Chapter 4

CHAPTER4

"Do not look now, but I think you might have to exert a little more effort."

Amy frowned at Esther’s words. "Whatever do you mean by that?"

"I meant," her friend clarified in a low murmur, "that His Grace is currently headed in our direction."

"Surely not." Amy snapped her fan close and rolled her eyes. She was quite certain that after being most impolite to the Duke, he would be less eager to be in her company. In her experience, men did not like it when a lady did not fall at their feet—especially a man with such a lofty status such as the Duke of Leonbridge.

"He has probably just laid eyes on another lady," she continued although she felt a slight tingle at the thought of that tall, darkly handsome man moving closer to her once more…

Still, she must not lose sight of her goal! If she could manage to gently dissuade any foolish gentleman who might be foolish enough to approach her, then her freedom would be in her grasp.

"Miss Anne Delaney is also in attendance tonight," Amy mentioned. "Perhaps she would be a more palatable partner."

Yes, that must be it! After all, I have garnered quite a reputation for myself,she thought. It was only a fluke that the Duke of Leonbridge himself would ask me for a dance. Another one would be an impossibility!

"A more palatable partner for whom?" a deep baritone, tinged in amusement, asked from behind her.

Amy nearly jumped in alarm at the sound of that voice—so distinctly deep and masculine. Nothing at all like the other gentlemen she had the misfortune of being acquainted with.

But...surely, it wasn’t His Grace.

However, one look at Esther’s wide-eyed reaction more than confirmed it.

Amy slowly turned around and nearly burned in mortification at the sight of His Grace looking down at her with amusement in his deep blue eyes. His lips were curled into a smile that could only be described as sensuous.

Good heavens,she thought. The man is a walking scandal!

And Lady Amy Clarke did not dabble in scandal—even if it was one of the most expedient ways to be cast out of Society. She simply had no desire to give in to the baser desires of men.

"Did no one ever tell you how rude it is to listen in on other people’s conversations?" she admonished him a little too harshly.

But truly, in a crowded ballroom such as this, it was quite a stretch to expect a modicum of privacy in one’s conversations. There was always someone looking out for the latest gossip.

"In that case, I apologize for intruding upon such lovely ladies," the Duke smoothly countered.

"You are forgiven," Amy replied rather quickly.

She had no desire to be sucked into a longer conversation with His Grace, the Duke of Leonbridge. The man had a way of just...making her lose her wits—which was never a good sign.

However, the Duke just smiled in return. "Now that I am forgiven, would Lady Amy be so kind as to honor me with another dance?"

Amy looked up at the much taller man, her eyes blinking in confusion. "I beg your pardon?"

"Dance with me, Lady Amy Clarke," he repeated, his voice a deep, dark seduction. "I want to dance with you."

"But...but we’ve already danced, Your Grace!" she squeaked out in protest.

"But I want to dance with you again."

Dancing with the same lady a second time could only mean one thing. Had it been any other young lady, it would have been a cause for celebration.

Amy, on the other hand, was filled with amusement and dread. The moment she would step out onto the dance floor with him for the second time this night, the entire ballroom would be abuzz with rumors.

However, she could not possibly refuse him. If she did, she would break the terms of the agreement she had made earlier with her father, and she might have to endure yet another Season.

Why, oh why, did the Duke of Leonbridge have to choose to cast his special attention on her tonight? There were a great number of young ladies who would happily traipse into the dance floor with him...Why did it have to be her?

Mad. His Grace must have gone utterly mad, Amy concluded mentally.

"I suppose I have no other choice," she grumbled.

The Duke smiled at her words, and for a moment, it irritated her just how brilliantly he smiled. It was almost akin to staring at the sun, except that instead of feeling pain, she was even more captivated at the sight of it.

Perhaps I am a little bit insane myself…

Heart racing in her chest, she allowed herself to be led back onto the dance floor by the tall, handsome man at her side. She could feel the stares of a ballroom full of people as they made their way through the crush. She could hear the flurry of whispers and the fancy fans beating back and forth as the sight of them together for the second time that night ignited rumors that would spread like wildfire.

This cannot be happening to me, Amy thought in despair.

And yet, when she looked up at the Duke, he was still smiling down at her as if she was not Lady Amy Clarke, the bane of all gentlemen. Instead, he was looking at her like she was the most intriguing creature.

Perhaps it is merely the novelty of dancing with someone so adversarial that has enticed him, she realized suddenly. In that case, I must convince him that spending time in my company is not in his best interests!

