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“You can trust me with your secrets, Sophie,” he said quietly.
“You can trust me with yours,” she retorted. One dark brow arched at him. An invitation? It was like waving a red flag in front of a bull.
“When can I see you?”
She held her hands out to the sides. “You see me now.”
He wanted the intimate setting they’d had when she visited his bedchamber. Not like this.
“When can I see you?” he repeated, his voice harsh-sounding even to his own ears. When will you tell me your secrets? When will I get to tell you mine? He didn’t say the last. But he thought it.
“I can’t, Ashley.” When he began to mutter a protest, she held up a finger and shushed him. “I simply cannot live in your world.”
The door to the room opened slowly, making a creaking noise that made Sophia look over his shoulder toward it. “Is everything all right in here?” a male voice asked.
“Viscount Ramsdale,” Sophia chirped as she stepped around Ashley. “I was feeling a little faint and the good duke brought me for some air.”
“Are you well now?” The man’s gaze flicked from one of them to the other. “I would be a poor host if I didn’t offer my assistance.”
“I’m well.” Sophia looked at Ashley. “I think you owe me a waltz since we didn’t get to complete the last one.” She looked down at the torn dance card that dangled from her wrist. “And I just happen to have some free dances.” Her eyes twinkled at him.
If a dance was all he could get, he would take it.
Ashley held out his elbow and she slid her hand inside, squeezing gently as she did so. “Ramsdale,” Ashley muttered as they walked past the man.
Suddenly, Sophia pulled him to a halt. She reached into her reticule and retrieved a small silver box. She held it out to Viscount Ramsdale. “Do give this to your wife for me,” she said. Then she slid her arm back into Ashley’s and he towed her back toward the ball. He wanted to tow her toward his carriage. Or toward his bed. But he assumed a crowded ball was all he would get.
“Dance with me this night, Ashley,” Sophia said quietly as he led her onto the floor. “As though it’s our last.”
“It’s not,” he assured her.
Her eyes didn’t meet his when she replied softly, “We shall see.”
Twenty-One
Ashley watched Sophia from behind the palm fronds in the corner of the ballroom, keeping check on her location even after he had to give her up to a new partner. It would ruin her reputation if she danced every dance with him. She didn’t seem to give a care about her reputation, but he did. He knew what it was like to have a bad one, a really bad one, and he didn’t want her to suffer the same fate.
Devil take it, just being seen dancing with him would give her more than a bad reputation. It would cause a scandal.
“Were you thinking of asking that frond to dance, Robinsworth?” a male voice asked from behind him. Ashley turned to find Mr. Marcus Thorne lounging comfortably against the wall, his arms crossed in front of his chest. One foot was raised so that the heel of his slipper pressed against the wall. “You’ve become quite cozy with the palms while I watched. Such a loving touch you have.” He made a snort beneath his breath. “And I thought it was just my sister you liked to get cozy with.”
“Your sister. A palm frond.” Ashley shrugged. “I am not choosy.”
“Been alone too long, have you?” Thorne asked. “I could find someone for you, aside from my sister, that is, if you just have need of a tumble.”
Did the whole blasted world think he couldn’t find a whore if he wanted a whore? He didn’t want a whore. He wanted Sophia Thorne. “Thank you, but
I’ll pass.” He shoved the palm frond to the side and looked for her on the dance floor. She wasn’t there. A moment before, she’d been in Perky’s arms. A respectable distance from him, but still in the man’s arms. But now they were gone.
“You won’t catch her unless she wants to be caught.”
Ashley let that comment rumble around in his mind for a moment. Then he steeled his features, looked down his nose at Thorne, and said, “I already caught her. In the village.”
Sophia’s brother scoffed. “You caught nothing.”
Ashley forced himself to chuckle, although it was the last thing he wanted to do. He stepped closer to Thorne. “I most definitely caught her. And you are well aware of it. In fact, I imagine that’s why you came to find me in the foliage.”
Thorne straightened his back. “Perhaps I like palm fronds as much as you do.”
