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Alex didn’t need to guess who they were speaking of.

The mention of danger and unpredictability could mean only one man—Baron von List. His name alone carried a weight that whispered of hidden schemes and new threats lurking on the horizon.

Or in this case, shimmering among glittering chandeliers, Alex thought grimly.

Balls like the one Lady Anna hosted offered the ideal stage for shadows to blend seamlessly into the light.

He dreaded the ball for so many reasons.

“Lady Anna’s event isn’t just about the dancing,” Ashley’s voice spilled into his focus again. He turned his head just enough to glimpse her fan, fluttering as she smiled at Thea. “This is the ball of the summer, and the most important evening I can think of!”

Thea smiled, soft but pointed. Her voice, in stark contrast to Ashley’s almost fevered excitement, was calm and deliberate. “I can’t wait.”

Alex lifted his glass to his lips without sipping.

The thought of the ball twisted deep into his plans, feeding an urgency he rarely allowed to surface.

He couldn’t wait either, but only because the moment it ended, he intended to leave.

The ball, its opulence, its guests—all of it blurred in his mind, unimportant next to a single purpose.

He was going to find Sera. He just needed to free himself from the Lyndons—and the precarious arrangement surrounding their daughter—before anyone noticed.

Careful to sound unaffected, he finally asked, “Will Miss Lyndon be in attendance with her parents?”

Thea’s brows knit so briefly he might have missed it if he hadn’t been watching her so closely. Her warning glance followed, sharp and almost imperceptible. But Alex ignored it, meeting Ashley’s animated gaze instead.

“Yes, of course,” Ashley replied, oblivious to Thea’s subtle rebuff.

“Then I shall try to speak with Mr. Lyndon before the ball,” Alex said mildly, pinching a wrinkle at the corner of his sleeve while his tone stayed even.

The earl turned toward him for the first time, his polite expression giving little away except formality. “Are congratulations in order?” His words held the undercurrent of something more, but his delivery was perfectly cordial.

Alex forced himself to meet the question with a steady nod. Congratulations are simple enough, he thought bitterly. Unless they’re given for the wrong reason.

Miss Lyndon was wrong. Sera would be right.

“Your suggestion was simply perfect, Ashley,” the countess soon said, her voice lilting. She straightened in her seat, her attention on her young friend. “It was so thoughtful of you to suggest that we introduce them all before the ball.”

Ashley turned then, her eyes bright as they met Alex’s as if she expected his reaction. She leaned toward him, her movement as smooth as her words. “It’s not every day I meet someone who enters a room with such grace and looks as though he’s assessing it rather than enjoying it,” she remarked.

Alex resisted a slight retreat of his body. “I tend to find myself doing both since my naval training. It’s a habit I suspect isn’t easily broken.”

“And here I thought habits like that belonged to the older generation,” she countered. Her gaze searched his face, curiosity gleaming.

Something about the lightness of her tone stirred turmoil within him, though he wasn’t quite sure why. The air in the room still felt too heavy, the kind of weight that only prompted more questions. Nevertheless, he met her glance steadily, offering a faint but polite curve of his lips.

“When did you arrive in London?” The Earl of Linsey, whom everyone seemed to address casually as Thomas, asked.

“Only yesterday,” Alex murmured offhandedly. “I was in Cornwall for a while.”

“Oh?” A spark flickered in Lady Ashley’s eyes. “I see. I have a dear friend who adores the Cornish coast. So, have you enjoyed your time in England so far?”

“Thank you, yes.” Mostly the English girl. My girl.

“That’s good,” the countess murmured, rubbing her swollen belly.

“And what about Cornwall’s beaches?” Lady Ashley asked again. “It gets dreadfully windy toward the end of summer, doesn’t it? Wild some might say.”

It was wild but not because of the wind. “Wind is a sailor’s friend. It puts wind in the sails,” Alex replied politely. Not even his brother grilled him like this.

“Ashley,” Thomas murmured. “Give the man some room to breathe.”

“I’m just curious, that’s all,” she said with a smile. That smile took a turn that made Alex’s skin crawl. “You are engaged to Miss Seraphina Lyndon, aren’t you? She is a friend of mine, you see.”

Alex’s heart sank.

His gaze instinctively darted to every escape route in the room.

He cleared his throat. “What a small world.”

“Quite small,” Lady Ashley agreed.

Langley chuckled. “About the wind in the sails, I’m afraid I’ve somehow stolen yours,” the Earl of Langley began, nodding toward the door. “Ladies, would you please excuse me for a moment while I share some documents with the princes?”

Alex shot up from his chair. “Let’s.”

This woman was dreadfully unsettling.

She kind of reminded him a little of Sera.

Just a little bit.