She felt light-headed.What is happening?
“You know, Your Grace,” she murmured, gazing up at him with wide, curious eyes, “it was very recently that you were telling me that our marriage would be on paper only. I do not think it is the custom of husbands who want only to be married to their wives on paper to hold them quitethisclose.”
“Is it too close?” he mused, raising an eyebrow. “I was under the impression that the waltz required one to be close to his partner.”
“It was banned at Almack’s just for that reason,” she retorted. “And if the matrons of Almack’s could see you now, they would reinstitute the ban at once.”
“Several matrons of Almack’scansee me right now in fact,” Winston said, glancing around them. “And they look as if they are about to faint. Should we get even closer and give them even more of a show?”
“Personally, I would very much like to be invited back here, so I think not.”
“You think a little scandal will get the Duke and Duchess of Thornfield not invited back to the Vanderbilts’ ball?” He raisedan eyebrow. “You should count more on people’s snobbery. It can insulate one from all manner of scandal.”
Vanessa laughed. “Is that how you have gotten away with all your shenanigans over the years? Knowing everyone will forgive you because they need the approval of a duke so badly?”
“What shenanigans?” he asked innocently. She raised an eyebrow but said nothing. She still was not sure that he was actually involved in the Vigilantes of Virtue or if she was being silly and paranoid.
“I suppose I have been a touch cold and indifferent,” he said, looking around again. “But I think thetonwill be eager to forgive me now that I have a beautiful wife.”
Even though he had already called her beautiful, there was something about the casual, possessive way he said this that lit Vanessa’s body on fire. She breathed in sharply, her body heating as she gazed up at him.
“I am afraid they will be even less forgiving,” she whispered, “since they will be disappointed you did not marry them.”
“Only the ladies,” he pointed out, his smile mischievous. “Although I suppose the men will be jealous as well, seeing as how every single one of them currently wishes to step in and steal you away from me for the next dance.”
“I doubt that,” she said, laughing, and he raised an eyebrow.
“Then you are not seeing what I am seeing. Believe me, a man knows.”
She felt as if she were vibrating. Everything inside of her was humming: excitement, confidence, and a heady mixture of desire and tantalizing fear. It felt as if everything was changing between them, as if the air were thicker and full of electric energy, as if everything was going to change after tonight. But that only made the fear even stronger. If, after tonight, he still had not kissed her, she did not know what she was going to do.
But the way he was watching her now, she did not know how he couldn’t kiss her. His eyes were raking across her face, lingering on her lips, and when she bit them and looked away, his grip on her tightened, as if his need for her was so strong he couldn’t help himself.
“You are bewitching,” he murmured as he spun her across the dance floor. “Every man here knows it.”
“I do not care if they all know it,” she said, her voice low and throaty. “There is only one man’s opinion I care about.”
She knew she was being bold, but she couldn’t help herself. The desperation in her was growing stronger. The desperation to have him. For their marriage to be real. For him to want her and claim her proudly.
“Oh?” he murmured, a wild look in his eyes that made her stomach clench. “And who might that be?”
She smiled, but before she could answer, the song came to an end, and they were left standing breathless in front of each other, far closer than propriety demanded. She was staring up into his dark eyes, and they were fastened on her. The wildness in them was getting stronger. His breathing was labored. His hands were still gripping her tightly.
He was going to kiss her. At any moment, she knew, he was going to kiss her in front of the entireton.
“Your Grace? May I cut in?”
Vanessa started and looked around, tearing her eyes away from Winston, and was shocked to see a young man standing next to her, glancing from Winston to her a little nervously. She had met him before; he was a very eligible bachelor whom many of the debutantes were eager to ensnare. He had, of course, never spoken to Vanessa before, let alone asked her to dance.
“Oh, good evening,” she said, releasing Winston’s hands.
“I was just wondering if I might have the next dance,” the gentleman said, bowing.
“Oh, well, I—” she began, but before she could finish the sentence, her husband interrupted.
“Her next dance is taken,” he said. Vanessa was shocked to hear how short and irritated he sounded. The gentleman stared at him, taken aback, and then bowed.
“I s-see,” he stammered. “Please excuse the interruption. My apologies.”
