to supper. That should be the perfect hideaway for a few minutes alone.
She quickly found the doorway and hurried down the passage, which was dimly lit by a single low-burning wall lamp. Chests, chairs, and tables lined each side of the walls, making it barely possible for one person to maneuver down its length. The stagnant scents of dust, wax, and burned oil tickled her nose. No doubt the furniture had been moved to the hallway to make standing room for the guests.
Little more than halfway down the corridor she saw a large porcelain compote positioned by a tall brass candle stand, and she hurried to hide between the two. Luckily, that put her almost directly under the light.
She quickly untied the ribbon of her dance card and took it off her wrist. Then, using as short abbreviations as she dared, she wrote on the back of the card with the small pencil attached to the ribbon.
Lady H. has eye on Lord Greenfield. Lord Dugdale looking make match this Season. Miss B-well will marry a Terrible Threesome, doesn’t care which. Miss Chipping, unhappy with match father made would rather run away than marry elderly earl.
A shadow fell across Millicent’s paper. Engrossed with her writing, she paid it no mind and adjusted the paper into the pale yellow light again. Within a moment or two, the shadow fell on her card again. Too preoccupied with her writing to look into what caused the light to fade, she turned again toward the brightness. The third time the paper went dark she took notice and looked up with a grimace of annoyance.
Her gaze first landed on a wide chest and straight shoulders covered by a crisp, white shirt that was outlined with a cream-colored brocade waistcoat, and a black evening jacket, all topped off with a perfectly tied neckcloth. The expensive material and fine cut of his clothing told her that the man standing in front of her was no ordinary gentleman.
So much for thinking I was concealed by the furniture.
Her gaze slowly rose past a strong-looking, cleanly shaved chin, glided over a smooth, slightly square jawline to lips that were so masculine and so close to her own that her heartbeat faltered, then quickened again. She held her breath for a moment before continuing her journey across the narrow bridge of his nose and the well-defined shape of his cheekbones. At last she looked into eyes so blue she wanted to melt into them.
Thick, dark blond hair was cropped short over his ears but fell longer at his nape. He stood perfect in stature and impeccable in dress, letting her study him. And she did, without guilt or shame. He was a magnificent-looking man who, without saying a word, spoke of power, privilege, and wealth.
The sharpened lead in her pencil snapped under the pressure from her fingers.
A knowing grin slowly made its way across his manly lips, intriguing her so she couldn’t take her eyes off them. In the depth of her abdomen a quickening started and shuddered all the way up to her breasts and lingered there before moving on to her throat, tightening it. Millicent was quite sure she had never felt this way before.
He watched her, and although not one word had been spoken between them, she sensed he knew she was not only startled by his arrival, but was attracted to him.
With his full lips crooked roguishly into a charming grin, she watched his gaze brush down her face and skim over her breasts and waist before returning to lock on her eyes. This was no shy gentleman standing so close to her that if she lifted her arm, she could touch him.
The narrow hallway suddenly grew hotter.
Millicent took a deep breath. She must shake off her unsettling reaction to this man. She was drawn by his confidence and the ease with which he perused her. This susceptibility was the very thing her aunt had warned her against. She had to deny his strong appeal and behave toward him with the same indifference she had employed with the other gentlemen she had met during the evening.
Feeling calmer and more in control, she confidently asked, “May I help you, sir?”
“Pardon me.” He bowed slightly. “I was passing by and happened to see you standing in here. I wanted to make sure you are all right.”
Unlike her usual sensible self, she wondered what she should say. When she looked into his eyes, an excited, tingling sensation washed over her. When