Introducing Miss Joanna (Once a Wallflower #2) - Maggi Andersen Page 0,16
careless mass of waves which invited one’s fingers to order it. Entirely natural, she decided. She smiled at her foolishness. How stupid to form an opinion of a man she’d only just met.
He smiled down at her, his gaze roaming over her face. “Something amuses you?”
“No. It was merely an arbitrary thought.”
“Might I be privy to it?”
Caught flat-footed, her chest tightened. Goodness! She tried to think of an appropriate answer but failed under his unsettling gaze. “I beg your pardon, my lord. It would not interest you.” Her stern tone was meant to put an end to his probing.
That didn’t work. A grin imbued his brown eyes with a wicked sparkle. “Then you leave me to speculate, which might be far worse. Come, be honest. I have thick skin.”
Really, the man was…impudent. “It is your hair, sir,” Jo said, determined to best him.
His eyes widened. “My hair?”
“I approve of the tousled style gentlemen are adopting this Season.”
He laughed, causing those dancing nearby to stare. “I merely brush and forget it, Miss Dalrymple. Is that a disappointment to you?”
She demurred. This man would be the undoing of her. She would earn a reputation for being fast and go home in disgrace. And to be fair, she had brought it on herself by agreeing to waltz with him. She should have known better. Where was her head? The few young debutantes on the dance floor would partner their papa or their brother. And she had stood up with a rake. He made her conspicuous, but even so, she admitted that to refuse him would have been impossible.
The music flowed over the ballroom, and he took her in his arms. Her hand clasped firmly in his while the fingers of his other hand spread over her lower back, strong and warm. His touch was like a caress, and his male scent flooded her senses. She couldn’t help but to sigh as his body moved with hers over the floor, his long legs brushing her skirts. Being held in his arms appealed to her more than she cared to admit.
He had a commanding self-confidence, which she admired but also distrusted. A man like Reade would not be right for her. She couldn’t imagine him in a cozy family setting, chatting to her father over the breakfast table. It was as if danger surrounded him. What an odd thought. How silly she was tonight. Her gaze was drawn again to his face.
Reade lifted his black eyebrows. “Do I pass muster, Miss Dalrymple?”
He was outrageous. When their eyes met, she found it hard to look away. “I could not say, sir,” she said, tempted to rebuke him.
He chuckled. “Yet?”
Jo had to laugh. “Do you enjoy teasing me, Lord Reade?”
“I confess I might if it makes your lovely eyes flash daggers at me. But no, Miss Dalrymple. It’s just that I prefer to speak my mind. Life is too short for niceties.”
“Should we all act like barbarians? Everyone here obeys those rules. Do they not?”
The smile vanished from his eyes. “If you are unaware that some of the gentlemen here tonight with perfect manners are not nearly so polite outside of a ballroom, I should warn you of it.”
Jo gazed at him steadily. “Thank you for the warning. But it is entirely unnecessary. I am a fair judge of character.” She firmed her lips. She wanted to say she included him in those gentlemen he warned her against, but it would be entirely too impolite.
He swiftly swept her into a series of turns, making her breath catch and her heart hammer. When she could regain her breath, she expected him to continue in the same outrageous vein, as if she were a silly little country miss who must be taught about the big bad city. She was prepared to take him to task, but he smiled. “So, Miss Dalrymple. What part of England do you hail from?”
She eyed him warily. “Marlborough, my lord.”
“I have passed through it, traveling to and from Bath. Never had cause to stop there.”
His comment pricked her. “Many do, sir,” she said, raising her chin. “Travelers stay at the excellent coaching inn to change carriage horses and tarry awhile.” She was about to mention how popular her father’s shop had been but resisted the impulse. She would be deeply disappointed if he mocked her.
“I prefer to travel on horseback.”
“But you were in a coach when I first saw you.” She blushed, realizing she’d given herself away.