“You were weeping.”
“Tears of joy! Our chances raised from one in hundreds to one in three. A man is allowed to have emotions, Reeves.”
“If you say so.”
“My God you’re tense.” Cooper frowned. “We’rebetterthan him. We’re going to win this competition and prove it. With prize money in hand, you can wipe the smug look off of Bishop’s face for good, and then ride off into the sunset victorious, raising His Majesty’s flag high.”
“Drop it, Cooper.” Seth glared at him. Appearing disrespectful be damned. A man had his limits.
“No flag, then?” Cooper reached for a flute of champagne from a wandering footman and tipped it back. Seth wished for a moment hecoulddrink, so he, too, could surrender himself to the delightful oblivion of a muddled mind. But not here, even if he was confident that he could get away with it. Lord Bolderwood was more than distracted at the refreshment table to the side of the room.
A crowd had formed around the Earl, a man in a naval officer’s dress blues, Mr. Edgars pompous and preening, and a trio of simpering young ladies with their matching mamas. But Seth knew the Earl always had one eye trained on him. He glanced at the half-full champagne flute in Cooper’s hand with longing and then stifled it.
It wasn’t worth it.
He felt like a boy beneath the high plastered ceilings of the ballroom. This was his first invitation into the room, though he had broken in several times. Once out of curiosity, and he was rewarded with three days of isolation. Which really, was plenty of time to learn his lesson, and he wasn’t caught the nextfourtimes when he broke in out of spite.
It was his first time seeing the room lit, and hearing the music from the ten-man orchestra on the raised stage without the muffling of brick. It was ungodly loud. The wailing of violins against the melodic strumming of the piano was pleasant enough, but the blaring of the trumpet was no different to Seth’s ears than a bugle at sunrise reveille, and it ruined the experience. A rustling of silk dresses crossed by his vision as guests danced to a quadrille, kicking up overpowering clouds of perfume in their wake.
His head throbbed.
Fighting the urge to leave, he checked the clock right as the second hand moved.
Eleven forty-five.
He would stay for another fifteen minutes, and then he would leave.
His gaze traveled to Cassandra off to the side of the ballroom, and some of the tension eased from his shoulders. He shouldn’t stare, but a man ought to be allowedsomesmall pleasures. Lady Dorchester stood off to the side, tutting at Lady Jasmine while she weaved an intricate joke, waving her hands in a show of emotion that was surely more than acceptable in polite society. At the punchline, Cassandra threw her head back and laughed so loud Seth could hear her from across the crowded room.
Time stopped.
Radiant and unrestrained, head up, eyes twinkling. She laughed until her body shook. Little breaths of giggles escaped her as she recovered. She raised her hand, touching a gloved fingertip to a bead of moisture at the corner of her eye, careful not to smudge the faint dusting of powder there. She smiled wider than he thought possible. Her caramel eyes shifted in his direction, a hint of her teeth visible from her parted lips. His spine melted, and heyearned, and hewanted,and he wondered what it would take to get her to laugh like that with him.
Becauseof him.
He maintained eye contact with her until a blush beset her features and she shifted her gaze shyly back to Lady Jasmine.
The clock’s second hand moved to eleven forty-six.
“Good,” Cooper said, following his gaze to Cassandra. “She’s finally enjoying herself. I knew that time with Lady Jasmine would be good for her. She’s been so withdrawn, but I think she’s starting to come around. It brings me joy to see it.”
Seth whole-heartedly agreed, but he kept his silence.
“If only someone were to ask her to dance,” Cooper said in a tone that Seth was now too familiar with.
“I will not be dancing.”
“You would have me believe that you cannot dance?”
“I did not say that Icannotdance.” Seth faced him. “Iwillnot. More than that, I won’t be party to your sabotage.”
“Sabotage?!” Cooper’s jaw dropped. “That I would even be accused of such a thing! I love my sister, Reeves, and her happiness is my utmost concern at all times.” He mumbled beneath his breath, “Sabotage.Hmph. The disrespect—”
“It will do her no favors to have her first dance be with me,” Seth interrupted, fed up with his friend’s theatrics. “Or any dance, for that matter.”
“I disagree.” Cooper grinned. “Cassandra is a talented dancer, it would benefit her greatly for others to see that.”
“Cooper,” Seth warned him once again. It was a fight enough to stay away, even without the other man’s goading. To hear her laugh was almost enough to tempt Seth into strolling over to where she stood, kiss her on the hand, get her to blush and smilebecause of him,to touch her, to tell her, toshow herhow she crippled him.
