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“Now, you would have already asked for my hand to dance, but I am assuming you are at least aware of that custom. Yes?”

The Duke glared at her. It was still so obvious that he did not enjoy being at a disadvantage, especially against her.

Selina was so familiar with this world of money and rumor, and Hugh’s limited experience with it clearly upset him.

Having knowledge was indeed powerful, and it actually pleased her quite a bit to see that the man was committed to obtaining it, even if it meant asking for her assistance.

“Yes,” was all he offered.

“Excellent. We are practicing this as if attending a private ball. We can conduct a lesson regarding a public ball at a later date.” Selina focused, remembering what he mother had taught her so long ago.

“Firstly, if you wish to dance with an unfamiliar lady in an effort to find your own match, you will need to be introduced to her by her chaperone, likely her mother.”

Hugh glowered all the harder at the notion that he might wish to find his own bride. Selina had mentioned it purposefully of course. He’d avoided engagement thus far, and it was exceedingly likely that he wished to continue doing so.

And yet the man can’t seem to understand how I would feel the same? Ugh, God rest him, but Easton should never have sent that letter to Hugh .

“Let us go through the steps again. You will have to continue to imagine the other pair of dancers who would be joining us during this particular dance, but it will do for now.”

Sucking in a deep breath, Hugh gave her a nod, taking his place at the start of the imaginary line where they would begin. Selina counted aloud to mimic the beat of the music, guiding Hugh through the steps.

“You are an excellent dancer, Your Grace,” she offered, making conversation with him as she’d instructed.

“You…” Hugh hesitated, still moving through the dance as he turned and then lifted her. “You are a sight yourself, Your Grace. Quite… graceful.”

Selina was forced to swallow at that. The words were not what they had rehearsed, and heat gathered in her cheeks.

Each touch throughout the dance made Selina’s stomach clench before flitting about inside her like it was some fairy seeking an exit.

Hugh’s fingers were firm as they held her, following the steps as discussed so perfectly that Selina fell into the rhythm of it, losing her focus on the fact that this was just a lesson, not an actual dance with him.

Hugh stared at her, an unreadable expression on his face now, as they moved through the remaining steps. The minutes seemed to be hours as they twirled about each other, no other couple present to interrupt the prolonged eye contact he held with her.

“Thank you, Your Grace,” Selina finally managed to say, no other words to be found.

Instead, the two of them simply continued the steps, returning to the start of the line over and over again as they practiced. Selina no longer needed to count, and she could not look away from Hugh, mesmerized by whatever was happening between them.

He appeared equally bewitched, neither of them daring to break the intimate silence or regard anything other than each other.

Selina’s eyes found Hugh’s lips, and it was too late when she stole them away again.

Hugh had noticed. A gentle smile lifted the corner of his lips.

She had not meant to, but the damage was done.

Too often, so much more frequently than Selina wished, her eyes roamed to places they ought not to, Hugh touching areas of her face and body that made the furious blush swell higher.

He was an imp sent to torment her. This was supposed to be a practice for a dance, and yet, they were trapped here now, swirling about each other in the ballroom in the quiet.

What was going on between them? It couldn’t be explained away by annoyance any longer, and Selina was unsure what they meant. As she finally came back to herself, her pulse a frenzy, Selina curtsied appropriately and swallowed hard, struggling to find her voice.

“Thank you, Your Grace. I…” Her skin was aflame, but she could not see the fire consuming her. “I require some fresh air before we take our afternoon tea. I will meet you in the drawing room for it.”

Without waiting for a reply, making her guilty of breaking one of the first rules she had provided Hugh, Selina turned her back and fled, the fit of her stays undoubtedly laced too tightly again for the way she felt faint.

Dearest Ethel,

I am terrified that I might be losing my mind.

Hugh The Duke’s lessons began today. Everything had started out as expected, including the man’s insufferable hatred for following my instructions.

Then, he opened up, and it began to provide a sort of humor to watch him go about memorizing and adhering to the etiquette I provided.

Still, something has changed. We practiced dancing at a private ball, and during the steps ? —

Selina’s quill dripped ink onto the parchment in a fat globule. She had held it over the page for too long, considering what she might say, and still, she could not think of the words to explain what had just happened today with the Duke.

With Hugh .

Her heart was racing within her chest again, and Selina shook her head, depositing her quill back in the pot of ink.

Sighing, she lifted the parchment, blowing across it to dry the ink.

When it seemed less likely that she would smear the black all over her fingers, she crumpled the page into a ball.

“No, I… I can’t.”

Standing from her desk, Selina walked to the fire and threw the page in, watching it burn until there was nothing left. Without another word to herself, without calling her maid or arranging for a bath, Selina struggled free of her attire. She lay in her bed when she was down to her shift.

Closing her eyes as tightly as she could, Selina tried to force away her thoughts of the Duke, steadying her breathing until, at last, sleep claimed her.