Page 4 of Wallflower Gone Wild
“Are you refusing me?” He leaned forward, closer than what was appropriate in society, but he cared not.
After six long months away from her, he thought perhaps the spell between them would have broken, but it hadn’t. And he found that he did not want it to be.
She reluctantly held out her arm, where the dance card and small pencil dangled from her delicate wrist. Mac grasped the pencil, the fingers of his free hand circling her arm as he neatly scrawled his name in the small space.
Once he was finished, Mac stood, taking an elaborate bow, “My lady, may I have this dance?” he asked as Letty slipped her gloved hand into his outstretched one.
Leading her to the dance floor felt like the most natural act in the world to Mac. Could he afford to think in such a manner?
“I told you I am a horrid dancer,” she said, turning to stand beside him in the beginning of a minuet.
“I would like to be the judge of that myself, thank you,” he replied, before he turned to face her.
Mac bowed as she gave a shaky curtsy, his heart clenched at seeing her so unsure of herself. She was nothing like the Letty he’d met in Norfolk. When they had become acquainted at her home, he only saw the brave, intelligent side of her. Mac wished that all of society knew the fierce woman he had met at Crestview. He gave her a reassuring smile, wanting to see her fire again. Unlike the shy wallflower in front of him, the temptress he had met six months earlier would have had suitors from London to France.
As they joined the other couples in a circle, it became apparently clear to Mac why Lady Leticia was a wallflower. On several occasions, she went left when she was meant to go right or stepped forward when the dance called for two steps back. She tripped over her own gown three times, and nearly sent another lady flying as she turned back to Mac.
“I did warn you,” she said, her eyes sparkling with mischief.
Laughter punched out of him, causing the other dancers to eye them both with disdain. He couldn’t help himself, really. She was refreshing. Letty was no simpering debutante who would feel embarrassed at her lack of dancing skills.
Before he’d arrived at her home, Mac thought he knew what sort of person Lady Leticia Crane was, but he’d been wrong. He had learned much about her from their previous interaction, but she was so much more than he had ever imagined.
“I assumed you were being modest. I had no idea you truly could not dance.” His shoulders shook with the force of holding in his laughter. He tried to contain it, but he could not, a chuckle bursting out of his cheeks until he was laughing loudly.
“I am glad this is amusing to you. Do you know how difficult it is to be an utter disaster on the dance floor but able to sing every note perfectly?” She pouted those pretty lips at him.
He licked his own lips, imagining what hers would taste like—no—there was no time for such thoughts.
“That does sound rather difficult.” He noticed the musical chords change, cueing up for their exchange of partners. “On the next turn, you go right to partner with Hendershot, follow his lead, then left back to me,” Mac instructed with a tilt of his head.
He released her, spinning to partner with Madame Kitty Delcour, the owner and proprietor of Pleasure House, who gave him a knowing smile as if she was aware of a secret. Mac returned back to his own partner, happy when Letty stumbled into him.
He caught her with a firm hand to her waist before he righted her and smoothly pulled her into him, never missing a step.
“Why are you such a good dancer?” she asked her voice full of frustration as he took her hand and lifted it up over her head.
“My mother insisted we all learn so we wouldn’t embarrass my father or brother.” He stepped back before pulling her toward him again. “In a circle and then to the left.”
Mac released her, turning to grab the hand of the lady on the other side of him as they all danced in a circle. His gaze never left Letty’s.
A brilliant smile lit up her face as she turned back to him. “I need you with me for every ball.”
“It will be my pleasure to be with you always,” he whispered, before they turned one last time to the circle of other dancers.
“Will it?” she asked, as Mac offered his arm, escorting her away from the dance floor.
Mac led them through the crowded ballroom, nodding to different members of society and avoiding the hopeful gaze of his mother. With three unmarried sons, she often complained of not knowing the joys of being a grandmother.
He’d never wanted to be a husband and a father before. Now, Mac wasn’t sure it was a possibility that he wanted to give up.
Leaning in closer, he breathed in her scent, a delicate mixture of rose water and citrus. “Meet me in the parlor down the long hall to the right in a half hour.”
Her breath hitched; a quick nod of her head was Mac’s only sign of agreement. He couldn’t let the night end without tasting her again, just one last time.
CHAPTER 3
Letty couldn’t stop the incessant pounding of her heart as Mac led her from the dance floor. The anticipation of being alone with him had her entire being pulsating. All she had to do was occupy herself for a half hour, but how could she do anything without thinking about his lips on hers?