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“Ah yes, lovely couple. Lady Staunton was filling me in on yourrisein Society.”

Jenny narrowed her eyes at his insinuation. It isn’t a secret that she and her brother came from a common background, but he claimed the duchy through a distant relation, not by some scheme. Nonetheless, she plastered on the smile that she and Frances worked tirelessly to perfect and curtsied.

“It is true—the past few years have been a whirlwind, but one I am most grateful for.”

Lord Rifly barked out a laugh. “I would think so! To think the Duke was a shopkeeper.”

Jenny couldn’t be positive, but it looked like the manshiveredat the thought of an honest day’s work. She quickly remembered why she sought a respite in the library.

The library.

Her heart began to race as memories of long gazes and a warm breath flooded her mind. The room around her seemed to fall away, colors faded to just black with slices of white, justlike those that blanketed the library. Her skin prickled at the memory ofhisbreath tickling her ear.

“Miss Bennett?”

Lord Rifly’s nasally voice cut through her reverie. She almost reached out to slap him. She was enjoying her moment.

“Yes? I’m sorry. The night is getting long, and I think I shall retire. Lady Staunton, would you be able to call for a carriage to take me home?”

“Surely you can last one more dance?” Lady Staunton urged as she, not so slyly, pushed Lord Rifly towards Jenny.

“Uh, yes, Miss Bennett, it would be my pleasure if I could have this next dance.” His eyes darted between her and Lady Staunton.

Jenny groaned inwardly.

Does no one say what they want to say anymore?

Lord Rifly clearly did not want to ask her to dance—probably because of her humble beginnings.

But with Lady Staunton’s eyes boring into hers, and since she was a hospitable host, Jenny found herself accepting his hand.Apparently, he wasn’t the only one who had trouble speaking his mind in front of Lady Staunton.

The dance went slightly better than her previous one. He managed to step on her dress only once, and her feet were spared.

When the music ended, she took a step back to curtsy.

“Thank you for th—” When she looked up, Lord Rifly was gone.

Well then.

Jenny didn’t have the care to feel embarrassed or bereft at being left on the dance floor. If anything, she felt a sense of relief. She hiked up her skirt and stepped off the dance floor to find Lady Staunton and call for the carriage.

A body blocked her way to the door. A tall body, a familiar body. She looked up into sea-green eyes whose depths she could easily fall into.

Him.

She knew on instinct that it was the mysterious stranger from the library. It’s true that she barely saw his features or the true color of his eyes, but she knew it was him from the way her body reacted to his proximity.

“May I have this dance?”

Just five words that ignited a fire deep in her core.

Her body froze in shock. No conscious thought moved in her mind. It took her several seconds to realize he had asked her a question.

“You may.”

It wasn’t until he started to move that she realized she said that out loud.

The stranger wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her in. She could hear faint warning bells going off in her head and a voice that sounded like Frances’s telling her that it was highly inappropriate for him to hold her in such a manner, especially before the dance even started. However, she couldn’t find it in herself to care.