He nodded.
She closed the slight gap between them. “If you stand up with me three times at a public ball you know what people shall think.”
He nodded again.
“But...” She glanced around the room as dancers lined up for the next dance, however she remained in place and they both occupied the center of the ballroom. “But what of Miss Fisher?”
He smiled slightly. “Miss Fisher is a very pleasant young lady.”
“And she is to be your...” Her throat bobbed. “Your betrothed, is she not?”
“Not.”
Clementine gasped audibly. Someone behind Roman coughed and he took a step back to move in line with the dancers. He held Clem’s gaze.Move,he told her silently.Dance with me.His heart pulsed hard while he saw the indecision run across her face. If she danced with him now, there would be talk if not an expectation of their courting one another. If she danced with him a third time, she knew precisely what she was agreeing to.
In the eyes of everyone, they might as well be engaged.
He released a long breath when she stepped into line. He couldn’t resist the smile tugging at his lips and she glanced at him from under her lashes, the pink in her cheeks deepening.
“What of Miss Fisher?” she pressed again when they finally met to move down the line of dancers, hands touching.
“Miss Fisher and I had a frank conversation and although I expect she will make someone an excellent wife, she has little interest in being with someone whose heart lies elsewhere.”
They were moved apart before he could catch a response, though Roman suspected he had made Lady Clementine Musgrave speechless for the first time ever. Their hands connected once more as they moved around one another.
“I do not think so highly of myself to believe that Miss Fisher cares in any way that we were not a match. Her father was more keen on it than she was.”
“Foolish Miss Fisher,” Clementine muttered.
“It seems Miss Fisher is seeking consolation with Mr. Watson anyway.” He nodded toward the couple, their heads bowed close together.
“Oh!” She gave a surprised laugh. “They would be so perfect together.”
He couldn’t help agree. They were two perfect people—kind, accomplished, traditionally attractive. And not at all what he was interested in. He needed a woman who would test him, push him, drive him to break the rules and his rigid upbringing.
“What of us?” he asked, using his hold on her hand to bring her close. “Are we perfect together?”
“I’m a Musgrave,” she reminded him.
“The loveliest Musgrave I ever saw.”
“Roman...”
He leaned in, murmuring in her ears as the dance finished. “And I am an utter fool for ever letting her go.”
“Roman, people are looking...”
“Let them look.”
She shifted back to meet his gaze. “You do not mind.”
“I do,” he admitted. “It is odd to me to be experiencing something I have done my best to avoid my entire life.”
“If you dance with me again...” she whispered.
“Ifyoudance with me again...”
Her pulse fluttered at the base of her neck, and she turned away from him. For a moment, he feared she would march off the ballroom floor entirely when she paused, but when she offered him a bold smile and took up her position, he allowed himself a sigh. He heard the murmurs and the little exclamations. Whoever would have thought Lord Rochdale would show interest in a Musgrave. Well, he hoped the onlookers were prepared as he was about to show a lot of interest. If he didn’t have to let her go for the rest of the ball, he wouldn’t.