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The women moved on, and Seraphina assumed they would do the same, but Trevor didn’t move.
“Is it exhausting for you to do that?” he asked, a groove between his eyebrows showing that he was genuinely curious.
She had no idea what he was talking about. “Do what?”
He waved his hand. “You know, putting on the act you do when people are watching. It’s like you slip into a role and become the society-approved version of yourself. Isn’t it tiring?”
Mouth suddenly dry, she swallowed, unsure of how to respond. How had he even noticed what she was doing? He wasn’t one to pay attention to social nuances.
She obviously hadn’t given his observational skills enough credit.
“It is,” she admitted after a long moment. “But I’ve found it’s the easiest way to get through niceties and deal with the expectations of others.”
He made a sour face. “Expectations. Sometimes I wish I knew what society expects of me, but I seem to have been born without the set of rules that everyone else innately understands. It’s like they all have a rulebook, and they forgot to share it with me. I don’t like to feel so incompetent. I pride myself on my knowledge, but everything I’ve learned is useless in situations like this.”
Her chest constricted, and her heart ached for him. She hadn’t known he felt that way. “For what it’s worth, I like you as you are.”
He made a doubtful sound, and she had a sinking feeling that this outing hadn’t made anything better. In fact, it might have caused him to withdraw even more.
CHAPTER 14
Trevor had never questioned his body’s ability to breathe, but when he laid eyes on Seraphina as she glided down the staircase in a stunning pink gown that emphasized her curvaceous figure, he realized that perhaps he should have. Faced with a beauty such as this, even his most natural functions seemed beyond him.
One side of her mouth hitched up, and her eyes sparkled the same shade of blue as the sapphire nestled at the base of her throat. Her hair was pinned away from her face, but curls spilled over her shoulders and caressed the elegant sides of her neck in a way that made his hands twitch, desperate to touch her.
He tapped his fingers against his thighs, reminding himself that it wouldn’t be appropriate to march over there and kiss her sweet pink lips.
Suddenly, he was incredibly aware of his own attire, which was getting tighter around his groin. Fortunately, he was dressed in such a way that there was no chance anyone would notice. Thank God his mother and Letitia had helped choose his clothing for the night, because Seraphina could rival a princess, and he didn’t want to embarrass her.
Especially not when he was aware that he might never have won her hand if her circumstances hadn’t been desperate.
Mr. Dalton nudged him, and he lurched forward, taking Seraphina’s hand as she reached the floor. Unlike with Lady Bethel a few days ago, he knew exactly what to do—or at least, what he wanted to do.
He bowed over her hand and kissed the back of it, savoring the silky sensation of her glove and wishing it were her skin instead. His future father-in-law coughed pointedly, and Trevor bolted upright, his cheeks burning.
What had he been thinking to linger when they were being watched so closely?
“You are more beautiful than a flawless rose on a dewy spring morning,” he murmured, relieved not to have stumbled over the words.
Her expression softened, and she gazed at him with a tenderness that made his insides flutter. “And you’re as handsome as a boat orchid.”
It was a surprisingly apt comparison considering that he was wearing a maroon tailcoat with a cream waistcoat beneath, similar in coloring to one of the more popular Cymbidium orchid varietals.
“Hopefully I can be as elegant as one tonight too,” he said, because he didn’t know what to do with the compliment. He worried he was going to embarrass her during one of their first outings as an engaged couple.
“If not, at least you still look the part.” She turned to her father. “We’ll be home at a reasonable hour.”
“I expect no less.” Mr. Dalton tilted his chin toward the door. “Go on, then.”
Trevor escorted her out to the carriage, where his mother was waiting. He sat quietly, inwardly fretting as she and Seraphina exchanged pleasantries. His title made him eligible—people always wanted to marry into a title—but he’d always been considered… peculiar.
He’d hate for that to reflect poorly on Seraphina.
When they stopped outside a large brick house, he realized that he didn’t actually know who was hosting this ball. Seraphina and his mother had decided it would be their first official outing together, and he’d worn what he was told and turned up where he was told.
Oh well—it was too late to change that now.
With a woman on each arm, he walked them inside and joined the greeting line. He was so anxious about getting everything correct that by the time they’d exchanged polite greetings and entered the ballroom, he couldn’t even recall their hosts’ names.
