The Heart of a Duke (16 page)

The gentleman’s gaze slid down to the gold
heart pendant and his Adam’s apple bobbed. “Lovely.”

His pale blue eyes widened as he reached a
finger toward the pendant. She gasped and he jerked his hand back.
A blush raced up his neck and face, disappearing into his hairline.
“My apologies, Miss Bell. I forgot myself.”

She shot him a hard look, mindful of keeping
him in his place. Yet part of her was amazed by his reaction,
however inappropriate it was. She had always wondered in the back
of her mind if the locket truly held any power, and apparently it
did. It just seemed to have trouble distinguishing between landed
gentry and a duke.

At the end of the dance, Mr. Moore led her
from the floor and thanked her for her company, all the while his
eyes locked on the pendant.

“
My pleasure, sir. I bid you a
good evening.”

Valera hurried back to the group of
wallflowers, pleased with how quickly the locket was working, and
eager to share the news with her dear friends. If Lord Ravenswood
and Mr. Moore had been compelled to ask Valera to dance, it
couldn’t be long before the duke also fell under the pendant’s
spell.

Valera sidled up to Alison. “Where is
Charlotte? There has been a surprising development this evening. I
know how she hates to find out everything second-hand.”

“
Likely scouting for Lord
Glenhaven’s library, since Mama would never allow her to bring a
book from home.”

Valera shook her head and laughed. “Any
gentleman who wishes to catch your sister’s eye better have words
scribbled across his forehead. Well, she only has herself to blame
for missing out.” Valera grabbed Alison’s hand and whispered
fervently in her ear. “It works. The pendant really is
magic.”

“
Dalton’s Law!” Alison blurted,
then winced before looking around sheepishly as if checking to see
if anyone had noticed her outburst. “Vallie, you know I don’t
believe in that nonsense,” she said in a subdued tone. “Magic is as
insubstantial as fairy dust. Give me facts and proof, I
say.”

“
Well, how about the fact no
gentleman has paid me a bit of notice this entire Season until
tonight?” She held up the pendant and brandished it toward her
friend. “It has to be the gypsy’s magic at work.”

Alison’s chin notched, and Valera
knew she was in for a lesson in logic. “You’re grasping for fairy
dust again. First of all, the gypsy never said it was an
enchanted
locket. And
secondly, it is coincidence that you happen to be wearing it on the
same night two gentleman have asked for your dance
card.”

The metal heart lightly smacked Valera’s bare
skin as she released it and turned her attention back to the
ballroom floor. “Every truth has two sides,” she
grumbled.

“Every truth has
one
side. And it can be
proven.”

Valera wrinkled her nose at her
friend. “Really, one would think a girl who loves to read
Gulliver’s Travels
would
be predisposed to being the tiniest bit whimsical on
occasion.”

Alison’s mouth relaxed into a shy smile. “Yes,
well, er…Fiction doesn’t represent itself as fact, so it does not
count.”

With a sigh, Valera went back to perusing the
crowd. She had never won an argument with her science-minded
friend, and she knew when to surrender. Her eye was drawn to the
brightly colored gowns worn by the married and widowed ladies. A
twinge of envy pulsed in her chest when she spotted a particularly
stunning emerald gown with elaborate embroidery around the hem.
Some day Valera would wear a beautiful gown just like it when she
was married—she shot a mutinous glance at Alison—because no one
would convince her magic was nothing but fairy dust. That was like
saying hope and faith didn’t exist.

When the dancers left the floor, Valera was
awarded a better view of the dress and the beautiful widow wearing
it. Lady Pitsford received her fair share of gentlemen admirers,
and at the moment, she held Alex in rapt attention in a corner.
Valera’s heart sank. She wouldn’t be surprised if her supper dance
partner disappeared before the end of the set.

Alison leaned her head close to Valera’s as if
trying to figure out where she was staring. “Which gentleman has
caught your eye this evening? Lord Ravenswood?”

