Chapter 5

It was all her own fault, Leah knew, as she hurried to keep up with the dance that she had been thrown into. She had been certain that it was Daniel who had come through the hidden door in the refreshment room, only realizing her mistake when she was already practically nose-to-nose with the fellow. Her eyesight had always been atrocious in low light, and with the gentleman's height, pale skin, dark hair and wine-colored tailcoat, he had looked exactly like Daniel.

Like a vampire, she mused, for the ladies of the ton swooned over Daniel, conjuring romantic rumors that he was not entirely of this Earth—an immortal, otherworldly being that they could not resist.

The same was somewhat true of this mysterious Nathaniel.

Standing opposite him as they swept forward and back, ebbing like a graceful tide, she noticed he was taller than Daniel, who danced with a different partner a few couples away. Nathaniel's skin was not as pale, either, still showing a hint of the browning that he must have gained through the bygone summer. It made him seem… warmer and more vital, especially set against hair of the darkest black and eyes to match which could easily have given the impression of coldness. In Leah's humble opinion, he was even more handsome than Daniel though most of the ton would have disagreed.

"Thank you," he said in a smooth, silky voice as they stepped closer to one another and bent from side to side, their hands flowing outward.

She raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

"For not slapping me as hard as possible across the cheek, and for not bowing out of this dance," he replied, smiling. He had a lovely smile, his teeth perfect, his full lips made for smiling. "I would not have blamed you. Truly, I am not usually so… boorish."

She stepped around him in a half circle, coming back to her original position in front of him. "There is still time. Perhaps, I am simply waiting for the ink to dry."

"But if you do that, how will people know who has struck me for my insolence?" he teased. "It would be like a brand."

She managed a small smile. "I am not in the habit of resorting to violence. You are fortunate, but let us both hope that Daniel vouches for your propriety as you promised he would." Her smile faded slightly. "I cannot afford an embarrassment."

Another embarrassment…

As she turned another half-circle around Nathaniel, her gaze flitted to the other side of the room, searching for any sign of Jonathan and Dorothy. She was certain they had followed her out of the refreshment room and was fully expecting to see Jonathan laughing at her, no doubt convinced that she had just wandered off with the first gentleman she had found, which she had. Instead, she saw Jonathan scowling, his lip curled in a nasty grimace that seemed to be worrying his young wife. She kept stroking his arm to gain his attention, but his cold gaze was fixed upon Leah and her unexpected dancing partner.

Does he not realize it was all a ruse gone awry? Her heart leaped with hope that she had managed to fox him though there was still a very obvious, very large hole in her scheme. Daniel would have played along beyond a dance, pretending he was Leah's beloved until the end of the night for the sake of Olivia and Evan. This gentleman likely would not. Indeed, she did not even know who he was.

"Should I dance more sedately?" Nathaniel asked. "Is it my footwork that might embarrass you? I admit, the country dances are not my forte. I gain two left feet in such things."

Leah frowned at the handsome man. "Who are you?"

"Nathaniel," he replied. "Did I not mention that already?"

"Yes, but who are you?"

"Ah, the important details." He flashed a wry grin. "I am the Duke of Bergfield, but there is no need to refer to me as "Your Grace." After the indignity I have made you suffer, I require no honorifics."

Leah's eyes widened. "A… Duke?"

"Have you never met one before? I assure you, we are much the same as ordinary folks though we do hang upside down at night to sleep, and we must always be cautious of hiding our leathery wings from public view," he replied, laughing softly as he twirled in a circle.

She echoed the movement, catching sight of Jonathan once more as she spun. He looked furious. Is it because I am dancing with a duke? The possibility pleased her immeasurably. Does he think I am hopelessly in love with a duke, ranked so high above him? It was too delicious—and altogether too riddled with obstacles, for she knew she would never be able to get a duke to pretend to be her beloved.

"What of your fangs?" she replied, deciding to enjoy herself for as long as the dance lasted. Perhaps, that would be enough to convince Jonathan that the affection was real. "You do not bite, do you?"

Nathaniel pretended to bare his teeth. "I rarely bite unless provoked."

