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“No, I imagine he wouldn’t,” Lady Elsmere said with a bray of laughter. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you, Lady Carstairs. He’s a very dangerous man. ”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Lady Elsmere,” Rohan said coolly, “I’m a woolly lamb. ”
Again that noisy laugh. “Come sit by me later, my dear, and I’ll tell you all about him. In the meantime, why don’t you two dance? That will at least keep his hands decently occupied. ”
He pulled her away, keeping a tight grip on her. “Did you have to pinch me so hard?” she demanded in an angry whisper.
“You looked as if you were about to start in on a lecture about the rights of women or something equally tedious. You’re supposed to be here as my lover. ”
“As your friend,” she corrected.
“And why would my ‘friend’ join a party of notorious hellions for the evening? Curiosity?”
“Perhaps. Maybe I wanted to make converts to my cause. ”
“Then you chose the wrong group. ”
Music was coming from one of the adjoining rooms, and he began to steer her in that direction “You’ll dance with me,” he said. “Lady Elsmere’s orders. ”
“What a charming request. No, I won’t!”
He sighed. “If every step is going to be a battle we won’t discover what the Heavenly Host is planning until next Christmas,” he said in an undertone. “May I have the honor of this dance?”
Author: Anne Stuart
He could see her hesitate, and she would have liked to say no. But he didn’t make the mistake of underestimating her intelligence—she knew perfectly well that if she didn’t make an effort they’d get nowhere.
“It’s a waltz,” she said in a wary voice.
“Exactly,” he said. And before she could say no he pulled her into his arms and whirled her into the next room and onto the dance floor.
She stumbled at first, as if she weren’t used to dancing, and he slowed his pace, letting her grow accustomed to the sound of the music, the feel of his hands on her, the closeness of their bodies. She was as stiff as a board, awkward, and he tried to quiet his impatience. He danced well, particularly for such a tall man, and he usually tried to avoid clumsy partners.
“Relax,” he said in her ear, her curls tickling his nose.
“I can’t relax, I’m trying to dance. ”
“You’re failing. ” He spun her, just a bit, in an effort to throw her off guard. She was trying too hard, and the only way they were going to get through the dance without his reputation in shreds would be to startle her into relaxing. “It’s like sex, my darling,” he murmured in her ear. “Just stop fighting and let me lead. ”
11
Melisande stopped abruptly, astonished and outraged, and he almost knocked into her. And then before she realized what he was doing he’d pulled her back into the dance, and she was so disturbed that she didn’t stop to worry about following him, about her steps, about anything, as he moved her across the dance floor. “I beg your pardon,” she said, her magnificent blue eyes glaring up at him.
“Fighting so soon, Rohan?” Harry Merton said with a grin as he waltzed by with a scantily dressed young lady in his arms.
Melisande immediately controlled her reaction. She didn’t like Harry Merton, she didn’t like Lady Elsmere and right now she positively detested Benedick Rohan. He hadn’t meant a word of it, of course, he just wanted to throw her off balance, and he’d succeeded. If she had any choice at all, she would have kicked him in the shins and walked out of the party without a backward glance. But the memory of Aileen’s scarred face was enough to stop her. Who was she to complain about putting up with the manners of social ninnies when there were lives at stake?
“Lady Carstairs has a passionate nature,” Rohan said calmly as they circled around Merton. “She enjoys fighting. ”
“Enjoys making up even more, I’ll warrant,” Merton said with a loose grin. “You’re a lucky man, Rohan. ”
“Indeed,” he said, glancing down at her, and she stared up, momentarily disconcerted. His eyes were a dark, dark green, not black after all, and his dark eyelashes ringed them, framing them. It was no wonder he was reputed to be such a rake, she thought dizzily. Who could resist someone who could look at you with such vivid stillness, drawing you into their gaze? She could feel herself falling, falling…
And then the music stopped, and he was no longer holding her. His hand dropped from her waist and for a moment she felt dizzy, almost bereft. “You can dance after all,” he said in a low voice. “As long as you’re too angry to think about what you’re doing. ”
“I wasn’t angry,” she said in a deliberately sweet voice. “Merely astonished at your good taste. ”
He laughed at that, and several people turned to observe them. “You really are delicious, Lady Carstairs. Perhaps I’ll decide to seduce you in earnest, not just to shock you into dancing well. ”
