“Ladies,” he rumbled low and deep. “If you’ll permit me, I shall take you all on a turn about the room. We’re bound to make any number of introductions.” And then he held out his elbow to Isabella.
She felt her sisters tense. The air about them went from relaxed to charged in a moment as she slipped her hand in the crook of his arm. Where it stayed as several introductions were made.
More than several…
If Isabella could have chosen a word, it might have been clamor. Men were clamoring for an introduction to the Carrington sisters.
All while she stayed tucked next to the Duke of Devonhall. Bash.
Which suited her absolutely fine.
His muscles flexed under her fingers as he smiled and nodded and created some oblique family connection between the Carrington girls and himself.
But several long stares were given to Isabella as she continued to rest on his arm.
And as she and Bash passed by, she couldn’t help but notice that several fans snapped open as whispers followed behind them.
She didn’t care, she told herself. In her mind, she was ruined already. But now, everyone would know. Because after the attention he’d paid her, when they didn’t wed…
She swallowed a lump as her chin dipped.
“What’s wrong?” Bash asked, his lips leaning close to her ear.
She jolted in surprise. It was the first time he’d spoken directly to her since they’d arrived. “Nothing,” she murmured back.
“Would you like to dance?”
She should say no. They’d created enough of a spectacle. But as she looked up at him, she realized this might be her last chance to dance like this. Held in his strong arms as he spun her about the floor. “Yes.”
He looked at her hired guardian, who, of course, would agree. Mildred nodded and then Bash swept her out onto the floor. The group of men still stood about her sisters. To their credit the ladies smiled and laughed. Their drawing room was certain to be full tomorrow and for the first time this evening, Isabella relaxed. Of course, they had no servants to attend those guests but that was a problem they’d solve easily enough. As far as dilemmas went, it paled in comparison to others they’d faced.
She was away from the whispers and the fans and from here, she could see that her sisters would receive plenty of offers. She’d done it.
That feeling carried to her feet as the dance began and Bash whirled her about in his arms.
She wished she could press her forehead into his neck and breath in his sandalwood scent. But as her hand rested on his broad shoulder, she remembered the feel of his lips on hers, warm, firm, and tender.
Her heart constricted.
“Isabella,” he said, her name in his deep baritone making her sigh.
“Yes?”
“You look stunning. You always look beautiful but tonight…”
She opened her eyes and tilted her chin. “Thank you.” A smile tipped up one side of her mouth. “It feels nice to be in a dress.”
He chuckled at that and leaned closer. “You should be dressed like this all the time.”
She didn’t want to think about time, especially not the future. Her smile slipped. “Perhaps.” She looked out toward the garden as they continued to dance. “Let’s not discuss what happens when we leave this dance floor. Instead, I want to just enjoy right now.”
He was silent as he continued to spin her but as the last strains of music died away, he tucked her hand into his elbow and started guiding her, not toward her family, but out to the terrace.
“Bash,” she whispered. “Where are we going?”
“We need to have a more private conversation,” he whispered back, then they stepped out into the cold night air.
Bash ignored the voice in his head that said he was a fool. That voice had berated him all evening.