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She hissed the last word between clenched teeth. It pummeled him in the gut. His hand tightened reflexively on her lower back, and she stumbled closer to him before they righted themselves and continued the dance at a proper distance. He felt heat climb up his neck after missing the step. Half the room was staring at them. This was not the place for him to lay out all the reasons why she should marry him.
Not the least of which the fact that they had anticipated their wedding vows.
“I believe you said you would marry a man who supported your dreams.”
“I will,” she said, her eyes searching his. “I also know that I am nineteen…and I want to wait a while before I marry. It is not only the purview of men to avoid the parson’s mousetrap until he is ready. I…I do want a home and hearth, I do Thaddeus. I also want the freedom to live and make choices that make me truly happy.”
So it was his promise to do right by her why she had fled like the devil chased her. “How long.”
His tone was driven and intense, but he could not help it.
“I do not know,” she whispered. “Three years…five. I do not know!”
Anyone looking on would surely see the passionate intensity between them. Thaddeus breathed evenly and deeply. Instead of pushing her, he said mildly,. “I bet you fancied I was some gentleman farmer or squire rather than an earl. Tell me, how surprised are you to see me?”
The corners of her mouth tilted in a smirk she did not indulge. “I think it’s highly presumptuous of you to assume I spent any time wondering about your origins.”
“Why would it be presumptuous? I tied myself in knots wondering about yours.”
Her mouth twisted as she thought. A moment passed, then two, as they melted into the music, letting the steps sway them. He needed more concentration for his footwork than she did, apparently.
“I am the sister of a duke. As you would have known, had you asked me for a dance properly.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Please, educate me. What would have been proper? I asked and you obliged.”
“But we have not been formally introduced. You ought to have tendered an introduction to me and my mother and asked her for the pleasure of my dance.”
Dimly, he knew of rules like those, even if he hadn’t spent enough time in the ton to have practiced them. “Seems like a lot to do when the only person whose permission I want is yours. You have a mind of your own and can answer for yourself.”
She winked conspiratorially. “Don’t let anyone else hear you say that. Men don’t like to hear we women have minds of our own.”
“Then I suppose I’m not like other men, since one of the things I admire most about you is your mind.”
Her lips parted. Her eyes softened. Gently, she said, “To avoid any scandal or suggestion of impropriety you should introduce yourself to my mother.”
“And your brother too, I imagine.”
“You’re saved from meeting him for a few more days at least. He’s at our country estate with his new wife.”
“His new wife?”
“Yes. The owner of the club I told you about. He…he chased me when I left, and he dragged her along with him to find me. They fell for each other.”
“Ah, another romance traveling along the countryside. It must be something in the air.”
This time she smiled and some of the knot inside Thaddeus eased. “I would like to meet your mother then. Whatever you ask of me, I will do it.”
He held her gaze as the music came to an end. She curtsied and he bowed before offering his arm to escort her back to her family. He let her lead them, since he couldn’t have pinpointed the place in the ballroom where he’d first seen her to save his life. His world had narrowed to her from the moment he’d seen her. It had been as if he had been walking through a world leeched of color, and she had been the only bright spot in it.
His introduction ball was not the best place to carry on with thoughts like these, thoughts of courtship and the future. First, he had to find a way to get Perdie alone and do things the proper way this time.
Unfortunately, that would not be tonight. But for Perdie, he could be patient.
He would have to be.
