Authors: Jennifer McNare
They both turned toward the voice and saw a heavyset,
dark-haired gentleman gesturing to him from a short distance away.
Tiffany recognized him at once.
It was the Earl of Sedgewick, an old friend
of her father’s.
William lifted his hand in acknowledgment, before turning
back to Tiffany.
“I shall deal with your
impertinence later, Tiffany.”
Turning on his heel her father left to join his friend, who
by the look of him was well into his cups.
Hmm, perhaps her father would spend the rest of the evening drinking
with his crony and forget about her latest transgression, she mused.
Oh well, even if he didn’t, what was one more
lecture to add to the ever-growing list?
Struggling to keep her present state of discontent from
showing, she pasted a smile upon her face as she moved along the edge of the
crowd.
She hadn’t gone far when she
heard the music begin to fade.
Seemingly
against her will, her eyes were once again drawn to Alex as he led the baroness
from the floor.
As she watched, the
woman leaned close to whisper something in his ear as they neared the edge of
the floor, a seductive smile upon her lips.
Tiffany felt as if she’d been kicked in the stomach.
Leading Lucinda from the dance floor, Alex tried to keep his
growing exasperation from showing as she leaned into him yet again.
Damnation, did the woman not understand the
meaning of discretion?
Honestly, he
wouldn’t even have asked her to dance if she hadn’t all but insisted upon
it.
And now, here she was suggesting
they escape to the rear gardens for a tryst, where anyone could inadvertently
stumble upon them.
What the devil was
she thinking?
He was about to say as
much when his gaze suddenly encountered the focused stare of Tiffany
Marlowe.
She was looking directly at the
two of them, wearing an expression he could only think to describe as…
disheartened.
Oh hell!
Oblivious to
Lucinda’s gentle tugging upon his sleeve, his eyes momentarily locked with
hers.
Mortified at having been caught staring, Tiffany abruptly
tore her gaze from Alex and the baroness.
Drat, the last thing she needed was for the earl to think that she was
mooning over him like some silly, heartsick schoolgirl.
Despite her romantic disillusionment, she
still had her pride.
Glancing about, she
noticed that the foppish gentleman whom she’d sought to avoid only a short
while ago, was once again heading her way.
Looking down at her dance card, she recalled that she had promised him
the final dance of the evening.
She was
about to resign herself to the impending occasion when she suddenly came up
with a different idea.
The young lord was almost upon her when Tiffany gifted him
with her most dazzling smile.
To his
credit he only faltered once, nearly tripping over his own feet as he walked
the last few steps toward her.
Recovering himself, he held his arm out to her.
“Lady Marlowe, I believe the final dance of the evening is
mine.”
Tiffany immediately reached out and placed her hand upon his
sleeve.
“It is indeed, Lord Dunning,”
she said in a sugary tone.
“However, I’m
afraid that I am feeling a bit fatigued at the moment.
Would you mind very much if we took a stroll
along the terrace instead?” she asked, batting her lashes flirtatiously.
She desperately needed a distraction.
“Uh no, not at all,” he uttered, clearly pleased by the
suggestion.
“It would be my pleasure to
escort you.”
Crooking his elbow, he
smiled widely as Tiffany wound her fingers around his arm.
From the edge of the dance floor, Alex looked on in silent
wonder as George Fitzpatrick suddenly led Tiffany in the direction of the
terrace.
What the hell?
Her expression had gone from pained to
radiant in a flash, the blinding smile she’d given Fitzpatrick nearly causing
the young fool to pitch head over heels at her feet.
With only a few short words to Lucinda he
left her side, unconcerned with the discernible look of irritation upon her
face as he made his way to the nearest set of French doors leading out to the
terrace.
Once outside, her arm still linked through his, Tiffany
scanned the surrounding area.
Looking
from one end of the terrace to the other, she was surprised to see that aside
from the two of them, the outdoor space appeared to be deserted.
Feeling a moment’s reservation, she quickly
pushed the uncomfortable feeling aside.
There was no reason for concern.
They were only a short distance from the open doors of the ballroom,
after all.
“Shall we walk?” he asked.
Nodding, Tiffany allowed him to lead her along the edge of
the terrace.
Glancing at his profile,
she couldn’t help comparing the young lord to Alexander Warrene.
He was handsome enough, she supposed, though
his youthful face lacked the confident maturity of the earl’s.
He was also several inches shorter than Alex,
she noted, standing just a few inches taller than her, and rather thin it
seemed in comparison to the earl’s solid, muscular frame.
Oh stop
it
, she silently commanded.
She was
supposed to be distracting herself from the earl, not trying to measure Lord
Dunning up to him.
Besides, she felt a
bit guilty for avoiding him earlier, for he had been nothing but complimentary
to her earlier in the evening, all be it a bit effusively.
“I hope you are not terribly upset with me, Lord Dunning,”
she said, smiling sweetly.
“Upset with you?”
He
looked taken aback.
“For asking you to relinquish the final dance,” she
clarified.
“I recall you mentioning
earlier how much you enjoyed dancing.”
He smiled then in understanding.
“I could never be upset with you, Lady
Tiffany,” he insisted.
“In fact, I
couldn’t be more pleased that you wished to step outside with me, for there is
something I’ve wanted to say to you all evening.”
