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“Yes,” she said brightly and loudly over the marquess. “I would be delighted, Mr. Fairbanks.”
The Countess of Celdon’s eyes widened before she looked away, a smile playing about her mouth.
Holding out her hand, Cressida lightly rested her fingertips on Mr. Fairbanks’s arm and allowed him to lead her onto the dancefloor. The strains of the waltz leaped to life, and he slid his elbows to hers, the move practiced and graceful. He touched her gloved hand and her waist, then swept her with ease into the rhythm of the dance.
“I’ve had a dancing master these last few weeks,” he said drolly.
Her lips parted on a startled breath. “I made no comment.”
“Your eyes are very expressive. I saw the surprise in them.”
They started to glide to the graceful and scandalous waltz. “I was trying to gesture you to meet me outside.”
“Is this about your painting, Lady Cressida?”
She was intensely mindful of his hand, strong and warm, on her back. It was a heady, dangerous sweet feeling. “Not entirely,” Cressida softly said.
“I cannot imagine what else we might have to converse about.”
“I fear it has quite gone beyond my need for that portrait. It was why I was trying to speak with you privately, sir.”
“There is an art to slipping away from a ball. You failed at the very beginning of it. The signal.”
She cast him an irritated glance. “I thought I did well.”
“You poor, wretched creature. My bother thought you afflicted. I shall give you some tips.”
Cressida laughed, startling herself. She hadn’t felt as if she had much to be merry about. “I shall look forward to those lessons. I’ve always wanted to learn the art of sneaking away from the watchful eye of my mother and theton.”
Cressida tried to sound coolly amused and worldly, but she wasn’t sure she managed.Drat.
A dark brow arched. “What has gone beyond the matter? The portrait?”
Mr. Fairbanks spun her into an elegant twirl, and as he drew her into his arms, she whispered, “Yes, partly.”
His blue eyes sharpened. “What is it about then?”
“It is now a matter of seduction and ravishment.”
He missed a turn, startling her, before he deftly caught her about the waist and twirled her in a few elegant spins across the expanse of the ballroom.
“Oh, dear,” she murmured. “I have shocked you again.”
“There is no need to sound so proud.”
The thrill of the moment was undeniable. “You’ll not take this triumph from me. I am proud to have shocked an irascible Fairbanks. Now shall we discuss the seduction plot?”
His mouth hitched at the corner. “What do you know of seduction and ravishment?”
“Enough to know that if I were indeed seduced, a particular bounder would not pursue me ardently for marriage.”
Something flickered in Mr. Fairbanks’s eyes before he lowered his lashes briefly. “Do you not wish to marry Linfield?
“Not anymore.”
This time the intensity of Mr. Fairbanks’s stare sent her heart tripping. Cress found that she did not want to speak for fear that she might sound flustered. So she allowed him to lead her in the graceful dance, almost gasping when he slipped her behind a large white column and then drew her out into the hallway with consummate skill.
“That was well done,” she said, terribly impressed. “I can see you’ve had practice. I truly do not believe anyone saw me. Not even the marquess or mama.”
