“The gambling den owner?”
“Yes.”
“Somehow, I quite imagined an ogre! He is…oh my Ester, he is very handsome.” Caroline shifted closer. “I wonder why he is here—”
They both inhaled when he glanced up, and his gaze unerringly snagged Ester’s.
“Oh,” Caroline said with soft wonderment. “He is here for you.”
Fireworks exploded inside Ester’s body. “He is.”
“Are you aware that you are blushing and smiling,” Caroline said, “And your mama is also staring at you. Oh, Ester, please do be careful. I do not think should he ask you to dance with him, that you should accept.”
“He is the only man I shall dance with tonight,” Ester whispered, unable to break his provocative regard.
“Oh, dear, Aunt Margaret will be displeased after what you told me about Mr. Rundbull.”
“I shall go to him.”
Caroline gasped. “It is better to allow him to come to you.”
She gripped her cousin’s hand, and they went down the stairs to hover on the sidelines in the ballroom. Ester pointedly waited and was rewarded when Edmond and Lord Marbury performed the introductions.
As she rose from her curtsy, Edmond said, “Dance with me.”
“Thatis not how a gentleman asks,” Caroline whispered, clearly horrified yet amused.
“Yes,” Ester said and took his arms, feeling her cousin’s start of surprise and her silent reprimand, for that was not how a lady should respond.
He swept her onto the dance floor for the waltz with thrilling grace and power.
“I did not know you were back in town.”
“Your sister mentioned you would attend this ball.”
The journey for the footman to take her letter to Kent would have been a little over an hour. That meant Edmond had departed his estate immediately upon hearing the news.
“I did not wish for you to suffer any bullying.”
Her fingers tightened on his shoulders as he swept her into a wide arc. “Ellie mentioned Mr. Rundbull and my family’s expectations of me.”
Something savaged moved in his gaze. “I could not help overhearing their outrage.”
“And you raced to rescue me?” she asked, feeling a spurt of amusement. “Do you truly think the old dragon would be afraid of you?”
A small smile touched his mouth. “No. But Rundbull would be. I could always assist him in floating down the Thames with his ideas.”
“Outrageous,” she hissed, yet her heart soared.
He tugged her scandalously closed, and she gasped.
“Are you going to marry him, Ester?”
“Would it matter to you if I did?”
A tic jerked in his jaw. “I would not stand in the way of your happiness.”
“Ah, that is to say, you yourself cannot add to my happiness, hmm?”