Page 2 of To Tempt Lady (Victorian Outcasts #10)

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Emma breathed hard after finishing the cotillion. Her pulse pounded, and her head spun, but she would dance again in a moment. She clapped at the musicians with the other dancing couples in the ballroom, excitement bubbling within her.

What a pity that Mr. Kingston didn’t like dancing. He was a serious gentleman but gave her a sense of safety she rarely experienced with other men. And he was brilliant. Papa had told her he was one of the best students of his year.

She searched the crowded ballroom for him. He’d been wonderful to her, repairing her precious music box in a moment, and she wanted to repay his kindness somehow, but he’d vanished.

Trevor, her elder brother, handed her a glass of fruit punch. “Aren’t you tired? You have danced one set after another.”

“I love dancing.” She accepted the glass. “A day without dancing is like a day without sunlight.”

“Which is called night.” He sipped his drink.

She chuckled. “Do you see Marcus Kingston anywhere?”

“No. I didn’t realise he was here until I saw his father. He has the uncanny ability to disappear when he wants to. Why are you searching for him?”

“He did me a huge favour, and I want to dance, or sit the dance out with him as a thank you.” She rose on her tiptoes to take a better look at the crowd.

“What favour?”

She lowered her voice. “He repaired Mama’s music box for me.”

“You broke it!”

“I didn’t. It stopped working, but it works now thanks to Mr. Kingston. Hence the thank you.”

He slanted her a sceptical look. “I can’t claim I know him extremely well, but we’ve spent some time together, and I gather he feels out of his depth in a fancy ballroom.”

“I can understand why he feels intimidated,” she said.

“I can’t.” Trevor sipped again, gazing around. “I personally find these gatherings of the wealthiest and most powerful people in the kingdom rather subtle and subdued. Look at Lady Beaumont’s giant diamond necklace. If you stare at it for longer than ten seconds, you’ll get a splitting headache.”

“Ha ha.” She poked him with an elbow.

“There.” He nodded towards the other side of the ballroom. “Marcus, next to that Grecian column.”

“Thank you.” She handed him her half-full glass.

“Wait. I should come with you as any good elder brother would do.”

“But you aren’t.”

He tilted his head right and left. “I suppose you’re right.”

“I’ll see you in a moment.” She weaved through the crowd, speeding up when Mr. Kingston slid out of the room again. “Mr. Kingston.”

As it’d happened earlier, he came to a halt and turned around in the corridor. His grey eyes held a metallic quality she couldn’t decipher. While he’d been kind and polite to her, she didn’t understand if he was trying hard not to yell at her or if he found her nice.

The lack of certainty bothered her. She was used to feeling confident about people’s reactions towards her, either in a good or bad way.

Understanding what other people thought of her had always been easy.

But Mr. Kingston was as enigmatic as the sphinx.

She preferred to know what he thought of her.

No matter how harsh, the truth was always better.

“My lady.” He bowed, stiff and formal.

“You may call me Emma.”

“I don’t think your father would approve.”

“You’re friends with Trevor, and your father knows my father. I’m sure Papa wouldn’t mind.”

He bowed again, and she didn’t know how to interpret the bow. Why was it so difficult to understand him?

She stepped closer, and he drew in a breath, which she failed again to understand. It could be anything from annoyance to relief. “How can I repay your kindness? If you don’t want to dance, would you like to be my partner in a game of whist?”

He lifted a shoulder. “You don’t have to feel obliged to repay me in any way. I did nothing.”

“Would you like some company? Apologies, but I noticed you seem to avoid people in the ballroom. I guess because you don’t know anyone aside from my brother, but Trevor can be averse to people, too.

So he isn’t good company sometimes. Not that I think you’re averse to people or that Trevor is, for that matter. ”

A little crease appeared between his eyebrows as if he wanted to frown but thought it would be rude and restrained himself. Her confidence diminished to a spectacularly low level. Talking with him was a challenge.

She feared Mr. Kingston was judging her. Or worse, he didn’t want to talk with her at all.

His brow didn’t smooth. “I would like some company.”

He sounded as if he meant the opposite. Maybe he’d agreed only to be polite.

“Excellent. I’ll introduce you to my friends.

” She took his arm and started to walk towards the ballroom, but he didn’t move an inch, and her slippers screeched against the polished floor.

“Don’t you want to meet my friends? You’ll have the opportunity to talk with new people. My friends are very nice.”

“I’m afraid I’m not fond of large gatherings.”

“Oh.” She slid her arm out of his. “So when you said you would like some company, you didn’t mean to return to the ballroom.”

“No.”

Was she doing something wrong? “I can keep you company if you want.”

A sad smile lifted a corner of his mouth. “My lady, you don’t have to worry about me. Please return to your friends, dance, and enjoy your evening. I’ll be fine. I appreciate your effort.”

“But you said you would like some company.”

“Yes, I did, but you obviously want to spend time with your friends, and I don’t want to keep you away from them.”

She was at a loss. It was the first time she’d met a young person who didn’t want to meet new friends or dance. Maybe he truly preferred loneliness. Whatever the reason, she wouldn’t insist.

She dropped a curtsy. “If you change your mind, let me know, Mr. Kingston.”

He bowed. “My lady, enjoy your evening.”

She would, but she wondered what it was about her he didn’t like.