The words were simple. That was what made them dangerous.
Frances looked away, but not quickly enough to hide the blush she felt rising. “You cannot say things like that in the middle of a dance.”
“Why not?”
“Because I am required to continue moving and cannot think of a sensible reply.”
“A rare advantage.”
She looked back at him. “You are very pleased with yourself.”
“Not particularly.”
“No?”
His expression softened, and for one moment the ballroom seemed quieter around them. “I was displeased withhim.”
“So I gathered.”
“And concerned for you.”
The admission was spoken without flourish, almost reluctantly, as if honesty had escaped before he could make it more manageable. Frances’s heart gave a foolish little ache.
“He angered me,” she admitted. “He did not wound me.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.” Andrew’s eyes held hers. “I did not step in because I believed you helpless, Frances.”
The sound of her name in his voice unsettled her more than any liberty Mr. Langley could have taken.
“Then why?” she asked softly.
The dance turned them once more. His hand guided her with perfect steadiness. When he answered, his voice was lower than before.
“Because I was near enough to do so.”
It was not a grand declaration. It was not poetry. It was not even, strictly speaking, an explanation. Yet Frances felt it enter her with more force than any studied speech could have done.
Because I was near enough.
It was because he had seen, because he had cared, because his protection, however clumsy at times, had not been born merely of pride or possession.
She swallowed. “That is not a sufficient answer.”
“It is the truest one I have.”
Her fingers rested against his shoulder. Beneath her glove, she could feel the strength of him, controlled and warm. The room spun gently around them: candlelight, music, roses, silk. But Frances saw only Andrew’s face, the guarded tenderness in it, and the effort it cost him not to hide it.
“You are very troublesome,” she said playfully.
His mouth curved. “So you have told me.”
“I expect I shall be obliged to tell you again.”
“I shall endeavor to listen with humility.”
