There was more to him than he let on, she felt certain, but she had yet to discover what exactly it was.
Chapter Seven
“There are several men here tonight who I think fit your criteria,” Dorian murmured in Lady Leah’s ear, startling her out of her conversation with Lady Vivian Bellmond. Lady Leah looked around, her eyes settling on him and narrowing slightly.
“There you are,” she murmured. “I have been looking for you ever since we arrived!”
“Eager for another dance, are you?” he said, smirking at her, and she gave him a sardonic smile.
“Eager for you to introduce me to more gentlemen,” she corrected. “Or have you forgotten that you are no longer sabotaging me but helping me find, if not my love match, then the next best thing?”
“How could I forget?” Dorian quipped, even as he felt his stomach lurch slightly.The next best thing.She deserved muchmore than that. Unfortunately, it was the most he could promise her, especially considering that it was the end of the Season and pickings were slim. However, he had settled on one prospect.
“Lord Eaton is here tonight,” he said, nodding across the ballroom of Almack’s to where a tall, slender gentleman was just exiting the dancefloor with another young lady. “I spoke to him at my club yesterday, and he is both eager to find a bride and desirous of a large family. What do you think? Shall I make the introduction?”
Lady Leah gazed across the ballroom at Lord Eaton. There was a strange look in her eyes that Dorian hadn’t seen before, and for a moment, he felt uncertain.
Is Lord Eaton a bad prospect? Did I choose wrongly?
But then Lady Leah blinked and looked back at him, her face breaking into a wide smile. “That is perfect. I would very much appreciate an introduction.”
Dorian should have been relieved that she was pleased , but instead, all he felt was a dull hardening in the pit of his stomach. Now that he thought about it, Lord Eaton was a little bit plain-looking for a woman as beautiful as Lady Leah. And he could rather go on about the books he loved to read. It could be quite tedious listening to him…
But it was too late to change his mind and tell her that actually, Lord Eaton wasn’t good enough for her. He had already ruined things with Lord Trembley--rightly, he still maintained--and heknew that he couldn’t risk ruining things with another potential suitor.
So once Lord Eaton had said goodbye to his dance partner, Dorian caught his eye and gestured with his head that he should join them . He had mentioned Lady Leah to Lord Eaton the night before at his club, that he thought they would get along very well, and once Lord Eaton saw with whom Dorian was standing, he made a beeline for the three of them.
“Lord Eaton,” Dorian greeted him, shaking his hand as he joined them on the edge of the dancefloor. “How good to see you here this evening.”
“It is good to see you as well,” Lord Eaton said, his eyes flickering from Dorian to Lady Leah. As they did, Dorian was sure he saw the man’s eyes widen with admiration. How could they not? Lady Leah looked particularly ravishing tonight in a silk dress of silver and white. The delicate moonlight shades made her look like an ethereal, heavenly creature that had descended to earth for the night.
Good God, why am I thinking in the terms of a bad erotic novel?
Shaking himself, Dorian turned to Lady Leah. “Lady Leah, may I introduce you to Lord Eaton? He is a friend of mine from my club. Lord Eaton, this is Lady Leah, the younger sister of my dear friend, the Duke of Dredford.”
“Lady Leah,” Lord Eaton said, taking her hand and bowing low over it.At least he didn’t kiss it, Dorian thought as the man’s lipsbrushed too low for comfort.How gauchethat would be.Lord Eaton looked back up at Lady Leah. “It is a pleasure to meet you. And may I please add that you look very beautiful tonight? I can barely take my eyes off of you.”
“Oh, thank you, Lord Eaton,” Lady Leah said, blushing prettily as she curtsied to him. “This is my friend, Lady Vivian Bellmond.”
Lord Eaton bowed to her as well, then quickly--and predictably--returned his attention to Lady Leah.
“Would you care to dance, Lady Leah? I believe that the waltz is next.”
“I would love to dance,” she said, and the shyness in her smile looked so real that Dorian wondered if she was actually interested in Lord Eaton.She can’t be that good at flirting already, can she?!He looked back at Lord Eaton and really tried to evaluate him. Was he actually handsome? He was tall, yes, but too slender. His hair was auburn, and he had kind gray eyes, but his chin was too weak, and his nose was crooked.
No, she cannot possibly find him handsome.
But as the music changed and Lord Eaton took Lady Leah’s hand to take her to the floor, Dorian was less sure. She was smiling so warmly up at him, and once the music began in earnest and they began to dance, she moved with him effortlessly, as if all her fear of the dance had melted away and she was as attuned to his lead as she had been to Dorian’s.
But she just met him! he thought indignantly as he watched the two of them.She cannot be attuned to him as a dancer! Nor is he anywhere near as proficient as I am…
“Are you proud of your student’s accomplishments?” Lady Vivian Bellmond asked him in a low voice, and Dorian started. He had completely forgotten that she was still there. Glancing down, he saw her watching him with an amused--and knowing--look on her face.
He cleared his throat and drew himself up, wondering what expression he’d been wearing on his face to make Lady Bellmond look at him like she was now.
“Pardon me?” he asked, and she nodded at where Lady Leah and Lord Eaton were dancing.
“She told me you helped her learn to waltz,” Lady Bellmond said. “I was wondering if you were admiring how proficient she had become under your tutelage.”
