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“These are my parents, Gerald and Martha Whitworth, the Viscount and Viscountess of Worthingwood,” she said, pausing as they bowed and curtseyed, respectively. “And this is my younger sister, Miss Rowena Whitworth.” She turned to her family and said, “This is Andrew Elton, Baron Elsbrook. The baron did much business with my dear Colin. He was a wonderful friend, then and now.”
Andrew blushed at the praise, bowing once more.
“It is a pleasure to meet you all,” he said.
“It is lovely to meet you, Lord Elsbrook,” Lady Worthingwood said, giving him a kind smile.
The rest of the family took their turns in returning his greeting. When it came time for the middle daughter to speak, Andrew locked eyes with her. She was a pretty woman who, by Andrew’s guess, was in her early twenties. But what struck him immediately were her cornflower-blue eyes.
One of her dark-brown curls had fallen into her eyes, but she made no move to brush it aside. She blushed as they looked at one another, but she didn’t look away. The more he stared at her, the lovelier he found her. How was it that she was unmarried at her age? Was she a spinster? Or, perhaps, a widow, like her sister?
Just as he realized that they had been looking at one another long enough to cause a scandal, the orchestra struck the first chords of the evening. Andrew blinked and looked away, hoping that no one had noticed his gaze lingering on Miss Whitworth. As he did so, he saw his mother making a beeline straight for him, with Lady Viola and her parents following right behind her.
If they catch me, I will be forced to dance with her,Andrew realized. There would be no way to avoid asking Lady Viola to dance with her parents, namely her father, present. It was expected within thetonto ask a young woman to dance if her parents were present. And the last thing he wanted to do was dance with Lady Viola.
An idea struck Andrew as his mother and her party drew closer. He felt some shame at the notion, but in the moment, it felt like his only option. He gave Miss Rowena a charming smile and extended his hand to her.
“Miss Rowena, would you do me the honor of sharing this first dance set with me?” he asked.
The woman looked surprised, and for a moment, Andrew thought she might reject him. But then, she gave him a strange half smile and lifted her hand.
“I would be delighted,” she said in a voice as mysterious as her smile.
Andrew gave her an uncertain smile as she put her hand in his. He pretended not to notice his mother’s expression as he led the young woman onto the dance floor. However, he saw she wore a look of disdain. He knew he would likely answer later for his hasty decision, but he was determined not to dance with Lady Viola. He could not suffer spending any time with a woman who could not make reasonable conversation.
Putting all his focus on Miss Rowena Whitworth, Andrew found a good spot on the dance floor, away from the piercing gaze of his mother. He readied himself and put his hand on his partner’s lower back, finding himself rendered suddenly breathless as thrills of awareness coursed through him. He looked at her, but she was looking down at the floor, and he gave himself a mental shake.
It must be my nerves,Andrew thought to himself as the orchestra began the first tune. He didn’t want to be at the damn party in the first place, and now, his mother would be furious with him. He had only used the woman in his arms to avoid his mother’s matchmaking schemes. And he had only just met her. There was no notion of any attraction. He realized he was thinking too much about the matter and put on his most charming smile.
The pair danced for a moment in silence. Andrew began to relax. Miss Whitworth appeared to be one of the quiet, shy women who would rather be silent than to engage in inane, mindless conversation. Perhaps his decision to dance with her had been a good one, after all.
“I know what you did,” she said suddenly, her voice somewhat indignant. And rather lovely, he couldn’t help noticing.
Andrew furrowed his brow, genuinely confused.
“Pardon me?” he asked. “I believe the only thing I did was ask you to dance.”
The woman met his gaze firmly with her cornflower-blue eyes and his heart skipped, even though he saw something like anger and hurt there.
“Indeed,” she said. “But you did so simply to use me as a pawn.”
Andrew struggled to keep his expression blank. Surely, she couldn’t know what he had been thinking? Had she mistaken him for someone else?
“I’m sorry,” he said, giving her an apologetic shrug. “I’m afraid I do not understand.”
Miss Rowena chuckled and, despite the bitterness behind it, it sounded just as lovely as her speaking voice.
“Well, I understand perfectly well,” she said. “You only asked me to dance with you because you were avoiding a meddling, matchmaking mother.”
Andrew’s mouth fell open. He cursed himself for it, but he could not force himself to close it. She had divined his motives entirely correctly. But how? He had not spoken to her except to greet her during introductions and to ask her to dance.
The woman chuckled again.
“Yes, I thought so,” she said. “And I’m telling you right now that I simply refuse to play whatever game it is that you’re playing, my lord.”
They fell silent again, Andrew dumbstruck. He could hardly admit she was right. But she seemed so sure of what she had said. It was still possible that she was bluffing, for whatever reason, but the look in her eyes told him that she was not.
“I-I think you must be confused, Miss Whitworth,” Andrew began, but the woman’s gaze became sharper.
