She turned toward the voice, her eyes narrowing as she met his gaze and arched a brow.
He might have caught her off guard before, but not again.“Lord Hawthorne.”She offered her hand and resisted a shiver as his warm hand took hers, placing it on his arm as he led them to the dance floor.His cane tapped once—soft, almost apologetic—against the parquet before he tucked it beneath his coat.
His lips tipped up in a half smile, as if trying to keep his expression from revealing too much.
“Don’t disguise your amusement on my account, my lord.”Pere spoke sweetly, met his gaze as he wrapped his hand around her waist for the frame of the waltz.
Effortlessly, he led them into the swirling dancers.The scent of bergamot and leather drifted from his coat, and she hated that she noticed.
“And what amusement am I disguising?”he asked, his eyes roaming her features, somehow making her feel beautiful, fascinating.She shook her head.
“Stop it,” she commanded, then glowered for good measure, then offered a smile to a passing dancing couple.
“Stop what?”His tone was honey and heat, just low enough to make her involuntarily move forward to better hear him.
“How—” She stopped, flustered.“You’re good.I’ll give you that.”
“At?”he asked, caressing the word as he tightened his hand at her waist.
Her traitorous body warmed, her focus pinpointing on the exact place on the body where he touched her.
“This is… how do you do that?Good Lord, I don’t even particularly like you—”
“But you could,” he murmured.
The truth struck too close.“I’m not answering that.”She took a safe route, her skin flushing as he continued to regard her with that blasted, yet sinfully delicious gaze.
“The smartest decision you’ve made tonight.”
Like a page being turned, his whole demeanor shifted, and he regarded her with an aloof detachment.“I suggest you give more weight to your brother’s words, my lady.”His hand loosened its hold on her waist, ever so slightly, and his expression cleared completely.
“How—”
“You seem to be preoccupied with that word this evening,” he interrupted.“But I’ll answer regardless, because I can.Because gentlemen such as myself will use our charm and hundreds of other tactics to engage your… bod—” He cut off the word, as if realizing it was scandalous to even mention and frowned.“Yourself against you, for our own purposes.Using what you don’t know against you.So, in light of this revelation, I suggest you amend your plans for this season.”
Pere blinked, simmering over his words before landing on the last phrase that he spoke.“What plans, may I ask?”She clipped the words.Surely her brother didn’t betray her musings—or perhaps, maybe they were more than musings.But surely, he didn’t divulge all her carefully laid plans to Lord Hawthorne.
“Rakes do not make the best husbands, and they will never be reformed.I don’t know who told you such lies, but—”
Pere stepped on his boot, hard, and glared.
“What did my boot do to you, Lady Peregrine?”Lord Hawthorne asked, biting back a grin, his eyes crinkling up on the sides ever so slightly.“I assure you, I’ve not stepped on your delicate toes once.”
“I cannot believe my brother—”
“Who is concerned about you, and rightfully so—”
“I’m not going to be foolish—”
“You already are.”
“I’ve been to one ball—”
“It doesn’t take more than one whisper to cause a ripple effect, and you’ll be no longer reforming rakes, Lady Peregrine, you’ll simply be ruined.And I, for one, do not wish that on you.So, rather than allow your wounded pride to dictate your words and actions…” He glanced to his boot.
Pere held a tight breath, forcing herself not to abandon him on the dance floor.That would do more harm than good, and everyone would talk.No, she was avoiding that, and like a snake in the grass, he must have known that.In fact, she stopped listening as all the puzzle pieces fell into place.
“You asked for a waltz so you could scold me?”She interrupted whatever lecture he was giving and watched his expression.“And you used your charm on me to make a point, one that you are continuing to beat, like a dead horse, in the middle of a ballroom where I cannot make any escape without causing talk.”She blinked, then gave a humorless laugh.“I must say I’m impressed and outmaneuvered, my lord.I’d clap for your performance, but I don’t think it will have the desired effect.”Her tone was forcibly sweet as she watched his deep brown eyes narrow.
