A False Proposal (3 page)

“I-I need to speak with Jenny about something. Don’t look at me that way.”

After a brief nod, Louisa trooped off to find her friends. Cass looked about for Jack. And for Adam, too, although finding him would probably only cause her pain. The musicians had struck up a country dance tune, and partners were lining up. To her chagrin, Cass caught sight of Adam, partnered with this season’s Incomparable, Elizabeth Morgan. His golden hair glinted in the candlelight; otherwise she probably wouldn’t have seen him. A tall girl with a regal bearing, Miss Morgan looked quite at home parading with Adam.

“Cass!”

She tore her gaze away. It was Jack calling to her. She smiled and waved as she began to make her way through the crowd in her brother’s direction. Elizabeth Morgan would make a superb political hostess someday. Maybe that’s what Adam was thinking. A union with her would bring patronage, money, and influence. With a sudden shake of her head, she realized how foolish she was being. They were only dancing together, and she had them married.

Jenny, a sweet, naturally pretty girl, kissed Cass’s cheek. “Hello, dearest. You look lovely tonight. Is that a new ball dress?”

Cass nodded, and Jenny, leaning close, said, “Adam Grey has been watching you since you stepped into the room.”

Chapter Three

Hell and damnation
. Adam had spotted Cassie and could barely wrest his gaze from her. She was wearing a pale yellow confection with a form-fitting bodice. Even with a lace trim, it was revealing. He’d been mulling over their conversation of the previous day and had concluded he should apologize to Cass for his thoughtless and needlessly cruel remarks.

Miss Morgan was speaking to him, and he pulled his gaze back to her. She really was quite enchanting, with her blond curls and winsome blue eyes.

“I just love balls!” she said.

But not a great conversationalist
.

“Ah, well then, you must be enjoying your come-out.”

“’Tis great fun.” She cackled, spoiling her cool, stylish manner, and Adam had to stop himself from cringing. “My dance card is always full. What more could I desire?” Miss Morgan tilted her head up and smiled unabashedly at him.
Good God, she couldn’t be more than eighteen
.

“What more indeed?”

The dance ended at last. Adam returned his partner to her chaperone and bowed. Without wasting a minute, he went in search of Cassie. He wanted to ask her for a dance before they’d all been claimed. Madness, he was sure, but there it was. He hadn’t taken five steps through the crush before he found himself surrounded, entrapped really, by a hoard of matrons and their daughters. Sweet Jesus, he should have been more careful! Now he was going to have to spend an hour, at least, in conversation with the matchmaking mamas and their progeny. There was no escaping it. He bowed politely to the woman on his left.

“Mr. Grey, so nice to see you back in town.”

“How do you do? And this must be…?”

Before he knew what hit him, he was dancing the first waltz of the evening with…whoever she was. And the next dance with another ingénue. And the next, and the one after that. Fortune smiled on him, though, when he and his latest partner joined a quadrille with three other couples. Cass, dancing with Atherton, was among the ladies.

…

“May I have the honor, Miss Linford?”

Cass, who’d been hovering with her cousin against the wall for the last half hour, had groaned silently when Lord David Atherton, requested a dance. Although he was a close friend of Jack’s, she felt a bit intimidated by him. But he’d always been kind to her, and she had no reason to spurn him. Truth be known, Jack had probably bribed him to dance with her.

She gave him her hand, and they walked toward a few other couples forming for a quadrille. Spotting Adam immediately, Cass felt her stomach tighten. He acknowledged her with the barest of nods. His partner looked no older than eighteen, and Cass didn’t recognize her. Jack’s fiancée, Jenny, and her brother-in-law were also part of the set.

They bowed and curtsied to each other, then began the figures. Cass had always loved the quadrille, and she knew she danced it well. She held herself erect and let her feet take flight. Atherton smiled at her and she smiled back. One time during the set when she was holding hands with Adam, he discreetly leaned in and whispered in her ear as they circled round. “Save me the next waltz?”

Cass, surprised and pleased, could only nod. He squeezed her fingers gently before passing her back to her partner, and she felt the heat from his hand surge through her body all the way to her toes. Earlier, she’d watched the predatory mothers and their daughters surround him, chuckling to herself. Then, as now, he hadn’t seemed engaged, but had kept a rather bland, polite expression on his face. Could he actually have been hoping for a dance with her? Was he bored with the debutantes?

