Spinster Ever After (The Spinster Chronicles #7) - Rebecca Connolly Page 0,35

sight of Tyrone, being oddly social, and headed in that direction.

With perfect timing, Tyrone turned at Michael’s approach, grinning in welcome. “Sandford, what a chance. Do you know Miss Lawson and her sister, Miss Anne?”

“By sight, I believe, but not officially.” He bowed to the pair of ladies, eerily similar in their fair looks. “How do you do?”

“Tolerably well, Mr. Sandford,” Miss Lawson told him with a dip of her chin, though her eyes seemed to not particularly care for what she was taking in. She raised a dubious brow, her expression approaching distaste.

Well, then…

Michael could have smiled, but somehow managed to maintain his polite expression. “And you, Miss Anne?”

Anne Lawson was far less snobbish than her sister, if the way she looked at him was any indication, and she curtseyed with grace. “Well, Mr. Sandford, thank you. Are you finding the ball to your liking?”

“I am, yes,” he replied, his smile appearing now.

Tyrone nudged him hard in the side, nearly puncturing a lung with the sharpness, though his expression did not change.

“But,” Michael added quickly, “it would be all the better if you would take the next dance with me, Miss Anne.”

The eyes of both Lawson sisters widened, and Anne grinned without reserve. “I would be delighted, Mr. Sandford, so long as you do not insist on being the lead couple.”

“I would never insist on such a thing, Miss Anne,” he assured her.

“My sister does not dance well, you see,” Miss Lawson interjected with false sympathy. “Poor thing, such weak ankles, and she has such trouble remembering the steps.”

Anne gave her sister a cold look. “I remember well enough to practice with you at your command.”

Miss Lawson was not put off. “But confidence is best for the lead couple, is it not? And Anne has no confidence when it comes to dancing.”

“Nor do I, Miss Lawson,” Michael replied, not bothering to keep with the cool politeness he had begun. “I dance for enjoyment, not attention.”

“Thank heavens for that,” Tyrone said with a laugh. “Then all the snobs would flock to dance with you instead of refusing.” He nodded at Miss Lawson, then at Michael before leaving the group.

Michael turned to Miss Anne as the music commenced. “Shall we?”

Tension ran along Miss Anne’s jaw, but she nodded all the same. “Please, Mr. Sandford.”

Without a single word to Miss Lawson, the two of them moved out to the dance floor, lining up with other couples.

“I cannot apologize enough, Mr. Sandford,” Miss Anne half-whispered, her cheeks red. “My sister…”

“It is entirely unnecessary, Miss Anne,” Michael told her, offering a smile. “If I may say so, I know a bully when I encounter one, and I have yet to find one that I like. I only hope this dance may bring you pleasure enough to be worth her spite.”

Anne laughed once, though seemingly without humor. “I doubt it. Roslyn hasn’t had anything but spite for me since we were children. Is it horrible to say such a thing about one’s sister?”

“Not to me.” He bowed over her hand, backing up to his spot.

“You’re too kind.”

The dance began and Michael found his attention drawn to just behind Anne, where Charlotte stood.

Watching him.

If she suspected what he was up to, she gave no indication. At the present, those around her were talking with each other, leaving her without conversation, yet not without company. Her dark eyes were on him, her lips curved in a relaxed, contented smile that was rarely seen in public. Oh, she smiled regularly, always wore a bright expression, and surely thrived upon the energy, but this private moment, this private smile, was not something one saw often outside of her home. Why did the sight of it affect him as much as seeing her arrive had?

Her smile spread just a touch as she caught him watching, and she tilted her head, spreading her hands out just a little. How do I look? The question was an obvious one, and he would have given the world not to answer it.

Thankfully, the dance permitted brevity, which she would understand. She needn’t know there was nothing more he would want to say.

Michael swallowed once, then nodded once, barely a dip of his chin, but enough to be considered an answer. He saw Charlotte nod in return but did not look long enough to know much else.

He returned his attention to his partner, someone he already liked more than he’d expected after a five-minute acquaintance, and waited for their turn to join in. “Would it