"A pity."

He frowned. "Why so?"

"There is someone I would not have minded you biting and carrying off to your lair," Leah replied, strangely calm in the peculiar company of her handsome partner. He had an unusual sense of humor, that was for certain, but so did she.

Nathaniel's dark eyes scoured the ballroom as the pair promenaded through a short tunnel of arched arms. "Ah, I see him." He wrinkled his nose. "Quite the glare he has there. What did you do to receive such scorching disapproval? Did you smack him with an inky hand and leave your brand upon him? Goodness, I hope so. I cannot abide that man."

"You know him?" Leah swallowed, her heart thudding.

Nathaniel pulled a face. "We schooled together. He was two years above me if memory serves. Used to pretend he was the king of Eton though everyone knew he was a scholarship boy." He smirked, and Leah could not help but join in. "It does not appear as if much has changed. Why, the old rogue tried to convince me to invest in some sort of business endeavor some years ago, but I refused on Daniel's advice. An irresponsible speculation, I believe Daniel called it, but I heard the risk was worth it in the end. Not that I mind. Any business endeavor with that fellow would not be worth enough, for it would mean having to converse with him, and I remember him being terribly dull. But pray tell, how do you know him?"

Leah grimaced as they formed part of the arching tunnel, stepping toward each other as the last couple promenaded through. "Do you receive the scandal sheets?"

"Only if I am in dire need of tinder for the fireplace," he replied, making her chuckle.

"Three years ago, I was engaged to be married to that man," Leah explained. "And I can attest to the fact that he is exceedingly boring when it comes to conversation, for he only ever speaks of himself."

Nathaniel looked horrified. "Goodness, I am terribly sorry."

"It gets worse." She puffed out a breath. "He jilted me. Simply did not arrive at the church and left no word of why. Six months later, I found out he had married that young lady at his side."

Nathaniel's horror grew. "But she must have been a child!" He shook his head. "How old is she—five-and-ten, six-and-ten?"

"One-and-twenty," Leah replied. "Anyway, as you must know from your schooldays, he has a curious dedication to taunting those he deems to be beneath him. He was in the midst of taunting me, and I could no longer endure it, so I… claimed I had a suitor. A beloved suitor. Then, you stumbled through the door, and I mistook you for Daniel. I knew Daniel would help me, you see, so perhaps I just saw what I wanted to see."

Nathaniel's expression softened as their palms pressed together, and they turned in slow circles. "So, I ruined your scheme? Mercy, I have so much to apologize to you for."

"I mistook you. I am to blame, but… that is how I know him, and he will soon discover that I lied, and the satisfaction that will be etched upon his face is almost more than I can bear," she said grimly.

Nathaniel shrugged as the music began to fade. "It does not have to be a lie."

"Pardon?" Leah almost choked, her hand flying to her chest.

He smiled brightly, mischief shining in his dark eyes. "Did you not stop to wonder why I was stumbling out of a servants' corridor, or why I escorted you from the refreshment room as if there were hounds chasing me?"

"I… suppose not," she replied. "I was thinking of my own troubles."

Nathaniel nodded as if that made perfect sense. "Well, I was escaping my mother and the young lady she wants me to marry. You might have heard someone screeching my name before the dance began. That was my mother." He discreetly tilted his head toward two women who stood in the far corner, watching as intently as Jonathan and Dorothy. "Selfish though it sounds, I was trying to save my own skin. You were my rescue as it seems I was yours."

"But… I am not interested in any sort of courtship," Leah spluttered, keeping her voice low in case Jonathan overheard. "I lied to spare my pride, not because I want to be courted."

Nathaniel chuckled, the sound so warm and confusing that all Leah could do was stare at him as if he were quite mad. "I am not suggesting an actual courtship, Lady Leah. I neither want to court nor be courted, either. I am suggesting a ruse, much like this one." He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Do you see how easy it would be? We are already comfortable in one another's company."

She could not deny that she was oddly comfortable in his company though she supposed that was partially due to the satisfaction of seeing Jonathan in a fury. But to pretend to be in a courtship with this man? It was impossible. It would mean seeing her name in the scandal sheets once again, trailing a second failed relationship behind her, even if it was not real.

