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Despite his use of the hated nickname, a cascade of warm shivers ran across her skin. Desperate to escape the source of the unsettling sensation, she looked about for a means—any means—of escape.
About twenty feet away a tall, awkward-looking young man leaned against a wall. He was trying to appear bored, but the effect was ruined by the wistful looks he kept casting toward the dance floor. They’d been introduced earlier, but she couldn’t quite…
Chadwick. Yes! He would do. She stared at him intently. This way, you blind lump, she thought.
It was an eternity before he finally took note, but when he did, her victim blushed all the way to his ginger roots. He glanced over his shoulder at the wall behind him, seeming startled to find it there.
Beneath her skirts, she tapped her foot. He turned back, surprise all over his face, and she had to refrain from rolling her eyes. Yes, you! I’m not admiring the wainscoting!
The lad gave her a shy, unsure smile, and she cast her gaze downward as if embarrassed by her own boldness. After a brief moment, however, she lifted her lashes to stare at him once more and watched in triumph as the red-faced young man obediently came to heel.
It was hard not to feel just a bit smug. Her sisters had taught her well.
“My lady, I’m so pleased to see you again,” stammered Chadwick as he bowed before her clumsily. “May I beg the honor of your next dance?”
“Of course,” she murmured, avoiding Montgomery’s gaze. “Please excuse me, my lord.”
Chadwick?
??s smile nearly split his face in half as she placed her hand on his arm and allowed him to lead her away.
Five minutes. Five minutes and she could lose herself in the crush.
Sabrina stared, unseeing, at a point somewhere between her partner’s eyebrows while they danced. Her mind was full of Montgomery, her body still alive with the memory of his touch. She had to stay as far away from that man as possible.
“My lady, might I dare hope for another dance with you later this evening?”
“Hmm?”
“I—I asked if I might hope for another dance with you,” blurted Chadwick.
His urgent manner at last penetrated the fog in her mind. She came out of her reverie to see that Chadwick’s boyish face was filled with fervent adoration.
Her heart sank. Oh no.
“I’m afraid that would be most improper, my lord,” she said carefully. “My reputation would surely suffer irreparable damage were I to show you such favor.”
It was just the right answer. She stifled a giggle as Chadwick’s narrow chest puffed out. Really, she oughtn’t laugh, but he looked perfectly ridiculous. Like a skinny rooster. She half expected him to start strutting and crowing.
She whipped open her fan and hid behind it until she could regain control over her twitching lips.
“I would never wish to cause you any distress, of course,” he vowed, apparently mistaking her action for shyness. “I respectfully withdraw my selfish request.”
A sigh of relief lodged in her chest.
“Yet, I must tell you that you have utterly captivated me, my lady,” he continued with alarming vehemence. “Your beauty and grace know no rival. You outshine your peers as the sun outshines the very stars.”
She choked down a wave of pure panic. Now the fat was well and truly in the fire. Just as she was contemplating the effectiveness of a good swoon as a means of escape, an idea struck her. Thursday…Montgomery was coming to tea on Thursday.
She looked at Chadwick. Perhaps not the most dashing rescuer, but what did that matter as long as he stood between her and Montgomery? It was too good an opportunity to pass up.
“I’m afraid that I may not dance with you again this evening, my lord, but”—she watched his Adam’s apple jump as he swallowed, waiting—“I am receiving callers at tea this Thursday. If you would like—”
“It would bring me no end of delight, my lady!”
Ignoring his enthusiastic interruption, she smiled. He was obviously overcome, poor fellow. It was sweet, in an annoying sort of way. “I would be pleased to receive you as my guest, my lord. And now, I’m afraid I’ve lingered far too long. People are beginning to stare.”
Chadwick’s face lit with joy. “I completely understand the need for propriety, my lady. Shall I escort you to a chair?”