She thanked Atherton and asked him to return her not to her cousin, but to Jack, who was standing among a mixed crowd of his peers. Cass nearly turned on her heel when she saw that one of the group was Leonora Darling. She’d made her come-out the same year as Cass and had set a record in snagging herself an earl, albeit an elderly, creaky one. She was now Lady Leonora, Countess of Suttleworth, at least until her husband’s heir took a wife. Her earl had turned up his toes more than a year ago, dead of a heart seizure, if the rumors were true. Marriage to Leonora had probably sent him to an early grave.

She was well out of mourning, gowned in purple satin with a deep décolletage. Plumes of exotic looking feathers adorned her black hair. The Earl of Suttleworth had been fabulously wealthy. Leonora must have inherited a fortune, since her husband had died childless. Cass had always disliked her, for the simple reason that she had brazenly flirted with Adam at every opportunity during that fateful season. Cass had always suspected her of being the lady Adam was dallying with at the Sheffield ball, but the light had been too dim to be sure. And Adam had shielded the woman with his body. So gentlemanly of him.

“How was your dance?” Jack asked, turning toward her.

She blinked. “Lovely.” Before she could say more, he’d turned away.

“Ah, here’s Jenny,” he said.

Cass marveled at the way Jack doted on his fiancée and warmed at the sight of him watching Jenny as she approached. And love shone from Jenny’s eyes. How Cass envied what they shared. They seemed perfectly attuned to each other.

Jack and Jenny’s brother-in-law struck up a conversation, so the two ladies did likewise.

“Mr. Grey can’t seem to keep his eyes off you.”

“Really?” Cass looked at her questioningly, as she was sometimes given to exaggeration. “I think he’s a bit flummoxed by the marriage mart. Perhaps he’s forgotten what it’s like.”

“Well, he was certainly bored with his partner. In fact, he’s looked bored all evening.” She paused a moment, then clutched Cass’s hand and said
sotto voce
, “He’s coming our way.”

“He, uh, asked me for the next waltz,” Cass said. She watched his approach, delayed by friends who wished to greet him, remembering how he always managed to be the handsomest man in the room. Tonight he wore black trousers and coat. As he drew closer, she saw that his waistcoat was of a pale gray silk, with a subtle diamond pattern. A small sapphire nestled in the folds of his cravat. He was restrained elegance.

Jenny was speaking. Cass tore her gaze from Adam to listen. “Really? Are you…glad?”

“It’s nothing, Jenny. Don’t imagine his asking me for a dance has any hidden meaning.”

“Oh, I would never be so foolish,” Jenny said with a wink.

Cass sensed a rustling of skirts nearby. Lady Leonora stepped forward, practically shoving her aside.

“Mr. Grey,” she cooed, thrusting out her bosom. “If you’ve come to request a dance, I believe I am—”

Adam cut her off. “Lady Leonora.” He bowed and then immediately turned to Cass. “My dance, I believe, Miss Linford.”

Glancing briefly at Leonora before allowing Adam to lead her out, Cass was gratified to see that she looked like she’d swallowed a frog. Cass could guess what was running through her mind: Why would Adam choose her, a girl who’d lived in virtual disgrace these past few years, over one such as herself?

…

Adam had noticed Leonora lingering in the group that included Cass, Jack, and his fiancée, but never dreamed she’d put herself forward so boldly. As he guided Cass to the dance floor, he hoped to hell she wouldn’t mention it, since he’d gone out of his way to ignore the woman. He’d all but given her the cut direct.

While they waited for the music to begin, Adam placed his hand at the small of Cass’s back, inching her closer to his body. Grasping her right hand in his left, he sensed her hesitation before she placed her other hand at his shoulder. The music began, and for a few moments, they were both caught up in the sounds, rhythm, and sweep of the dance. God, Cassie felt wonderful in his arms, and she was a fine dancer, too. He was enjoying the moment too much to spoil it by offering her his apology. He decided to wait until a more opportune time presented itself. If only he could get her to look up at him instead of staring directly at his cravat, maybe he could draw her out.

