the Navy Board when they’d told him the latest about that blasted pirate. But it wasn’t the muddle with his brother that concerned him just now; it was the muddle with Juliet. That was what had brought him to this ball.

That, and the fact that he wanted to see her. It was the only reason he stood in Feathering’s blasted ballroom, scanning the crowd of unfamiliar faces and cursing the crush. She must be here somewhere. Knighton’s servants had been so certain of her destination that he’d come without an invitation. Which had clearly been an idiotic idea, since she was nowhere to be found.

By thunder, how he hated these silly affairs, with their prancing fops and overdressed females lacking the good sense to stay at home by a warm fire. There was a reason he hadn’t moved in London society since right after the kidnapping.

He’d been looking for her then, too. He’d stood in the private theater box and sought out her slender form with all the ravenous craving of a drooling hound. As he was doing now, God help him.

Suddenly, he spotted her, dancing with a handsome gentleman who set Sebastian’s teeth on edge. He didn’t like how the man gazed down into the lovely face kissed by candlelight. He disapproved entirely of her gown—some shimmering silky thing that showed far too much of her creamy shoulders above her dainty, lace-edged bodice. And he most assuredly did not like how the man caught her waist possessively in the turns, as if he had the right to skim his hand adoringly over her eloquent curves.

Devil take it, how Sebastian burned to stride across the ballroom and snatch her from her partner. But that was unwise. First he must find out who’d started the rumors about her, which would be harder to do once his connection to her became known.

Although the gossip clearly hadn’t affected her as much as he’d feared. Why else would she be dancing with what appeared to be a respectable gentleman?

Unless the man wasn’t respectable after all. He scowled. Who was the blasted ass daring to dance with her? Glancing about, he saw some young men clustered nearby. “Excuse me,” he asked the nearest one. “Who’s that fellow with Lady Juliet Laverick?”

The man gave him a once-over, but apparently found Sebastian’s immaculate and rich attire satisfactory. “That’s Lord Havering.”

The bird-witted chap? “I thought she refused his offer of marriage,” Sebastian said as casually as he could manage.

The man lifted an eyebrow. “She did. But he must have decided that his chances with the lady have improved now that no one else will have her.”

Blast, there was that gossip again. It was time to do what he’d come for. “Why won’t anyone have her?” he asked, feigning ignorance. “She seems pretty enough.” Too pretty for the likes of you fools.

Another young idiot joined the conversation. “Where have you been, man? Until this latest news about the Pirate Lord, Lady Juliet’s escapade was the tale of the season. The girl is damaged goods. Ran off with a bounder a couple of years ago who abandoned her after having his way with her. The family’s kept it quiet until now, but somebody got wind of it, and now everybody’s talking about it.”

Once again, guilt sliced through him. To think that he’d risked her reputation so horribly with his foolish actions! He’d never stop regretting it.

“I heard that it was a highwayman she ran off with,” the first young fool put in.

What the devil?

Another joined the conversation. “I heard it was an escaped murderer. And that she helped him escape.”

“You’ve all got it wrong,” a tall addlepate put in. “She met him in a tavern in Stratford. That’s where the Swanlea Spinsters live, you know, outside of Stratford.” He lowered his voice to a confidential murmur. “Anyway, she danced in her chemise on one of the tables, and that’s what brought it all about.”

“Oh, for God’s sake,” Sebastian snapped, unable to take another word of this. “Does she look like the sort to dance half naked on a table top? Has everyone in London completely lost their senses?”

“Appearances can be deceiving.” The nearest man nudged him and winked. His companions exchanged knowledgeable looks.

“Not that deceiving,” he snapped. “I’d wager a fortune that the young woman is as proper as any other lady in this room.”

“We all thought so, too, but we were wrong,” the man went on. “No, she’s secretly a wanton little miss just begging for a man between her legs. I daresay the only men who’ll dance with her now, other than chuckleheaded Havering, are the ones looking for a mistress.”

Blithering idiots! Sebastian saw so many colors of red, he thought he might explode. He wanted to tear out what lay between their legs. He wanted to strangle every one of them.

But if ever there was a time for control, it was now. Because this was his one chance to learn who’d been spreading the tales about her.

By some miracle, he choked down his rage. “Surely you can see how silly these tales are. They don’t even match. Highwaymen? Young ladies in taverns? Escaped murderers, for God’s sake? Someone is making it all up.”

“Now see here,” the one with the tale of the murderer protested, “it’s not so unlikely. That family of hers has quite the history. Knighton made his money in smuggled goods. And his brother-in-law, that Brennan fellow, is the son of a highwayman. The girl’s probably been exposed to the criminal element from the day her oldest sister got married. And there’s some question about her father, the earl, as well.”

He’d never considered any of this in his machinations two years ago. He’d thought only of his own circumstances, not how damning her personal history was. By kidnapping her, he’d cast fuel onto a fire primed to burn. Oh God, he was such a fool.