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Oh, but no. She returned her gaze seconds later. But there was something different about it. Something that told him he wasn’t welcome. Perhaps he’d frightened her those days before when he’d told her that Brooks’ death hadn’t been her fault—then immediately he’d pulled away, darted down the road, disappeared from sight.
He’d been awash with his own stream of consciousness. Still, he should have paused, said some sort of goodbye.
Jeffrey inhaled sharply and forced himself across the ballroom. As he approached, Charlotte seemed to clam up, grow smaller. Louisa remained beside her, and the two faced him as though they created a brick wall. They studied him with ominous eyes until he appeared before them. He detested the weight of his own nervousness. What sort of man was he if he couldn’t even sound out a single syllable?
“Good evening,” he said to both of them.
“Good evening, Jeffrey,” Louisa said. Her eyes glittered. Since their first introduction, Jeffrey had caught on to the idea that Louisa lusted after him.
“Are you ladies having a good time?” he asked.
“Of course,” Louisa said.
Charlotte shifted her weight, then opened her lips to speak. The air between them seemed heavy.
Before another moment could pass, Jeffrey said, “Could I ask you to dance?”
Charlotte’s eyes switched to Louisa. Louisa nodded hurriedly and tapped her elbow into Charlotte’s side. Charlotte seemed not to be able to say no. Perhaps she wanted to. Jeffrey couldn’t say.
“Okay.”
This wasn’t exactly the uproarious sign of her growing love for him he’d yearned for. It had to be enough.
When the song began, Jeffrey found himself with his hand on Charlotte’s perfect lower back; her delicate hand fell into his. After a moment, she brought her eyes towards his. They glittered as though she was on the verge of tears.
But why? What had Jeffrey done to craft such a physical response?
He detested himself for it, whatever it was.
“I apologize if I frightened you the other day,” Jeffrey said suddenly.
Charlotte’s voice was low. “It’s quite all right. I don’t suppose running into me like that was anything you could have planned.”
“Although you must find it suspicious,” he said.
“Of course,” Charlotte said. “But in the wake of Brooks’ murder, I find everything suspicious.”
“I suppose that’s only appropriate,” Jeffrey said.
Charlotte danced beautifully. It was clear that she’d been raised to be the sort of lady that men lusted after. Even as they twirled, Jeffrey caught sight of several men in their immediate area, turning their eyes towards him with disdain. Who did he think he was, dancing with the likes of Charlotte Stanton? Perhaps there was a sort of pecking order, and Jeffrey had leapt directly over it.
He wanted to keep her in his arms far longer than the song allowed.
This was yet another thought that he took issue with. He detested how flowery his heart felt.
When their arms fell from one another, Charlotte looked up at him with what seemed like curiosity. She seemed on the brink of speech. But suddenly, she spun on her heel and hurried towards the far doorway, one that assuredly led towards the back garden. Jeffrey rushed after her. He couldn’t allow her out of his sight. Especially not now, after so much had happened. He didn’t trust the world to keep her safe.
