Page 32 of The Language of Love

He turned away from Miriam—who was ignoring him in such a pointed way that it made Annis squirm—and caught Annis’s hand, his eyes suddenly very green. Even with two layers of gloves between them, she experienced a frisson of excitement at his touch.

“I look forward to our dance,” he said.

Her pulse pounded in her ears at the heat in his gaze, and she felt a fatuous smile take possession of her features.

“Thank you, I—”

“Susanna is waiting, Annis.” Her cousin yanked Annis’s hand from Mr. Parker’s and marched her away.

“And just who is he I should like to know?” Miriam hissed before they were out of earshot.

Annis had to trot to keep up with her taller cousin’s brisk walk. “He is a friend of Lord Rotherhithe.”

Miriam stopped abruptly, and Annis bumped into her. “You clumsy fool!”

“I’m sorry, Cousin."

Miriam grabbed Annis’s upper arm in a grip so tight she winced. “Come over here, out of the way.” Miriam led her into a doorway close to the retiring room before releasing her. “How did you come to know a friend of the new earl?”

Annis rubbed her arm. “I met them both at Lady Sedgwick’s.”

“You’ve already met Lord Rotherhithe?” Miriam shrieked, startling snickers from a pair of passing young bucks.

“Yes, he came to the countess seeking introductions.”

“When was this?”

“Not long after he arrived.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Miriam demanded, although it sounded more like an accusation.

“I didn’t think it was important.”

“You didn’t think it was important.” Miriam closed her eyes and tipped her face ceiling ward, addressing the chandelier over their heads as if seeking divine commiseration. “She didn’t think it was important.”

Annis had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at her cousin’s melodramatic behavior.

Susanna rushed up to them, red-faced and breathless. “Miriam! You must come with me immediately. Lord Rotherhithe is even now speaking with Mama.”

Miriam instantly forgot about Annis and the sisters fled at an unseemly speed.

Annis sighed and sagged against the wall, grateful for her reprieve, no matter how brief.

Without her permission, her eyes slid to where she’d been talking to Mr. Parker.

But he was no longer there.