Page 38

“I—”

“Lord Livingston, Miss Burlow,” Richard greeted, approaching them.

Catherine stepped back in surprise, dropping Lord Livingston’s hand as though she had been caught doing something bad.

“Your Grace.” She curtsied, surprised that she remembered her manners despite her initial shock. “Good evening.”

Richard wasn’t supposed to directly speak to her at events, especially not when she was with another man she was trying to get to court her.

“Pardon my intrusion,” he offered. He, too, looked surprised that he had come over to them and seemed at a loss for how to remedy the situation. “I need to speak with you urgently, Miss Burlow.”

“Is anything the matter?” she asked, suddenly worried. “Has something happened to Emmy?”

“No. Nothing’s happened. I?—”

“Pardon me, Your Grace,” Lord Livingston interjected, looking between the two of them. “I believe we can have our dance some other time, Miss Burlow. If you will excuse me.”

“Lord Living…”

He was gone before she could stop him, and she let out a deep sigh, turning to Richard with a glare.

“You shouldn’t have come here.”

“I shouldn’t have,” he admitted, causing her to frown.

“Then why did you?” Catherine asked, curious to know why, as he should have been most happy that she was conversing with a gentleman.

“I came to congratulate you,” Richard answered, his voice rising an octave. “It seems my lessons paid off. You were enjoying yourself. You made prim and proper Lord Livingston laugh.”

“I was until you came here.” She pouted.

However, she would never admit to him that her eyes were on him even while she was talking with Lord Livingston, and although she could picture things turning out well between them, she couldn’t help but wonder if she would perhaps be making a mistake.

She found herself starting to crave more than the life she’d thought she wanted, and now she couldn’t even choose if it was placed right in front of her.

“You’re confident in your flirting, aren’t you?” He laughed. “Why don’t we put that to the test?”

Richard’s blue eyes danced with mischief that should have warned her away from him, but somehow it had her leaning closer to hear what he was suggesting. It really was unlike her toignore the warning bells in her head, but Richard made it so easy for her to do it.

He’d made her see and experience new things, and now she wanted to see just what she was capable of.

“What kind of test?”

He held a hand out to her and smiled challengingly. “Dance with me.”

“Dance with you?”

“Yes.” He nodded, taking the card that was tied to her wrist, his finger subtly brushing against her skin. “I need to see how well you can charm a man while dancing.”

“But I already promised Lord Livingston a dance,” she argued. “It wouldn’t be proper.”

“He will understand,” he stated, shrugging his shoulders. “Besides, you didn’t promise himthisdance. Or are you scared to admit that you lack charm?”

She rolled her eyes at his childish attempt to bait her. “I can charm any other man, but…”

“Yes?”

She didn’t want to admit that it would be difficult trying to charm him because she feared it would be her who was charmed in the end. He was an endlessly charming man if the glares she was getting from the ladies he’d danced with were anything to go by.