Anne Herries – Rescued by the Viscount (страница 9)

‘Thank you, but we have these ices for the moment and more than enough for all. Will you not partake, Miss Handley? It is rather warm and they have already started to melt a little.’

‘I could fetch some fresh ices, if Miss Handley would care for it,’ Matt said, his expression, his sister thought, one of a man struck by lightning.

‘Oh, no, one of these would be delightful,’ Julia said and accepted a strawberry-flavoured ice from his hand.

Jack moved closer to Charlotte, murmuring in her ear, ‘You seemed puzzled just now by my reference to Lord Johnston’s health?’

‘I thought he looked quite fit and well.’

‘The matter of a little disagreement that ended with a duel,’ Jack said. ‘I stood his second since he could find no other willing to undertake it—and I fear he came off worse. The other fellow’s ball grazed his arm, but his own ball was way off the mark. He should never have been such a fool as to challenge Lord Harding over the matter of a dropped card.’

‘Lord Harding?’ Charlotte was chilled, a trickle of alarm sliding down her spine. ‘What makes you say Lord Johnston should not have challenged him?’

‘The card dropped to the floor from Lord Harding’s hand. Johnston swore it had come from his sleeve and Harding denied it—since it could not be proved, Johnston should have apologised, but he is rather stiff-necked and would not. Therefore, it was impossible to prevent the duel. I asked both if they would withdraw but...’ He shook his head and his eyes held an unfathomable gleam. ‘I have told you a secret no gentleman would disclose to a lady. Have I sunk beyond reproach in your eyes?’

‘Not at all,’ Charlotte replied seriously. ‘I hate it when gentlemen tell me that something I want to know is not suitable for a lady’s ears—as if we were children or too delicate to know the truth.’

‘Precisely,’ Jack said and smiled at her. ‘I believe I see a rather determined young man approaching. Your next partner, I imagine. I shall come to claim you later.’

Charlotte was duly claimed and once again found herself being whisked around the floor by a polished performer, another of Wellington’s former staff, she was reliably informed, though she thought him not quite as perfect a partner as Captain Young.

Glancing across the room, she saw Matt dancing with Julia Handley. They seemed to like each other well and were enjoying the dance, Julia looking very lovely as her eyes sparkled up at her partner.

Charlotte suspected that Delsey’s cousin might be a bit of a flirt and hoped that her brother would not fall too deeply in love with her too swiftly. However, next time she herself was dancing, she saw that Julia was once again dancing with her cousin and seemed to be enjoying herself just as much. Matt, too, had another partner, a quietly pretty young girl whom Charlotte only knew slightly. She saw Sir Percival dancing with Amelia Rushmore and Mr Rushmore was standing with a group of other young men watching the dancing with a brooding expression that might have been boredom.

As soon as Charlotte returned to her friends she was, once again, claimed by Sir Percival for the last set of country dances before supper. She found him good company and they parted with a smile and promises of meeting again quite soon.

‘I shall pay an afternoon call and perhaps you will drive out with me in the park one morning, Miss Stevens?’

Charlotte agreed to it, then turned as Captain Viscount Delsey approached her. She took his hand and was led to the dance floor just as the music struck up once more. He placed his hand firmly just above her waist and took her hand, drawing her into the swirl of dancing. A tingling sensation pervaded Charlotte’s body and she felt as if she were dancing on air, seeming light as a feather as he whirled her across the floor, appearing to carve a swathe through the other dancers as if he had some divine right. She had thought that Captain Young danced beautifully, but this feeling was exquisite, like nothing she’d ever experienced before. In that moment Charlotte wished that she might stay in the viscount’s arms for ever.

There were no words to describe the wonderful sensations that flooded through her, no way that she could understand why she seemed unable to breathe and yet could dance and dance for ever. Something inside her seemed to join with him, to become a part of her partner and lift her beyond the room and everyone in it. She felt as if she floated on a cloud in an otherwise clear blue sky...drifting away to a world where there was always sun and pleasant warmth.