“
You know I’m here for the duke,”
she murmured, trying to convince herself as much as Alison that it
didn’t matter to her on whom Alex chose to bestow his
attention.

Alison took her hand and squeezed.
“Langley would be lucky to marry you, Val.
Any
man would.”

Dear, sweet Alison.
Valera smiled fondly at her.

Alison dropped her hand and looked up with
wide eyes at someone standing behind Valera. “Lord Tealby, good
evening.”

“
Lady Alison, how lovely you look
this evening.”

A loud giggle erupted from Alison and a
charming pink blush infused her round cheeks.

I knew it was magic.
And it was rubbing off on Alison. Now she too
would shed her wallflower status, thanks to the pendant. Valera
sent a smug smile in her friend’s direction as she turned to greet
the baron.

“
Dear Lord,” she screeched,
causing several heads to whip around to stare at them. Tealby
winced, but otherwise ignored her outburst. He lobbed an off kilter
grin at her and swayed on his feet.

“Um, forgive me, my lord. I didn’t
realize you were…uh…right
there
.”

The man was hovering entirely too close, much
like a vulture waiting for his prey to kick the bucket.

“
Pardon me, Miss Bell. I didn’t
intend to frighten you.”

Nor did
she
intend to make a spectacle of
herself. Poor Alison wouldn’t want to claim friendship with her if
Valera didn’t stop acting like a social clod. She offered a brief
curtsey. “The fault is mine, Lord Tealby. If you will excuse
me…”

Valera stepped back to allow him access to her
friend, but he wasn’t looking at Alison. Instead his bleary gaze
was locked on Valera’s pendant. A dark curl lay plastered against
his flushed skin, and she couldn’t take her eyes from it as he bent
over her hand, placing his lips against her glove. The sweetly sour
smell of brandy assaulted her nostrils.

“
Miss Bell, do you have any
unclaimed dances?”

“
I—uh… You want to—um.” What, in
God’s name, was wrong with her tonight? She couldn’t string two
words together all of a sudden.

Alison elbowed her in the side.

“Oh! I believe I do, my lord.” Had
he followed up his question with a request to
sign
her card, she might have bowed
out, but he held out his hand in expectation. She passed it to him,
not wanting to draw any more notice than she already
had.

He signed his name to a dance in the next set
and lingered so she couldn’t speak alone with Alison. After a time,
Valera began to shift her weight from toe to toe. The silence was
unbearable. She considered excusing herself and dragging Alison
with her, but she couldn’t think of a graceful way to do
it.

When it was time for their dance at last, she
followed Lord Tealby to the floor and immediately wondered why she
had agreed to stand up with him. Never in her life had she
encountered such an uncoordinated dancer.

Twice, his hip bumped her derrier when they
passed, and when his fingers brushed her breast, it was all she
could do not to call him on the carpet then and there. After
dodging the rest of his clumsy moves, she was fuming. Had Alison
had to suffer through this humiliating display, Valera would have
been twice as riled.

She tried to free herself as the baron led her
from the floor, but his fingers tightened around her upper arm. He
steered her toward the glass doors leading to the veranda. Valera
dug in her heels, but she couldn’t stop his determined stride.
Several steps from the doors, Alex blocked their path. Lord Tealby
came up short, but she rammed into Alex, her breath escaping her in
an inelegant grunt. His hands circled her waist to steady her
before dropping back to his sides. She tingled again where he’d
touched her.

“
Where do you think you’re taking
my supper dance partner?” Alex’s smile was pleasant, but a hint of
danger laced his tone. “Surely you aren’t intending to propose
marriage after one dance.”

The baron scoffed, but released
Valera’s arm. “Don’t tell me
your
intentions are honorable, Ravenswood.”

Alex’s jaw twitched. “Are you trying to make
me cross, young Tealby? If you would like to go a round at
Gentleman Jack’s tomorrow, I’ll oblige you. Say noon?”

