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She recoiled as if he had stabbed her.Hell. Had Lucien not informed her that he told his siblings last evening that he was to be a father? She turned around in a daze and collided with a footman carrying a tray with champagne flutes.
Edmond snagged her around the waist and drew her back as the tray crashed to the floor. He swept her away toward the ballroom, trusting his staff to see that everything ran smoothly. He lifted his chin to the orchestra, and they started to play a waltz. Edmond scanned the area for his brother and did not find Lucien. Where the hell was he? “Please dance with me.”
“I must leave,” she murmured, her tone still shocked. “I…now, I must leave.”
Edmond did not like how pale her cheeks seemed. “One dance,” he coaxed. “Then we’ll find Lucien. Do I have your permission?”
Her dark blue eyes had a faraway look, but she allowed him to take her into his arms and sweep her across the dancefloor. They moved in perfect unison before he said, “Forgive me if I misspoke.”
She lifted startled eyes to his, a flush mounting on her cheeks. “I…you are family. You did not blunder. I was simply unaware my husband had shared the news already. I have yet to inform my family.”
Ah, now he understood some of it. “My lips are sealed.”
A small smile touched her mouth, and she took a deep breath to steady herself. Then her shoulders relaxed, and the vibrant lady he had encountered earlier returned. It was as if she transformed in his arms, and if he had not been a self-assured man, the damn woman would have taken command of the waltz and started to lead him. She was a strong partner and a beautiful dancer. He twirled her into several graceful turns, and she surprised him by laughing. She was ablaze with furious energy, an incandescent beauty, as he swung her into the erotic and highly sensuous waltz.
No! Bloody hell, not erotic. This is a simple, normal dance with my new sister, nothing more.
“You love dancing,” he observed, almost through gritted teeth.
A hint of color suffused her cheeks. “I do love dancing. It is one of my favorite pastimes. It feels…very freeing.”
“You do it well. Graceful.”
“I accept this compliment. You are not so bad yourself. One of my best partners, I must admit. After Lucien, of course.”
“Of course,” Edmond said drily.
The lady smiled, and he had to look away. How had he not noticed the brilliance of her smile or the beauty of those cobalt blue eyes before tonight? Of course, he had known his brother’s wife was beautiful. Any fool could see that. Yet Edmond had not known it in the sense that every nerve in his body seemed to be so damn aware of her.
It could not be the dress. This was one she had worn before at a family dinner only last week. The hairstyle seemed to be the same, and also her voice. Yet something more alluring cast its invisible net and was ensnaring him. He needed to hurry and end this dance. And then he would stay the hell away from his brother’s wife. Months. Hell, years even until this infuriating awareness vanished. Now he could only think it was a good thing he had a trip planned to Germany next month to ambitiously set up another gambling establishment. Then, he would venture to New York, where he’d already secured investments to build a casino. That distance should give him enough time to clear his damn head and vanquish this unexpected madness.
The dance ended, and he escorted her to the sideline and to a chaise.
“Please sit and allow me to find Lucien for you.”
“Thank you,” she said with a demure smile.
Edmond almost snorted. There was nothing demure about the woman before him. He dipped into a small bow and made his way from her, grateful to be away from her dizzying scent that was like a fresh lure. The heaviness felt in his gut grew until the sense of guilt and anger almost choked the damned life from Edmond. How the hell would he rectify this? How the hell would he be able to look Lucien in the eyes and—
Edmond’s thoughts crashed as if someone had slammed a fist into his face. Lucien walked up the stairs with a smiling lady on his arm—his wife, garbed in a stunning golden gown. This woman was certainly not the one he had danced with a few minutes prior. The relief that swam through Edmond’s veins almost felled him to the damn floor.
Bloody hell.
Now he understood the damned provoking awareness killing him. It was one of the triplets pretending to be Eleanor Glendevon. He scrubbed a hand over his face.The damn minx. Whirling around, he darted through the crowd, searching for where he had left her. The chaise was empty, and a quick scan of the ballroom and the outer rooms revealed the devious hellion had vanished into thin air. Edmond recalled then she had been coming out of Lucien’s office and how she had been startled as if caught in a naughty act. Something was amiss. Whirling around, Edmond rushed from the ballroom and up the stairs and into his brother’s office, shoving the door open.
Lucien and his wife sprang apart from the passionate embrace they’d been locked in atop the desk. Edmond arched a brow, almost amused with the red staining his brother’s wife’s cheeks.
“The damn door was closed,” Lucien snapped, gently easing her from the desk and lovingly wrapping her in his arms.
The sweet way she smiled at Lucien sent an odd surge of want through Edmond’s heart. He brushed it aside and glared at them. “Earlier, I encountered someone coming from this office. I thought that person was your wife. She deliberately acted like your wife and even stated that she was here with you.”
Eleanor’s eyes had widened, and she gasped, her hand fluttering to her throat. “I knew Ester was up to some mischief! What has she done?”
Ester Fairbanks. The middle triplet. He filed the information away.
Laughter gleamed in Lucien’s eyes. “Where is the little hellion?”
“Gone,” Edmond said tightly, folding his arms across his chest. “Why would your sister need to play such a ruse and pretend to be you? I have made it known that your family is welcome here anytime.”
