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Her jaw tightened as if she held in a stinging retort. “Good evening, Lord Ancroft,” she replied stiffly. “If you all will excuse me a moment, I must tell the servants there will be one more for dinner.”
“I am truly sorry if I forgot to reply to your invitation,” he whispered as she passed him. “I might have thought you would sense my desire to be here.”
Her cheeks flushed red before she left the room without a word.
“You are a dreadful person, Nicholas,” Jennette reprimanded him. “She had no idea you were coming, and I would wager she never invited you either.”
“I only came to speak with her. Elizabeth invited me up.”
“Well played, Elizabeth,” Avis said with a nod. “I would have done the same.”
“She is going to be furious with you,” Victoria said to Elizabeth.
Nicholas looked over at Victoria and said, “No, she will save her fury for me.”
“I have no doubt about that,” Somerton added.
Sophie walked back into the room looking far calmer than when she had left. As she passed him, she cast him a little glare, but Nicholas didn’t mind at all. He was here with friends instead of a ball filled with people with whom he had no desire to socialize.
He watched as Sophie walked to the small table in the corner filled with decanters. Her blue silk gown had small embroidered lilies at the hem. She turned and walked toward him.
“Sherry, Lord Ancroft?”
He took the proffered glass and gave her a quick salute. She returned to her seat, ignoring him. But he knew she wasn’t disregarding him. Every few seconds, her gaze would slide to him and then back to someone else in the room.
While his friends spoke pleasantly, he and Sophie added little to the conversation. Finally, a footman announced dinner. With all the married couples paired off, he waited to escort Sophie to the dining room.
She took his arm but held him back as everyone left. “How dare you!”
“I only came to call on you this evening. I had no idea you were hosting a dinner party for our friends.”
She narrowed her gray eyes on him. “I do not believe you. One of them must have told you about this.”
“No one said anything to me about your party.”
“Well,” she huffed, “you should be at the Tilsons’ soiree instead of here.”
Nicholas smiled down at her. He felt her breath quicken. “Why is that?”
“Because you are supposed to be looking for a wife. You won’t find one amongst the married women here. Unless of course you are seeking one of the married women for something nefarious.”
He pulled her closer to him. “I did not come here to see Jennette,” he whispered. “I didn’t even know she was here . . . but I knew you were.”
She stared up at him with her lips slightly parted. He wanted to feel her sensual lips against his, but it was not the right time. She had to come to him this time.
“Still,” she said harshly, “you should be where the available unmarried women are—the Tilsons’ party.”
“There is one unmarried woman here,” he whispered as he arched a brow at her.
“But she is unavailable.”
“We shall see.”
He led her down to the dining room, trying his best to ignore the alluring scent of her jasmine perfume. And the soft touch of her bare hand on his arm. Watching the shallow rise and fall of her breasts, he was certain she felt the same way. The urge to make love with her again continued to increase.
One way or another, he would have her again.
Sophie stopped as they entered the dining room. Since this was an informal dinner with just her friends, she hadn’t assigned seats. Seeing the two empty chairs next to each other meant she would be near him all through dinner. She would be close enough to inhale the clean scent of his soap. He might even brush up against her.
