They’d nearly completed their circuit of the room. They could go about again, but if they did, there was sure to be discussion from the other guests. There already would be. Not only had they walked together, danced together, and dined together, but there had been laughing and…
He looked up, realizing that the majority of the guests were either discreetly or not-so-discreetly watching them. Right.
“I should return you to your mother.”
Evie’s face fell. She quickly forced a smile but not before he caught her look of disappointment. Would she truly miss his company?
“Of course,” she murmured.
“But I shall see you for our dance and I absolutely wish to hear more about your interests.”
“Thank you, Your Grace.”
He left her with her mother and quickly retreated to the other side of the room, but he almost instantly regretted the decision. He’d been attempting to keep from being too obvious about his interest but the moment they moved into the ball room, he found himself in a score of tedious conversations as he watched one gentleman after another whisk Evie onto the dance floor.
It was an actual relief when their dance finally arrived.
He’d never been glad to dance before in his entire life. In fact, it was an activity he avoided as much as possible.
But as he crossed the room to collect Evie, not only was he happy the wait was over but he found himself excited to hold her in his arms.
How would her waist feel? Tiny, he could picture his hand spanning across it, and his chest swelled with that masculine pride that came from being large enough to protect a woman.
But he gave himself a shake. They’d not even danced. What was he talking about…protecting?
She stood with her mother and another gentleman whom Evan recognized as the Earl of Rangeley.
Handsome as the devil, he was openly on the hunt for a dowry and Evan bristled at the idea of the other man pursuing Evie.
He hadn’t asked his aunt a thing about her dowry. He knew her father was a well-respected earl but that was it.
He stepped up to the small group, his teeth clenched together as he caught the other man’s eye.
“Rangeley,” he said, attempting to be civil.
“Your Grace.” The other man flashed him a large smile, seeming unperturbed by Evan. Then the earl looked over at Evie, his smile softening. “A pleasure, Lady Evelyn.”
Evie gave a quick curtsy in reply before she turned toward Evan. “Your Grace.”
Without another word, he held out his elbow and her fingers slid into the crook of his arm. He relaxed at the touch as he started toward the dance floor. “Have you known the earl long?”
She shook her head. “We only met this evening.”
That made him relax all the more as he found an open spot on the dance floor. “I’m glad to hear it and if I might be so bold as to say, you ought to keep your acquaintance to that. I’ve heard he lost his fortune at the gaming tables.”
“Did you?” she asked, meeting his gaze as one of her eyebrows quirked. The look she gave him added a touch of mischief to her beauty, making her even more interesting and delectable.
His breath held in his lungs as he missed the first steps of the dance.
Blast. “I did.”
And then he began to move, catching up to the rest of the dancers in an awkward start that had his teeth clenching again.
* * *
Evie almost laughedout loud as they fumbled through the start. Normally she’d be mortified, especially knowing everyone was watching, but with him…
She was almost certain they’d stumbled because the Duke of Wingate was jealous of the attention the Earl of Rangeley had paid her.