Lady Patience tapped her father with her fan. “You most certainly do, Papa. Do not tease Lord Stanford.”
“All right, my girl,” the duke said, seeming to be in all good humor to be reprimanded by his daughter.
“Lady Patience,” Marcus said, holding out his arm. She laid her hand gently upon it and he led them to their places.
There was something like nearby lightning in her touch. He felt the hair on his arms stand up as though he’d got too close to a summer storm. He had the ungodly urge to rip off her glove and touch her skin.
What was wrong with him?
He led them to their place for La Boulangere. The Duchess of Devonshire had already called that it would be six couples per circle. As was usually the case, the most senior lord and his lady partner of each circle would act the lead couple. For their own circle, that would be the Marquess of Haddonfield.
Kendrickson and Radler had also made their way into his circle. Marcus was annoyed to note them both surreptitiously smile at Lady Patience. They were not very subtle at it either, as evidenced by their partners’ rather irritated expressions. Particularly not Lady Rose, who had been acclaimed as last season’s diamond and did not seem enthusiastic to encounter more ladies making their debuts.
The music began and the marquess nodded to signal the grand ronde. As they made their way round the circle, Marcus said, “I see you’ve met my friends.”
It was a stupid thing to say, but his mind was not cooperating with him particularly well this evening.
“Yes,” Lady Patience said, “I suppose you would have seen them put their names down on my card. As you were there.”
“Yes,” he said.
“I just happened to be looking that way at the time,” Lady Patience said. “I was not certain you would put yourself down.”
Marcus’ eyes widened. He supposed she’d seen that he’d hesitated. What on earth should he say about it?
He supposed the truth was all he’d got.
“That was not at all what it may have appeared to be,” he said. “It was only my caution, as there is another lady here that I have been encouraged to meet and I had already committed myself to the other dances.”
Well. That was notquitethe truth. Nobody had encouraged him to secure Lady Alice for a dance. He’d encouraged himself upon hearing of her sedate temperament.
He felt a need to fill in the ensuing silence. “I was told the lady is rather serious, and so I thought supper might suit…” He was just rambling now, and so he stopped.
Lady Patience’s eyes flashed as they came to the end of the grand ronde. “Oh I see. Lady Alice, was it?”
How on earth would she know it had been Lady Alice?
“Uh, yes,” he said. “People have mentioned that she and I should meet.” Marcus hoped his face did not look as embarrassed as he in fact was. He’d saidpeoplehad encouraged him to seek out Lady Alice. What people? Were there now to be mysteriouspeoplewho went round whispering proposed introductions? It was absurd.
“Indeed,” Lady Patience said. “Peoplehave very good things to say about Lady Alice.”
She smiled sweetly at him as she said it. Was she serious, or was she well aware of the nonexistence ofpeopleand simply mocking him?
What was this creature? She was at once alluring and uncomfortably confrontational. What other lady would question why he’d hesitated in putting his name down on her card? A usual lady would simply tuck her irritation in her reticule and say no more about it. What other lady would mock his pathetic excuse of blamingpeoplefor the hesitation? He was leaning toward the opinion that she did mock him, too. A usual lady might smile and nod and pretend the excuse had been swallowed whole, even if it had not been.
Certainly, such a lady as this could not be suited to him. They had just met and she questioned and mocked him—what picture did that paint of the future? Not a comfortable one, he was sure.
And yet, he found himself unwilling to look away.
