Page 19 of Enchanting the Duke

He closed his eyes.This was exactly what he’d wanted to avoid.What was it about this woman that made him lose control?He was too intelligent to seduce innocents, much less get caught doing so.

“We’d better find your sister and get you away from here.”He kissed her again, quickly and fiercely, then gathered himself.He offered her his arm, and together they walked back into the crowded ballroom, heads held high.

They found Dinah near the punch table, chatting with other chaperones.She spotted them at once, her eyes narrowing as she took in their appearance.

Nomansland leaned in toward Chrissy, whispering, “I’ll make it right,” then vanished into the throng before Dinah could do more than gape.He needed to distance himself from Chrissy before the gossips could connect them with that anteroom, once the other couple began to talk.

He also needed to distance himself before Abingdon found out.There would be a confrontation one way or another, but hopefully not before Nomansland had the chance to propose.

CHAPTER SEVEN

“We must leave” Chrissy said to her sister.

“Are you unwell?”Dinah asked.

“I’m tired.I wish to go home now.”

“I’ll send a footman to find Abingdon.Sis you have a nice time?”

Chrissy sighed.“The best.”

As they walked through the crowded room, she noticed heads leaning close together, words being whispered.Eyes followed her.Had she been recognized?She’d hoped cowering behind Nomansland would have hidden her identity, but entering the ballroom on his arm would have confirmed any suspicions.

She must tell Dinah, but not until they were somewhere they wouldn’t be overheard.

The entry hall where they awaited Abingdon was colder than Chrissy expected.She pressed her back to the wall, breath fluttering in her chest, hands locked around the wrist of her gloves as though they might anchor her to the marble floor.

Other guests were leaving, too, and more than one group exchanged whispers and denigrating looks when they saw Chrissy.

Dinah hovered nearby, and Chrissy saw the moment realization struck her.

“It was nothing,” Chrissy said, voice thin.“Truly, Dinah, it was hardly?—”

Dinah’s hand shot out, gripping Chrissy’s elbow so hard it pinched.“You are flushed to your ears, and your hair is—” She plucked a curl free from Chrissy’s temple, her own composure fraying as she spoke.“This isn’t from dancing too much.Never mind.Tell me exactly what happened, from the beginning.”

Chrissy cast her gaze over Dinah’s shoulder, desperate to escape, but there was nowhere to run.Laughter rang softly down the staircase from the ballroom above.She opened her mouth, then closed it.Tried again.

“We were in an anteroom.Alone.”She regretted the honesty even before Dinah’s eyes widened in horror.“Only for a moment!We thought?—”

“You thought what?”Dinah snapped.“That no one would notice the Duke of Nomansland absconding with my little sister?”

Chrissy jerked her arm away.“It wasn’t like that!We only—” She bit down on the memory of his mouth, the way his hands had cupped her face as if she were breakable.“We were talking, and then?—”

“Someone saw,” Dinah finished for her.“Who?”

Chrissy’s mind raced, the moments a blur, the door opening, the flash of servant’s livery, the footman’s eyes round as shillings before he ducked away with a strangled noise.“I didn’t recognize him, and I never saw her.But they ran off straightaway.”

Dinah inhaled, pinching the bridge of her nose.“God save us.That’s all it takes.In ten minutes, the entire ballroom will know.”

Chrissy risked a glance at Dinah, whose jaw was so tight she seemed on the verge of shattering a molar.“I’m sorry,” Chrissy whispered.

Dinah turned, eyes fierce.“No, you are not.Not yet.But you will be if Abingdon makes a scene.”Her voice softened by a fraction.“We will get you home.Then we will figure out what comes next.”

They waited in stiff silence until the echo of heels sounded on the marble.Abingdon appeared, cutting a swath through the onlookers with the gravity of a man used to being obeyed.He wore authority like armor, and even the most persistent gossipers melted away at his approach.

His gaze fixed on Dinah first, searching her for signs of injury or upset.Then he looked to Chrissy, and the expression in his eyes—shock, disbelief, anger—made her wish she could dissolve into the floor.

He offered his arm to Dinah, but his other hand fell on Chrissy’s shoulder, firm and inescapable.“We go,” he said, voice low but steely.“Now.”