Page 2 of How to Fall for a Scoundrel
Ellie rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t help smiling too. There was something so playful about his outrageous flirtation that it was impossible to take him too seriously.
He turned to face the room again as if nothing had happened, and she took a steadying breath and tried to glean more clues about his identity.
The perfect cut of his dark jacket could only have come from one of the eye-wateringly expensive tailors on Bond Street, and a real diamond glittered on the gold bar brooch nestled in his white cravat. He clearly had money. And exquisite taste.
“I’m Eleanor. Eleanor Law.”
His dimples reappeared. “I know who you are. You’re the daughter of Sir Edward Law, the Lord Chief Justice.”
“Then you have the advantage of me,” she said pointedly.
He ignored the hint. “Do people call you Nellie?”
“Not if they expect me to answer.”
“Noted. What do your friends call you? Elle? Nell?”
“Ellie.”
“That’s what I shall call you, then.”
She raised her brows. “That’s rather presumptuous. I don’t think we can even be called acquaintances if I don’t know your name.”
“Ah, but mere acquaintances wouldn’t have kissed, and we’ve already passed that awkward stage.”
Oh, he was infuriating! Still, she couldn’t deny that she was enjoying their sparring. She hadn’t been so intrigued, nor so entertained, by a man for months.
She was about to demand his name again when Daisy bustled up, breathless and laughing from her waltz. She dismissed her partner with an elegant wave, shot Ellie’s incriminatingly flushed cheeks a fascinated glance, then turned to their mystery companion with a wide, open smile.
“Good evening, sir. I see you’ve been keeping Ellie company. I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure.”
He took her extended hand and bowed. “A regrettable omission, but easily remedied. You are Lady Dorothea Hamilton, are you not? Your father is the Duke of Dalkeith.”
“He is. And you are…?”
“Enchanted to meet you.”
He shot Ellie a laughing, sidelong glance, as if he knew just how much his continued evasion was annoying her, then finally relented. “Henri Bonheur, Comte de Carabas. At your service.”
Daisy smiled again, but Ellie narrowed her eyes. “A French name. Yet you have no trace of an accent.”
“Why, thank you. My childhood tutor would be delighted to hear it. He always impressed upon me the need for perfection in all my endeavors.”
He glanced across the crowded room and gave a little lift of his chin, as if acknowledging another acquaintance on the opposite side of the dance floor. “Alas, I must take my leave. Ellie, Lady Dorothea, it’s been apleasure.”
He caught Ellie’s eye on the wordpleasure, and she cursed the heat that rose to her cheeks again. Sheground her teeth, but sent him a sweet smile. “Goodbye, sir.”
His dimples flashed. “Oh no. Let us say,au revoir. I’m quite certain we’ll meet again very soon.”
Chapter Two
Ellie shook her head as the scoundrel slipped into the crowd, stepping around the various groupings with ease. She tried to follow his movements, but without her spectacles, everything over six feet away became a frustrating blur, and she lost sight of him.
Daisy tapped her on the arm. “All right, tell me everything. Starting with why your cheeks are so pink. What on earth were you two discussing?”
Ellie absently touched her bottom lip with her fingertips. She could still feel the ghost of his kiss.
“Oh, umm, very little, really. I was just trying to discover his name.”