Page 57 of A Lady of Conscience

“Very dangerous.”

“A lot of danger, then.” Jack promenaded down the line with her. “I’ve too much energy for Somerset. Too much, even, for London. What I need is a bit of adventure.”

She flashed him a narrow look. “You sound like Charles did before he left home.”

“Let me hazard a guess. You didn’t like him joining up either.”

“No, I didn’t,” she said frankly. “I know how it feels to be left behind. When a gentleman goes away to war, it is dreadfully hard on his family.”

“My family will soon grow accustomed to the idea,” Jack said before they separated once more.

When they next came together, Hannah asked him, “What is it to be, then? The Army or the Navy?”

“I’ve not decided yet,” he said. An expression of seriousness crossed his face. “I confess, the Naval stories that Charles has shared give me pause. For all its inconveniences, Her Majesty’s Army is at least on dry land.”

“You should speak with my father. He was in the cavalry for many years. Perhaps he could advise you?”

“Now why didn’t I think of that?” Jack asked. He turned her again before they parted.

At the close of the set, he escorted her from the floor and back to her brother. Hannah’s pulse quickened to find James standing with him, looking immaculate as ever. His cool gray gaze fell on her. The faintest shadow of a smile edged his mouth.

Her heart leapt in response to it. At the same time, she felt an overpowering trembling in her stomach, recalling the way he’d kissed her on the stairs of the Norman tower. The warmth of his lips. The unevenness of his breath. The way he’d held her so tightly, without art or finesse. The memory alone was enough to inspire a blush. This time she failed to suppress it.

“Miss Heywood.” James bowed to her.

“Lord St. Clare.” She curtsied to him in return.

Observing their formality, Jack grinned with gleeful amusement. “You’re late,” he said to his older brother. “You’ve missed the first set with her.”

James’s gaze remained on Hannah’s face. “Perhaps she would be generous enough to grant me the next one?”

“I would be honored, my lord,” Hannah replied.

“Heywood?” James briefly looked to Charles for permission.

“By all means,” Charles said. “If my sister has no objection.”

The orchestra was already beginning the first notes of a waltz as Hannah set her hand on James’s sleeve and allowed him to lead her onto the floor. The trembling in her stomach increased, half anxiety and half anticipation. She had dreamed of waltzing with him again.

“How well you timed your arrival,” she remarked as she stepped into his arms. “Just as you did at the Carletons’ ball.”

“It wasn’t by design,” he said. “I’d have been here earlier, but one of my horses came up lame. I went down to the Bull and Crown to have a look at him.”

Her brow contracted with immediate concern. “Is he all right?”

“He strained his hock. It’s nothing a few days’ rest and a solicitously applied poultice won’t cure.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” she said. “Glad you tended to him first.”

“I was confident you would understand.” James expertly led her into the first turn.

Hannah’s breath caught, just as it had the last time they’d waltzed.

But no, she realized. It wasn’t at all the same.

Then, she had been in awe of him. He had seemed almost godlike, too handsome and elegant to be partnered with a mere mortal like herself. On this occasion, however, Hannah knew them to be equals.

Her mouth curved in a dreamy smile as he waltzed her around the floor. The candlelight blurred about them, the flames shimmering in the ladies’ colorful skirts and glinting in their jewels. It was magical. Romantic. Everything Hannah could have wished it to be.