Page 5 of The Earl That Got Away (Sirens in Silk #2)
Chapter Four
H awk clenched his teeth when Naila smiled up at her companion.
She was engaged in a very animated conversation with the man Hawk had never seen before. It was the most alive he’d seen her since coming to Castle Tremayne. She wore yet another drab gown, but her companion seemed charmed enough.
“So.” Hawk was surprised to find Strick at his side. “That’s her.”
“Who is that man with Miss Darwish?”
“His name is Kareem Amar. He’s an architect. Raya tells me they are very distantly related.”
“He’s an Arab?”
“Born in England to Arab immigrant parents with a distant familial connection to the Darwishes of New York.”
Hawk studied the man. No doubt an architect of Arab origin would be far more acceptable to Naila’s family than a penniless Englishman.
“He’s cataloging old homes,” Strick was saying.
“Hmm.” An architect whose work involved historic structures would certainly appeal to Naila.
“So she’s the one,” Strick remarked.
“What one?”
“Raya’s sister is the girl who broke your heart.”
Hawk’s tone hardened. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“You said yourself that you met the lady who stole your heart when you were in Philadelphia.”
“You do realize that half of Philadelphia’s population is female.”
“And did you stare at every one of them the same way you’re ogling Miss Darwish?”
Hawk released a long breath. He didn’t have the energy to keep up the pretense with his friend. “Is it that obvious?”
“Your regard for her might as well be stamped on your forehead.” The duke sipped his drink. “Maybe it isn’t as apparent to the rest of our guests. But being in a similar besotted condition, it’s easier to recognize the malady in others.”
“She has changed a great deal.” Hawk kept his eyes on Naila and the architect. “I doubt I would have immediately recognized her had you not reintroduced us yesterday.”
“I can see the appeal.”
Hawk looked at his friend. “You can?”
“Why do you sound so astonished?”
“Because back when I first knew her, she was radiant. So vibrant and animated that she shined.”
“Granted, she’s no vivacious debutante, but Naila has a quiet charm to her. From what Raya tells me, she is very well regarded in her community.”
Hawk tracked the architect as he took his leave of Naila. She adjusted some music sheets and began to play.
“Raya says Naila is widely respected for her even temper and sound judgment,” Strick continued.
“Sound judgment?” Like forsaking him? “Why isn’t she married?”
“She’s had offers. The oldest sister’s husband wanted to marry her first.”
“Mr. Habib? Nadine’s husband?”
Strick nodded. “When she declined, he wed the elder sister.”
“You certainly know a great deal about her.”
“Raya talks about her sisters all the time. Who’d have thought that the young lady who broke your heart would turn out to be my betrothed’s sister?”
“Broke my heart?” Hawk scoffed despite the twinge in his chest. “I never took you for the melodramatic type.”
“You are staring at her like a lovesick boy.”
“There you are.” Raya approached, accompanied by a petite young woman with a robust complexion and a mass of barely contained dark curls. Raya introduced the girl as Hind, one of her Darwish cousins.
“It won’t do for the host not to dance,” Raya admonished Strick after the introductions were made. She then turned to Hawk. “I hope you will dance as well.”
“That sounds like more of a command than a suggestion,” he noted.
“Interpret it as you wish,” she responded. “You can have that dance with Naila that was interrupted yesterday.”
Unease pulled at his belly. He searched for an excuse. “But Miss Naila is at the piano.” Then he offered a diversion. “Perhaps Miss Hind will consent to take a turn with me.”
As he’d hoped, the girl flushed with delight, a wide smile adorning her face. “That would be wonderful.”
“Then I would be honored,” he said gallantly to her, “if you will dance the next dance with me.”
Strick offered his arm to Raya. “My love.” And then, under his breath, he added, “It’s a waltz and I embrace any opportunity to put my arms around my future bride.”
That left Hawk alone with the American cousin until the next dance, which meant he had to make conversation.
Aristocrats excelled at inconsequential exchanges, but it was a skill that Hawk hadn’t quite mastered.
