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“I’m not a fool,” she said. “Which is almost as bad as being used as a pawn. I shall not allow you to do either. I know what you did, and I do not appreciate it one bit.”
Andrew could do nothing but stare dumbly at her. She clearly was not bluffing at all. But how had she figured out his intentions?
Chapter Six
“I knew it,” Rowena said, smiling up at Lord Elsbrook triumphantly as he gaped in stunned silence at her. “You only meant to use me. You did not ask me to dance until an older lady bearing a striking resemblance to you headed in our direction. It really was very transparent.”
The baron’s cheeks reddened, but he was stubborn.
“Why on earth would I do something like that?” he asked, feigning surprise.
Rowena sighed. She wasn’t upset with him for lying or for his false intentions. It was something she was quite accustomed to, after all. But she did wish he would confess it, even if he didn’t explain why he had done what he had. She was smart enough to understand that a handsome baron like him did not have any need to dance with a social outcast like herself. Did he really not see how obvious he had been?
Instead of answering, she raised her eyebrows at him. If he would not admit what he’d done, she would give him something to think about.
“You might come to regret such a hasty, thoughtless decision,” she said matter-of-factly. “I’m sure you are aware that dancing with a renowned bluestocking could put quite a damper on your reputation.”
She held her chin high and continued to meet the baron’s gaze, even though she was well aware she was speaking out of turn. However, she refused to be used as a gentleman’s pawn again. At least, not without making him squirm uncomfortably for doing so.
To her surprise, however, the baron’s expression changed. His lips twitched with a tinge of amusement, and he too raised his brows.
“You are quite right,” he said. “But then, perhaps that is of little consequence to me.”
It was Rowena’s turn to be surprised. Did he know who she was and not care about her reputation? Or was he joking, thinking she was teasing him?
“And why might that be?” she asked.
She didn’t really expect an answer, considering their entire conversation had revolved around him avoiding explaining himself to her. But once more, his face changed, and he looked tired and defeated.
“My mother wishes for me to marry,” he said. “To say that I have no desire to do so is a generous understatement.”
Once more, Rowena was stunned. He had gone from full denial to complete honesty. She didn’t know what to make of the baron’s strange behavior, but she was now curious.
“If you have no wish to marry, why attend Season events?” she asked. “You must know that more than half the women here are seeking husbands.”
Lord Elsbrook chuckled.
“I do, indeed,” he said. “It was my mother’s idea.” He paused and smiled. “Thankfully, you were kind enough to accept my invitation to dance.”
Rowena took a sharp breath to keep from blushing.
“But why me?” she asked. She knew it wasn’t because he was interested in her, that much was clear. She didn’t want to look like a silly young girl by looking as though she believed it was.
The baron’s grin widened.
“Because it spared me from having to dance with a lady whose intellectual capacity could bore a stone wall to death,” he said.
Rowena bit her lip to conceal a smile at the image of a stone wall collapsing from boredom. She cursed herself, as she had every intention of showing the gentleman how serious she was about not being used as a pawn. She recovered quickly, another thought occurring to her. She frowned up at the baron as he twirled her around, thinking carefully before she spoke. Could it be that he only thinks of ladies as being empty minded? How could she prove him wrong?
“Are you not threatened by a lady having a mind of her own, like most gentlemen, then?” she asked. Strangely, she found herself hoping for an affirmative.
The baron suddenly laughed, loudly enough to draw the attention of the dancers nearest to them. Rowena blushed, immediately wishing she had kept silent. As a spinster and bluestocking, she knew she shouldn’t be drawing unwanted attention to herself. She needed to find a husband, and she would hardly achieve that by giving thetonmore reason to gossip about her.
“Indeed not,” Andrew said when he had finished laughing. “I wish to meet a lady who can challenge me intellectually. I find most of the ladies within thetoncan converse only about fashion, the weather, and gossip about people they don’t even know. For myself, a woman with her own mind would be more refreshing than most could ever appreciate.”
Rowena blinked rapidly. It seemed as though the baron was full of surprises. And more surprising was how intrigued by him she was. She knew it was ridiculous because there was no possibility that a gentleman like him could ever be interested in her. And yet she knew she could provide the intellectual challenge he claimed to desire.
Before the conversation could continue, the dance came to an end. Rowena could not help feeling somewhat disappointed as the baron led her off the dance floor. She sensed tension in him, however, which told her that he was thrilled to be rid of her. She tried to hide the feeling of rejection as they exchanged bows and curtseys.
