“Yes,” she muttered, more flattered than she cared to admit that he remembered. “I’m sorry, I don’t remember yours.”
“September 23rd.”
“Oh! That is very close!” She smiled up at him, unable to disguise her delight. “How serendipitous that we should almost share a birthday!”
“How serendipitous indeed.” He moved aside at that moment, and Leah caught sight of herself in the mirror. To her surprise, she looked entirely different than she had a minute ago.
Her shoulders were relaxed, her jaw was unclenched, her hands were falling comfortably at her sides, and she was smiling.
“You see?” he murmured, as he came to stand behind her again. “The key to good conversation isn’t to have the perfect reply ready. It’s simply to be relaxed, go with the flow, and really listen to what the other person is saying.”
Her eyes met his in the mirror, and she nodded. She hadn’t wanted to admit that he was right, especially as he pointed out her flaws, but she could see now that he had a point. And he was helping her. It was clear just by observing herself that she was improving.
For the first time since Lord Dubois burst into the parlor, Leah felt a flicker of hope.
Chapter Four
“How is she doing?” Lucien asked, and Dorian looked around to see his old friend standing next to him, his face creased with worry. Glancing in the direction Lucien was looking, Dorian saw that he, also, was watching Lady Leah as she conversed with a group of gentlemen.
They were in Lucien’s music room once again, but this time, it was full of people. The Duchess had hired a quartet to play tonight for their amusement, and Dorian and Lady Leah had decided this was the perfect opportunity for her to practice speaking to gentlemen.
So far, it looked to be going well.
“She is doing well,” Dorian said, standing up as well so that he could speak to Lucien more easily. “I have been instructing her on how to feel more relaxed and conversational. Hopefully that will lead to deeper acquaintances with some of these gentlemen.”
“More relaxed and conversational?” Lucien looked even more confused. “But Leah has always been very spontaneous . Perhaps not as much as Eve, but still…”
“She converses freely around her family,” Dorian pointed out. “It’s not always as easy around strangers, especially when those are the most judgemental strangers you’ll ever meet.”
“Members of the ton?” Lucien asked with a snort. “Yes, they are very judgemental.”
“She is doing very well, though,” Dorian repeated, nodding in satisfaction as he took in his pupil. Her shoulders were relaxed, she was smiling naturally, and there was an air of calmness to her that Dorian hadn’t seen before. The small group of gentlemen seemed to be riveted. There were three of them around her, and as Dorian watched, one even offered to refill her champagne flute for her.
“As long as this leads to a proposal,” Lucien said. “I wouldn’t like to think I’m letting you spend so much time alone with my sister and she doesn’t get a husband out of it.”
Lucien moved away, and for a moment, Dorian felt a flicker of doubt. Would he be able to get Lady Leah married in such a short amount of time? He believed in himself, and he believed in her, but the stakes were so extraordinarily high.
Not only could it end in her marrying Lord Dubois, but it could end in him losing Lucien, the only real friend he’d ever had.
Just then, the music started, and Dorian was thoroughly gratified to see one of the gentlemen talking to Lady Leah bow to her and hold out his hand.
He is asking her to dance!At once, all of Dorian’s doubt vanished. In one day, she’d made so much progress that she had charmed a man into dancing with her!
Next step, wedding bells. He grinned to himself and watched as the two of them headed to the floor, where they were soon joined by half a dozen other couples. The gentleman bowed before Lady Leah, and she smiled happily and curtsied. The smile on her face was so genuine, so excited, that he wanted to share it. But instead of feeling victorious, Dorian felt something else: a small tightening in his stomach, as well as a bitter taste in the back of his mouth.
Shaking himself, he tried to focus. What had momentarily happened to him? It was a strange sensation , and one he’d never felt before.
The dance continued, and after several minutes, it became evident to Dorian that Lady Leah’s dance partner was utterly useless. He was graceless and kept messing up the steps of the simple country dance. Worse still, it was starting to make Lady Leah nervous, and she kept glancing around, her movements growing more stiff as well. No, he could have none of this.
Standing up, Dorian moved to the dancefloor, and when the gentleman and Lady Leah came to the edge of the row, he stepped forward.
“May I cut in?” he asked, taking Lady Leah’s hand with so much grace that the other man gaped at him.
“I--well--I wasn’t--”
“Very good,” Dorian said, smiling at the gentleman as if he had politely said yes, instead of gargling nonsense at him. ” It hadn’t actually been a question, anyway. If he, the Duke of Nottington, wanted to cut in, then by God, he was going to cut in.
“Have a good day,” he said to the gentleman, as he swept Lady Leah away, back into the whirl of the dance. She was smiling—not the pretty, practiced smile she’d bestowed on her admirers, but an impish and oddly alluring curve of the lips .