The color drained from Lord Tealby’s
complexion. “I am already committed at noon. I—uh… I promised
Mother I would escort her when she pays calls.”

“
Isn’t noon a bit early to pay
calls?”

He mumbled something incomprehensible then
veered around Alex, keeping a wide berth, and fled to the
veranda.

“
Pay no mind to the young buck,
Miss Bell. He’s three sheets to the wind and left his good sense in
the card room.”

Her mouth went dry as she realized people were
gawking. She spotted her older sister headed in her direction, her
scowl as ominous as a storm cloud. Alex followed her line of
sight.

“
Looks like someone has her corset
tied too tight,” he muttered.

A shocked giggle burst from Valera. “Lord
Ravenswood.”

Alex held out his arm and gave her a secretive
wink. “If we hurry, we can escape.”

She knew it was unwise to hie off with the
scoundrel, and Janine would box her ears later, but she couldn’t
resist. She took his elbow and followed him into the maze of bodies
as couples took to the dance floor. There was no sign of Valera’s
sister by the time they reached the refreshment room.

Even though they were free, he kept her close
by his side. “Would you like a glass of punch?”

“
That would be lovely.”

Langley was stoically listening to a
debutante’s mother chatter on about her daughter’s accomplishments
while the young lady smiled brightly any time he glanced her way.
As Valera and Alex approached the punch bowl, the duke’s eyebrow
lifted and a hint of a smile appeared. He nodded in greeting. “Miss
Bell.”

Alex retrieved a crystal glass of Negus and
passed it to her with a kind grin.

Suddenly, it hit her. Mr. Moore and Lord
Tealby hadn’t noticed her tonight because of the necklace. They had
asked her to dance because Alex had. The duke certainly hadn’t paid
her any notice earlier, but now that she was on Alex’s
arm…

How like a man to want what
another finds desirable
.

If the gentlemen only knew the truth about her
association with Alex, they wouldn’t be so quick to pursue her. She
frowned as she sipped her drink and studied him over the rim. He
was very handsome with his dark blonde hair, high cheekbones, and
slim nose. And his build, any man would envy. Elle’s brother was
the epitome of physical perfection as well as being a man with
prestige. What gentleman wouldn’t strive to emulate him? Even the
Duke of Langley suffered in comparison in all but
influence.

In choosing allies look to their
power as well as their will to help you
.
Perhaps she had stumbled upon a way to give Langley a gentle nudge
while she was waiting for the locket to work, and Alex was the
perfect man for the task.

Her lashes fluttered as she gazed up at him,
her shyness hitting her full force. What she wished to ask him was
very bold, but she did consider him a friend, so it wasn’t as if
she wanted to enlist the help of a stranger. Nevertheless, she
preferred a little privacy in case he rejected her
outright.

“
Lord Ravenswood, I realize this
may be rather forward of me, but would you consider calling on me
at my father’s town house tomorrow? I have a bit of a favor to
ask.”

Alex’s breath caught and his eyes widened a
brief moment, but he recovered from the shock quickly. His smile
was slightly strained, but his manner was casual as he inclined his
head in acknowledgment. “It would be my pleasure to grant a favor
to my sister’s dear friend.”

She hoped he was still agreeable once he
learned what favor she would ask.

Chapter Three

Alex bounded from his phaeton the moment it
rolled to a stop in front of the Bells’ town house, nearly
colliding with his servant boy scrambling to secure the
horses.

Alex halted on the walkway and
cursed under his breath. One might think him an eager suitor for
all the fuss he was making over his meeting with Miss Bell. He
wasn’t here to court the young lady. He had come at
her
request, and only
because his sister Elle would want him to be nice to her
friend.

He heard Miss Bell’s snorting laugh in his
imagination and grimaced. In truth, Elle wouldn’t want him anywhere
near her friend if she knew the inappropriate dreams he’d had about
Miss Bell last night, but he couldn’t govern his dreams, now could
he? He could, however, behave as the honorable gentleman he’d been
brought up to be.