* * *

Lady Amy was as stiff as a board when he led her out onto the dance floor for the second time that night. So much so that Evan was almost convinced that he was dragging a plank of wood instead of a woman of flesh and blood.

He looked down at his dance partner for the night and almost cursed Benedict for making that stupid challenge. Even more, he cursed himself for ever fallingfor his best friend’s provocation.

Contrary to the general consensus of all the other gentlemen in the ton, Lady Amy Clarke was not as unattractive as they protested. Even her gown—most sensible as it was—could not hide the generous curves of her body.

While most women ate like little birds, nearly starving themselves in an effort to squeeze into the latest fashions, it would seem that Lady Amy dispensed of such ridiculous notions and nourished herself to her heart’s content.

As a result, her cheeks glowed with health, her hair fairly shone under the light of the chandelier, and her eyes sparked with an inner fire.

"Come, My Lady. Surely, I am not such an odious man as to warrant that expression on your face," he told her as the musicians began to strike up a tune.

Her only response was a sharp glare before she...turned her gaze to his shoulder. Was that shyness he detected? Certainly, a woman like Lady Amy Clarke could not possibly be shy!

"I detest dancing," she told him pointedly.

"In that, we can both agree."

"And yet, here you are, Your Grace, asking me to dance a second time."

Her tone was sharp with sarcasm, nothing like the saccharine flattery he was used to. If he was to capture the heart of this woman, it would seem that he would have to gain it through other means. The conventional ways of flirtation would only be met with mockery at the hands of this quite peculiar young lady.

"You... truly are nothing like the other young ladies," he mused.

"Am I supposed to be flattered by such words?" she retorted. "Surely Your Grace is not ignorant of my reputation."

Of course, he was not. In fact, it was precisely her reputation that enticed Benedict to make her the object of his challenge.

"The gossips talk, but I would rather find out the truth for myself," he told her. "Besides, it is beneath a man of my stature to indulge in petty things."

He expertly maneuvered their dance to avoid another pair of dancers who looked like they were angling to get closer to them.

No doubt, they wish to listen in on our conversation. How rude.

He smiled a little at that, recalling how Lady Amy had reprimanded him earlier for the same transgression. She was right about that, though. He did disdain those who had the unfortunate penchant of shoving their noses where they didn’t belong.

"Well now, the gossips will have something else to talk about," Lady Amy told him, right before he felt a crushing force on his foot.

He was momentarily shocked. A curse was already hovering at his lips, and then he caught it—the glint in her eyes was unmistakable.

She did it! Lady Amy Clarke just stepped on his foot!

Fortunately, she was not as heavy as she presumed, and he was not one to scream at the slightest hint of pain.

She seems like she would rather be anywhere else than here on the dance floor with me. But if so, why did she not refuse me in the first place?

His thoughts were disrupted when she did it again—Lady Amy stepped right on his other foot. And this time, she managed to really dig her foot into his, so there would be no mistaking her intentions.

"I did tell Your Grace that I am an awful dancer," she reminded him sweetly.

Evan smiled gingerly at that. This woman was truly testing his patience.

Or just how far he would go with this farce.

Their eyes met, and the challenge sparked between them—she was determined to make sure he would never be so inclined to approach her again whilst he was aiming to capture her affections. Between the two of them, his was perhaps the loftier pursuit for it was well-known amongst the ton that Lady Amy had no intention to wed.

A woman like her...he had to exert more effort to change her mind if he was to prove Benedict wrong.

"Fret not, Lady Amy," he told her, leaning slightly into her ear so that his warm breath fanned against her neck. "A true man will make up for whatever his partner lacks."

He nearly laughed at the way she furiously narrowed her eyes to glare at him. She was a true spitfire in every sense of the word.

It was quite fortunate that His Grace, the Duke of Leonbridge, liked to play with fire.

When the final strains of the music played out, he was looking at her with amusement, but she was not amused in the very least.

Fortunately, my feet are made of sterner stuff, and I am still able to walk without much problem…

As he led her back to where Lady Esther was waiting for them, she smirked and said, "The first dance is an expression of favorable regard, and the second a declaration of one’s intentions. To dance with Your Grace a third time would be to court scandal." She flicked her gaze at him in a sideways glance. "I hope Your Grace will spare me that."

Evan nearly laughed at that. "The Lady is correct."

She smiled triumphantly at that, looking rather pleased with herself.

But that was before he leaned down to her ear and whispered, "But that does not mean I shall not be looking for you later, My Lady."

He heard the swift intake of her breath and fought to keep the chuckle from bubbling up his throat at her aghast expression. He took her gloved hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it.

"I look forward to dancing with you again, My Lady."

He was not lying.