"I will take all the blame in the end," Nathaniel suggested as if reading her mind. "I will conjure a story that shines the best possible light upon you while making me utterly intolerable to the fairer sex. In that way, we both get what we desire: I will save your pride, and you will help me escape marriage in its entirety."

Leah began to chew her bottom lip; a bad habit that she could not shake. "How do I know, you will not make me look like the guilty party?"

"Because I am a man of my word, even though you do not yet know me," he replied gently. "I promise, through the whole of the London season, I will stay by your side as long as you stay by mine when I need you. And when the season concludes, I shall be the villain, and you will be the damsel who has saved herself or is open to the notion of being saved by another dashing gentleman. That shall be your choice, of course."

Leah could not believe she was even contemplating it, considering she had known Nathaniel for all of ten minutes. Yet, in those ten minutes, she had felt safer with him than she had ever felt in Jonathan's company. Any man's, in truth. He seemed genuine and earnest, and judging by the vicious glares he was receiving from the woman who appeared to be his mother and the lady beside her, he was desperate.

"There must be a contract," she said as the orchestra faded to nothing, and the dancers began to move away, replaced by fresh couples.

Nathaniel grinned. "I would expect nothing less from the lady with ink on her gloves. Indeed, if you show me where you left your inkwell, we could create the contract right now."

"I would prefer not to," she replied, for Jonathan and Dorothy were in the way.

Nathaniel bent to kiss her hand. "As you prefer. I believe this ruse will be enough for tonight anyway." He peered up at her, his lips still touching the stained silk of her gloves. "But might I know of your residence, so that we might correspond? There is much to consider."

"Do you know of Druidstone Abbey?" She winced slightly, for it was a famous residence, renowned for its beautiful, haunting architecture.

His mouth fell open. "Know of it? Heavens, who does not? I believe half of Mrs. Radcliffe's novels are an homage to the place."

"That is untrue," Leah said shyly. "She passed by once, that is all, and I have never seen any likeness in her stories."

"But you have read them?" He grinned. "How interesting."

Heat rushed into Leah's cheeks. "I did not say I had read them. My friends have. They can see no likeness either."

At that moment, she spied Matilda and Anna entering the ballroom, searching frantically. It was Anna who saw Leah first, her expression transforming into one of bemusement as she saw Leah standing there with Nathaniel. But Matilda did not seem to notice the strangeness of the situation as she fluttered her hand wildly as if to say, "Hurry up! It is now or never!"

"My escort has arrived," Leah said, curtseying to Nathaniel. "Allow me to… think on your suggestion, though, as you said, I think tonight might be enough of a ruse for now."

Sure enough, Jonathan was marching toward the terrace with Dorothy hurrying after him, a black cloud following them out. Was it the kiss on the hand? Leah had a feeling that had sealed the illusion.

"Let us hope so," Nathaniel replied, pointing discreetly at his mother, who looked alarmingly purple. Leah was about to turn and join her friends when his voice called her back. "Oh, but if you should change your mind and accept, there is one proviso that must be in our contract."

Leah frowned. "No improper grabbing of my arms?"

"That too," he said, smiling, "but the main one must be this: you are not, under any circumstances, to fall in love with me, no matter how charming and irresistible I might seem during our season together."

She snorted. "In that, we are entirely agreed. Indeed, I have the same condition."

With that, she hurried off toward her friends though the back of her neck prickled as she walked quickly. He was watching her leave; she was certain of it.

"Who in the name of all that is good and holy was that?" Anna chirped, seizing Leah by the arm while Matilda took the other, the two women escorting their friend toward the manor's exit.

Leah shook her head, refusing to look back. "Oh, no one important. Just a good Samaritan."

And the man I might spend the season courting to make Jonathan rue the day he left me humiliated at the altar… Like a ripe berry on a bush, the more she thought about it, the more the prospect grew ever more tempting. But perhaps, it was better if the berry stayed where it was, for though she saw no reason to distrust the handsome, pleasant stranger she had met so recently, she truly could not afford another smear against her name.