When the music stopped and he released her hand it was such a shock that she almost fell. For a moment her mind refused to come back from wherever it had been and she could neither speak nor move.

‘Are you faint?’ he asked, looking at her anxiously. ‘Perhaps some air?’

‘No, no thank you, I shall be fine in a moment. I must find Mama and go into supper.’

‘I have reserved a table. Let me take you there and your mama and my cousin will join us. I mentioned it earlier.’

‘Did you?’ Charlotte could not trust herself to say more. She felt the touch of his hand on her arm as he guided her through the press of people to a table near an open window. She could feel the coolness of the air calming her heated skin and with the coolness some semblance of normality returned. ‘Oh, that is pleasant. I think I must have become a little heated.’

‘It is very warm in here,’ Jack murmured close to her ear, his breath warm on her exposed skin. ‘I felt it, too.’

Charlotte shivered with what she could only think was sensual delight, though she had never experienced anything like it before. There was something in his tone and his look that made her feel special, as if she were the focus of his attention, of his world. The thought made her feel quite giddy with pleasure and she wished that she might be alone with him somewhere private, somewhere they might make love.

What was she thinking? Charlotte came to herself with a shock. She was allowing herself to be seduced by a man’s smile, by the caress in his voice and the stroking of those compelling eyes... She was reacting like a foolish girl of twelve, instead of a young woman of more than nineteen. Viscount Captain Delsey was a practised flirt and a rake; he thought nothing of breaking hearts and she had no intention of offering hers up as a sacrifice.

His eyes met hers with a quizzical look, as if he sensed her thoughts. ‘Please, make yourself comfortable, Miss Stevens. I see your mama making her way here with the others and I must speak to the waiter.’

Charlotte inclined her head, not quite trusting herself to speak. The viscount was undoubtedly a charming man, but also a heartless flirt, if the gossips were to be believed. She knew that he was regarded as one of the best catches on the matrimonial market, but he was unlikely to cast his hat in her direction. Indeed, most of the matchmaking mamas had given up hope of him. So if he seemed bent on capturing her interest it probably meant that he thought there might be a chance of seducing her into a clandestine flirtation...as he might well think if he’d seen her wearing her brother’s cast-off clothing.

It seemed likely that he’d recognised her as the urchin that he’d helped escape from unwelcome attention in the street—and a girl who would brave the streets at night dressed as a youth might be capable of anything. Indeed, she might so far forget herself as to be willing to indulge in something more than flirtation, might allow herself to be seduced. The thought sent waves of heat rushing through her once more and she struggled to compose herself. She must think of something else...a cool stream trickling through a sunset meadow...

Still feeling a little uncomfortable as her mama joined her, Charlotte decided that she must be careful in future. It would not do to become too intimate with the handsome viscount. Not only could he break her heart, he could ruin her reputation.

Yet when he returned with a trio of waiters, bringing a selection of all the choicest treats and two bottles of chilled champagne, Captain Delsey devoted himself to her mama and engaged her brother for a game of cards, before engaging his cousin for a drive to the park the next day. Since he paid Charlotte no more than polite attention, she was able to school her wayward thoughts, and, by the time he claimed his next dance, she had recovered her composure.

Try as she might, Charlotte could not hold back once he swept her away across the floor, her whole being given over to the joy of the music and the feeling of floating as she immersed herself in the dance. However, she did not let her thoughts drift to the desires that had formed during the first dance and was able to breathe easily and to thank her partner when the dance ended.

‘You dance like an angel,’ Delsey murmured in her ear. ‘I shall wait impatiently for the next time, Miss Charlotte.’

The sound of her name on his lips was like a caress. Such tactics were calculated to make foolish girls fall at his feet, but Charlotte was made of sterner stuff. She must and would resist the spells he wove—she had to for her family’s sake.