Her gown was a bold purple, her blond tresses twisted into a careless bun rather than bedecked with curls.
He supposed saving time with one’s toilette was one of the advantages of being a spinster.
The bold colors and unfussy hair suited her. The tiny laugh lines at the corners of her sparkling blue eyes did not remind him of her age, but rather evoked her infectious laugh and boisterous spirit.
Miss Finch probablywoulddance on a piano.
She probablyhaddanced on a piano.
Alexander could not help but think he’d perhaps attended all of the wrong parties.
“Tell me,” she said. “Which woman has caught your interest?”
“Er...” he replied eloquently.
Miss Finch raised her eyebrows as if she’d wait patiently all night for Alexander to help her helphim.
“You said Lady Gertrude is hiding?” There. Her cousin was a perfectly safe topic. “What is she hiding from?”
“You,” she answered without hesitation. “Gertie’s shy. She’s terrified of you.”
“Me?” he sputtered. “I’m not frightening.”
“Go and prove it to her.” Miss Finch smiled innocently. “I promise any given debutante in this room will be delighted to show off her skill at the pianoforte, if you’d like to take this opportunity to invite Gertie to be your first dance partner of the Yuletide.”
Diabolical logic.
“Very well played,” he said with admiration. “I thought you were supposed to bemylieutenant, not Lady Gertrude’s.”
“How can you determine which young woman is the right one, if you don’t come to know them all?” Miss Finch pointed out. “You might as well begin with Gertie as anyone. I’ll even spread a rumor that you’d like to see how the others stack up at the pianoforte.”
“Wait,” he said, but of course Miss Finch did not.
By the time Lady Gertrude played the final notes of the country-dance, a queue had already started to form behind the bench with other young ladies eager to display their talent with music.
Alexander arrived at the dais just as the next melody began.
“What lucky happenstance,” said Miss Finch. “It’s a waltz.”
“Youtoldher to play a waltz,” said Lady Gertrude.
Miss Finch shoved her into Alexander’s arms. “Can’t talk. Must join the other spinsters in the shadows. Have a lovely dance, you two.”
She vanished into the crowd.
There was nothing left to do but waltz.
“Your cousin is terrifying,” he told Lady Gertrude.
She brightened. “Cynthia Louise will be delighted to hear that. She always says, if you can’t please someone, scare the pants off of them instead.”
“That’s something shealwayssays?” he repeated, then replayed her words in his mind. “She thinks she doesn’t please me?”
“She knows she doesn’t please you,” Lady Gertrude said. “If she pleased you, you would have married her years ago, before she was a spinster. Cynthia Louise says she doubts you even remember her at her come-out. She says the only reason you invite her to your Christmas parties is because your sister makes you.”
All of that was... uncomfortably true.
“Belle can’t ‘make’ me do anything,” he said instead. “I’m a duke, and she’s—”
