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“You are quite welcome,” he said pleasantly.
The promenade ceased, and we faced one another. One of Benedict’s hands circled behind my waist, and his other took possession of my left hand, lifting it above my head. I swallowed against my dry throat and put my right hand in position around his back. We were close, our arms entangled in such a way that I could hardly breathe. His scent tickled my nose, and I wanted to drop our position and fall into his embrace.
From the way his breathing grew shallow, I believed he might have felt much the same way.
“Can I askwhyyou stepped in when your cousin asked me to dance? You have every right to be upset with me.”
Benedict smiled, and we began to twirl with the music. “I promised you I would always protect you, did I not? I will always be here for you, Thea. No matter what.”
Warmth swept through my body, and I did not know how I would manage the remainder of the dance. We moved through the motions as two people did who felt deeply. Our eyes did not stray from one another, and his gloved hand held mine with such tenderness I felt cradled in his care. When the song came to a close, we walked from the center of the floor as if by mutual silent agreement that one dance was enough, and we would finish the set in conversation instead of dancing.
We did not have a terrace to escape to, so I turned to him and said, “I would like some lemonade if you would be so kind as to escort me to the parlor.”
Benedict acquiesced, and we stepped from the drawing room, passing Peter Seymour near the door. He looked as though he meant to speak to me, but I turned away. Once we reached the corridor, I opened the door to the study, took Benedict by the arm, and pulled him into the dark room.
“I do not think Felicity would appreciate this very much,” Benedict said quietly. The room was dark, but enough moonlight slipped through the window to show his expression, which appeared carved of stone. “We did promise her we would not sneak away.”
“That promise was for another ball. I am certain, as long as we are not caught, she will not mind—”
Voices in the corridor passed by, and I closed my mouth at once so they would not detect us. I released Benedict’s sleeve and faced the door, taking the bolt and sliding it into place so no one would be able to open it from the outside. “We cannot be found if they cannot open the door.”
“We can be missed, however,” he said drily.
“Please, Ben. Allow me to say what I have been planning so carefully for weeks, and then I will unlock the door and let you free.”
“I did not say I minded being secreted away with you. I only wonder if it is the wisest choice.”
“Because my choices thus far have proven extremely wise?” I countered.
“Fair enough.”
I cleared my throat. “I first must apologize for my childish behavior.”
“I cannot go through this,” he said, raking a hand through his curls.
Cold dread slipped into my stomach. “Why not?”
“Because I cannot see your face. If you are about to grovel for my forgiveness, I would at least enjoy watching you do it.”
I flattened my mouth, then looked about the room. “We should not light a candle. It could be visible beneath the door.”
“We could move closer to the window.”
“Oh, yes! The moonlight.”
We carefully picked our way toward the single window in the small study, and Benedict pushed the drapes open further until the cool light streamed over us.
“You were saying?” he prompted, his smile widening.
“I really must start at the beginning.” I inhaled, then began. I told him of going to visit Mrs. Danvers and the layers of truth she had revealed, of the way she had taken my beliefs about my father and spun them around.
“That must have been very difficult for you,” he murmured.
“It was. But it was also freeing. My parents never changed. My mother might have, but my father had been unfaithful all along. He was not, as I’d feared, a flirt who grew out of his own control. I worried we would mirror my parents, that my heart would break again and again, but I realized how foolish that was. We are not them—”
“As I have previously stated.”
“Yes, yes.” I sighed. “Because you were much more intelligent than me.”
