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Yasmin rose and dropped a curtsy. “Good evening, Lady Lydia. Lord Pettigrew.”

Her grandfather grunted. “You’ll have to forgive me for not rising. An old hunting accident.”

“Just so,” Lord Pettigrew said. “I will be honored to send Your Grace the best of the new litter of puppies.” With that he bowed yet again and drew Lydia swiftly through the dining room and out the door.

“The lad will be the making of that young harridan,” the duke said, cheerfully signaling for more wine. “She’ll be a pesky sister-in-law, I must say.”

Yasmin finished her glass, discovering her fingers were trembling.

“Lady Lydia is the image of her mother,” His Grace said. “The woman couldn’t bear to lose an argument. Have you ever read about a hyena?”

Yasmin shook her head.

“Strange animal found in the wilds of Africa. I came across a couple in that zoo in the Tower of London. The keeper told me that the female hunters are aggressive. They lead the pack.”

“Lydia will be furious when she discovers that Giles and I mean to marry,” Yasmin said bleakly.

“It’ll be good for her,” the duke said with finality. “She’s no leader of the pack, that one. She’s too impulsive, and she can’t hold her tongue.”

A chair scraped and Yasmin started as Giles dropped into the seat.

“My sister has been borne away by Pettigrew, supposedly suffering from a headache. From his glowering demeanor, I’d guess that Lydia has managed to upset even that most placid of peers.”

“She is a hoity-toity Holy Willie,” the duke said. “Spiteful, thoughtless, and hypocritical. If you’ll forgive the insult to your sister, Lilford.” At a tilt of His Grace’s chin, a footman sprang forward and poured Giles some wine, filling Yasmin’s glass as well.

“She takes after my mother,” Giles said. “More to the point, Lydia has gone home. Lady Melton has announced that the quartet will play a few waltzes, Lady Yasmin. May I request your hand for the first?”

The rest of the evening was delightful. Everyone in the ballroom eyed them waltzing and chattered about it, but Yasmin didn’t care. She just wanted to keep circling the floor in Giles’s arms, his legs brushing hers with every turn they took. At some point, she leaned back in his arms and laughed at him. “This is my favorite waltz of all we have shared.”

“Why?”

“Because of the way you’re looking at me,” she said under her breath.

“As if I want to ravish you?”

She cleared her throat. “Lord Lilford, I must ask you to behave with more dignity.” She burst into giggles.

“When you laugh, I fear that your breasts might escape your bodice,” Giles said a moment or two later.

Yasmin frowned at him. “Are you saying I am too voluptuous for this gown?”

“I can see into your bodice,” he said, the raw hunger in his eyes soothing to her spirits. “Lush breasts, hoisted into the air by your corset.”

“That’s one way to put it,” she said rather dryly.

“I just don’t want other men to enjoy them.”

She sighed. “Since you’ve brought up my clothing several times, Giles, I am assuming that you would like me to attire myself more genteelly. I use that word ‘genteelly’ deliberately, by the way, because those at the top of society have no need to pay attention to the small-minded impulses of the prudish.”

The waltz drew to a close. “May I escort you for a walk in the gardens?” Giles asked.

They had already created a stir, but they needed to talk frankly.

“You want me to be a wallflower,” Yasmin said when they were far enough from the house so that no one could hear them. When he didn’t speak, she threw him a look. “I am not a wallflower. It’s not in me. Frankly, that has nothing to do with my clothing.”

Her fiancé’s face took on the dismissive expression that she hated. “You are exaggerating. I don’t want you to be a wallflower. I’m merely frustrated. The Countess of Lilford will be a leader in society, but that doesn’t mean all the men in the room should be able to imagine her in their bed.”

“I’ve said this repeatedly. I am not a leader,” Yasmin said flatly. “I never will be, except perhaps when it comes to fashion, which I understand better than you do.”