The ways of the nobility still felt alien to him.
Growing up as the distant cousin to an earl, with no expectations of inheriting the title, he hadn’t mingled much in high society.
“How are you enjoying England?” he asked the young girl.
“I am surprised, honestly, by how much I like it,” she said perkily. “The countryside is beautiful.”
“Are you the only cousin who made the trip?”
“Naila and I are good friends as well as cousins. I thought it would be an adventure to come to England with her.”
He could easily envision Naila befriending this cheerful girl. “Do you and your cousin spend a great deal of time together in Brooklyn?”
“When we can. Naila works with one of our cousins at his architecture firm. She spends a great deal of time studying buildings.”
As the music drew to an end. Hawk offered his arm to escort her onto the dance floor.
“Do you like the two-step?” she asked.
“Well enough.” The truth was that he had no preference for any dance. Or much of anything beyond running the numbers at his estates. That and the serenity and clarity that came with rowing, which he did almost daily when he was in residence at one of his properties.
“Let’s go ask Naila to play it for us,” Miss Hind said.
His gut twisted, but this time Hawk didn’t have a ready excuse to avoid coming face-to-face with Naila.
He reluctantly escorted Hind over to the piano just as Naila struck the last note of music.
She didn’t see them coming until they were at her side.
Their gazes locked just for an instant, yet Hawk still experienced the flutter he’d always felt in her presence.
“Naila, will you play a two-step next?” Hind asked.
“If you’d like.” Naila set her arms in her lap, the gold bracelets jingling, a sound that always reminded Hawk of her. “Certainly.”
“Good evening, Miss Darwish,” Hawk said, because there was no polite way not to acknowledge her.
“My lord,” she answered with a tight smile before focusing on the piano keys. “A two-step it is.”
“Maybe you two can dance next,” Hind suggested. “Raya says you missed your turn yesterday.”
Naila darted a quick look at him before blinking away. “It would be my pleasure to dance with Ba... umm... the earl but—”
He interrupted her. “I am called Hawk by those with whom I have a passing acquaintance.”
Her eyes widened ever so slightly and then they were politely blank again.
She knew as well as Hawk that their intense involvement, however brief, could never be viewed as incidental or inconsequential.
But, for the sake of his sanity, Hawk was determined to keep a safe, formal distance firmly between them.
She used to call him Basil. Or Inglese, her pet name for him in Arabic. But that was a long time ago. It needed to stay in the past.
“Hawk then.” She spoke in a clear, calm voice. Yet her face reddened. “As Hind knows, I always play at family gatherings. Who would replace me?”
Hawk sensed her relief at dodging the possibility of being somewhat alone with him.
She’d obviously do anything to avoid touching him.
Bitterness surged into Hawk’s throat. There’d been a time when they could barely keep their hands off each other, the pull between them almost impossible to control.
But she had thrown it all away. And for what? To be a spinster who made music so that others might dance?
Hind balked. “I might not be as accomplished as you at the piano, but I can manage a song or two while you dance.”
Hawk wondered if Naila would decline, and hated himself for hoping she wouldn’t.
“Well?” Hind looked expectantly at her cousin. “What do you say?”
Naila glanced at Hawk. He held her gaze, willing her not to look away, unable to quell the emotion roiling through him.
“Here you are, Miss Naila.” The architect reappeared bearing lemonade. “I thought you might like some refreshment.”
She looked away. “How very kind of you.” She introduced her new friend. “Mr. Amar, this is the Earl of Hawksworth and my cousin, Miss Hind Darwish.”
Hawk forced himself to exchange pleasantries with the man while Naila adjusted the sheet music.
“Ah, here it is.” She kept her attention on the papers before her. “The two-step is coming right up.”
She did not look in Hawk’s direction again. She played the lively tune while Hawk escorted her cousin onto the dance floor. When Hawk glanced back over in her direction, he saw that the architect had planted himself firmly next to the piano.