“Your brother seems very happy with his choice of a bride.” Ah, success. She raised her head.

“He is, I believe. They both are.”

“It is a love match, then?”

Now she looked up at him, her eyes softly glowing. “Yes.”

“It seems a rarity. They are fortunate indeed.”

“You believe love between husband and wife is rare?”

“From what I have observed, very few couples enjoy such felicity.” The dance floor was crowded, and Adam had to do some fancy maneuvering to avoid smashing into other dancers. He steered Cass toward the fringes of the crowd where they might have more room.

“My parents had a very happy marriage,” Cass said. “I see Jack gazing at Jenny in much the same way my father looked at my mother. I wish…” She cut herself off, and a pink flush spread over her cheeks.

God, she was adorable when she flushed that way. Some girls broke out in repulsive patches of crimson when they blushed, but not Cassie. She was rose petal pink.
What’s the matter with me?
A few more spins around the floor and he’d be simpering at her feet. He needed to change the tone of the conversation, because he knew damn well what it was she wished.

“My father and mother detest each other,” he said, and Cass’s expression sobered immediately. But she needed to know that marriage was at best a dubious proposition. After growing up with the heartbreak that characterized his parents’ union, he’d ruled it out for himself.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured. Her footwork faltered, and Adam had to clasp her more tightly to steady her.

“He is a depraved man.”
Christ, why did I say that?
He’d never told that to a living soul. And at a ball, no less. But something made him continue. “They’ve lived apart for ten years. I don’t know if they’ve even seen each other during that time. They communicate through lawyers.”

“I am sorry, Adam. I never knew—”

“Of course you didn’t. How could you?” Their eyes met and held, and he felt her empathy and understanding deep in his chest, where something stirred and…and oh, hell, he had to stop this.

Just then, Leonora floated by in the arms of a dark stranger. His blood ran cold when, after a second look, he recognized the man’s profile and the somber look on his face. Swiftly, he spun Cass so his back was to the other couple.

“Leonora still holds quite an allure for you, I see,” Cassie said, obviously baiting him. “And she’s exceedingly wealthy now.”

She thought he’d been staring at Leonora! What a ridiculous notion. Adam steered her toward a column and off the dance floor. Releasing her, he took a step back into a sequestered nook, forcing her to follow. “Why do you think so poorly of me, Cassie?” he demanded, leaning in close. “Is it because of that incident so long ago?” Again she flushed, but this time he was too angry to notice how it made her skin glow.

She remained silent, although she continued to gaze steadily at him.

“Trust me. If you had experienced disease and death and war, you would not think a meaningless dalliance in a hallway so reprehensible. And, by the way, Leonora is the last woman in the world who could hold my interest.” He noticed, for the first time ever, that Cassie’s eyes were extraordinary. Not simply brown, but brown verging on amber.

They stared at each other, until Cass finally spoke. “Fair enough. But why were you going out of your way to ogle her just now, if that’s the case?”

“I was not ‘ogling’ her.” He couldn’t hold back a knowing grin. “You’re jealous!”

Cass bristled. “You flatter yourself, sir. I haven’t seen you in years and have no claim on you. Why would I be jealous?”

“I don’t know. Because you harbor a secret love for me?” Before she could protest, he took her in his arms and waltzed her back onto the dance floor. The dance was nearing its end, and he wanted somehow to fix things.

“Truly, Cassie, you’ve bewitched me tonight. You look splendid. Like a piece of Greek statuary.”

“I gather you mean hard and unyielding?” She gave him a suspicious glance.

How could she think that? “No!”
Flowing and curvaceous and
perfectly formed
. But he dared not say it out loud, so he continued his teasing. “I worship at the altar of your beauty,” he added, widening his eyes at her and expecting a sharp retort.

But instead, the unexpected happened. She laughed. A joyous and sweet sound, not at all like the cackle of the Incomparable. So he laughed, too, and then he pulled her close, relishing the feel of her softness against him. He hadn’t enjoyed flirting like this in years. He was probably holding her too close, beyond propriety, but he didn’t care. She stiffened a little, but didn’t pull away. After a moment, she relaxed in his arms and a tiny smile hovered at the corner of her lovely mouth. A mouth he would very much like to kiss.