Scandal Meets Its Match (The May Flowers #7) - Merry Farmer Page 0,78

Even with dozens of American heiresses crossing the Atlantic to stake their claim on the lords of England, she stuck out. She was a curiosity, but never more so than she had been in the last few days.

She was teetering on the verge of thinking maybe that wasn’t so bad after all, that perhaps being seen as strange to begin with would help excuse things if she was seen to throw Freddy over for Phin. That was, if Phin still wanted her. The way he’d met her when she entered the ballroom raised her hopes in that regard.

And Bart swaggering into the startled room of British aristocracy, sniffing at the decorations, sneering at lords with titles he didn’t understand, and generally marking himself as a man who didn’t care what everyone around him thought, dashed those hopes entirely.

“This is not going to end well,” she sighed, stepping away from Phin, even as most of the couples around them resumed their waltz. She started dodging her way through those couples, determined to take the bull by the horns and wrestle him as far away from the people she’d grown to care about as possible.

“Where are you going?” Phin hissed, leaping after her.

Lenore paused to turn toward him, even though Bart had spotted her and broken into a vicious smile. “I need to face what I’ve been avoiding,” she said, pressing a hand to her stomach. She sounded far braver than she felt. Inside, she was trembling. Just because she’d come to the realization that she needed to clean up her own mess so that the people she loved remained unharmed didn’t mean that, deep down, she wasn’t still scared out of her wits. And if there was any possibility at all of her discovering why Bart really wanted her back, she had to grab it.

“You’re not facing it alone,” Phin said, marching on with her.

For a moment, Lenore was certain she was forgiven. Phin wouldn’t be putting himself in so much danger if he didn’t care about her the way she cared about him. But as they drew closer to Bart, she began to wonder if he was simply dragging her on to what she deserved.

“Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” Bart growled, raking her with a hungry look. “I’m glad I decided to come to this shindig after all.”

“Bart.” Lenore greeted him with an impatient nod. “We need to go somewhere quiet so we can talk.”

“I can see you’ve come around, then,” Bart said, looking far too pleased with himself. “I knew you’d see fit to fulfill your duties.”

Lenore sighed impatiently. She hadn’t truly begun to pry him for information that might lead to the truth and already Bart had her feeling out of her depth. “My feelings on the matter haven’t changed at all,” she said. “I still think we can negotiate our way out of this.” Especially if she figured out what he truly wanted.

“What are you doing here, sir?” Reese demanded as he and Freddy joined the confrontation.

More party guests stopped what they were doing to listen in. Lenore’s face burned hot with embarrassment as she peeked at dozens of rapt and nosey faces. “Please,” she whispered. “Could we do this somewhere else?”

“I don’t see that there’s anything to do,” Bart said, speaking too loud and seeming to enjoy the extra attention. “Unless my pretty little wife here wants to dance with me.”

“I’m surprised a man like you can dance at all,” Freddy said, his jaw clenched.

“Watch me.” Bart grabbed Lenore’s wrist and tugged her toward the dance floor. Several of the observers gasped and blanched at his actions.

“Unhand her,” Phin demanded, leaping after them.

“Phin, it’s all right,” Lenore said, barely above a whisper. Dancing with Bart might open up the right opportunity to figure out the truth. She attempted to tell Phin as much in the way she met his eyes and bored into him, begging him to let her handle things.

Phin let out a restless huff and rocked back, shoving a hand through his hair and knocking his glasses askew. “I’ll be right here if you need me,” he said in a tight voice.

Lenore nodded, but Bart jerked her on to the dance floor before she could say anything. Her wrist hurt from his iron-hard grip, and even more of the guests stared at them as Bart manhandled her into dance position and began a clumsy waltz. Lenore almost laughed at the irony of the way everyone’s expressions changed as they watched Bart fling