He stopped then in the shadow of the house
and turned to face her, his expression suddenly earnest.
Tiffany felt a flicker of apprehension as he abruptly
reached down and grasped both of her hands with his.
“Lady Tiffany, I simply must tell you that you are the most beautiful
and most delightfully enchanting woman I have ever met,” he declared fervently.
She gaped at him.
“Lord Dunning, I-”
”You have completely captivated me,” he avowed, cutting her
off mid-sentence as he pinned her with his impassioned gaze.
“I know that we have only just met, but I
swear to you, I have never felt this way before.”
He regarded her intently.
“Please tell me you feel it too.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but words escaped her.
Dear
heavens, what on earth had she gotten herself into?
As she struggled for what to say, he
suddenly released her hands.
She felt
only a moment’s relief however, for in the very next instant she felt his
fingers splay across the back of her silk gown, his arms encircling her waist
as he pulled her toward him.
Clearly
he’d mistaken her silence for acquiescence.
Tiffany gasped aloud, her hands coming up to press against
his chest, her initial reaction to free herself from his hold at once.
Dear lord, he was going to kiss her.
She could see it in his eyes.
For a moment she struggled, but then,
surprising both of them it seemed, her hands suddenly stilled.
She’d never been kissed before.
Her mind spun in a crazy whirl as she watched
him bend his head slowly toward hers.
Did she dare?
She balked and started to recoil, but then
the image of Alex leading Baroness Langdon from the dance floor suddenly
skittered along the edge of her thoughts.
Relaxing slightly in his arms, she threw caution to the wind and simply
waited.
It was only a kiss after
all.
What could it hurt?
For she certainly wouldn’t allow it to go
beyond that.
Exiting out onto the darkened terrace, Alex quickly scanned
the seemingly empty space.
Where the
hell were they?
He turned then, his eyes
hurriedly searching the darkened shadows along the side of the house.
He saw them then, his eyes widening in
astonishment as he watched Dunning lean toward Tiffany, his intention
clear.
He wasn’t exactly sure what he felt
at that moment, but whatever it was, it certainly wasn’t good.
In fact, it was dammed unpleasant.
With little thought to the consequence of his
actions, he strode across the terrace and laid a heavy hand upon Fitzpatrick’s
shoulder, spinning the young man around with a considerable amount of
force.
He might have found the lad’s
shocked expression comical if he were in a better frame of mind.
But unfortunately for the young viscount, he
was anything but amused.
Tiffany was stunned.
Thinking for one horrific moment that her father had followed her
outside, she was both relieved and horrified as her gaze focused upon the
surprisingly harsh countenance of Alexander Warrene instead.
Good heavens, had the earl followed them
outside, she wondered?
Quickly she
glanced about, fearful for a moment that he might not be alone.
But much to her relief she didn’t see anyone
else on the terrace.
“L-Lord C-Chesterfield, I-I…” Geoffrey stuttered, as he
looked warily upon Alex’s outraged expression.
“Leave while you still can!” Alex commanded, his tone low
and menacing.
Casting one brief, apologetic glance toward Tiffany,
Geoffrey turned and fled as if his coat tails were on fire.
Tiffany watched Lord Dunning’s hasty retreat with a strange
mixture of shock and irritation.
Turning
her gaze to Alex, she was astonished to see the depth of anger reflected upon
the shadowed planes of his face.
Goodness, he looked positively furious.
“What on earth were you thinking, young lady?”
Alex demanded heatedly, eyeing her with his
reproachful gaze.
“Have you no sense at
all?”
Hell, didn’t she realize that if
anyone else had seen them, her reputation would have been ruined?
No sense.
Surprisingly, Tiffany felt her own temper
begin to flare.
What audacity he had,
chastising her as if she were a recalcitrant child, especially considering his
own scandalous behavior.
“How dare you,”
she refuted, her tone indignant.
Thinking of Lucinda Langdon, she squared her shoulders, meeting his gaze
head on.
“Considering
your
rather iniquitous reputation
,
my lord, you are hardly one to cast
aspersions,” she continued irately.
“Besides, what business is it of yours how I choose to behave?”
He raised his brow in disbelief, momentarily taken aback by
her impudence.
Hmm, Lady Tiffany had a
bit of a temper.
He hadn’t expected
that.
“Don’t you mean
misbehave
?” he challenged a second
later, looking upon her with narrowed eyes.
Tiffany’s jaw
dropped, but she recovered herself quickly.
“That’s a bit like the pot calling the kettle black, isn’t it, my
lord?”
Alex blinked.
“Excuse
me?”
“Considering your own behavior this evening, I hardly think
that
you
have any right to cast
judgment upon my conduct, or anyone else’s for that matter,” she replied
stiffly.
“And what exactly is that supposed to mean?” Alex demanded.
Mindful of the sudden stiffening of his spine and the slight
tightening of his jaw, Tiffany faltered.
Why was she deliberately provoking him?
There was no point to it.
Besides, he was right, she silently acknowledged.
She had acted foolishly and impulsively.
“Nothing,” she finally mumbled under her
breath, casting her gaze downward.
Alex eyed her curiously.
“Tell me,” he ordered, though his tone no longer held the same biting
edge.
Tiffany merely shook her head, staring at her feet.
She shouldn’t have said anything, she
thought, mentally kicking herself.