Sullivan found her tiresome. His eyes traveled the length of Tilly’s lithe figure.
She looked up at him and he was struck by her beauty. The green of her gown was the perfect shade of her eyes and it made her fair skin positively glow. Her breasts looked perfect, framed by the jade silk. He wanted nothing more than to drag her back upstairs and remove that gown from her tempting body.
“You look stunning,” he told her.
Her cheeks pinkened and she gave him a weak smile. “Thank you.”
“Don’t embarrass her, Sullivan,” Melanie said from across the room, her voice taking on an annoying singsong quality. “That wretched flush makes her look spotty. It’s not very becoming.”
He didn’t miss the slight wince in Tilly’s face. “You look perfect.” He took her arm and led her forward. “Shall we?”
She nodded but said nothing. She was such a spitfire with him, but interactions with her sister made her pensive and quiet. Melanie seemed capable of sucking the spirit right out of Tilly.
He hated that. He’d much rather have her yell at him and call him names than to be this quiet, defeated person.
“Now, Freckles,” he murmured close to her ear. “I must say that is a beautiful gown, but I believe it would look much better on the floor in my bedchamber.”
She sucked in a breath, and instantly her demeanor shifted. She turned her gaze to his, fire sparkling in the green depths. “That is a scandalous thing to say.”
“I thought you knew by now I’m a scandalous man, and I very much want to do scandalous things to you.”
There was that shallow breathing again, and her eyes had gone dark and heated. She might not like him, but she definitely desired him. It was a start, one he intended to fully use to his advantage. He might not deserve her, but she was his, and he was going to make this a real marriage.
Tilly stood at the edge of the ballroom with her friends surrounding her. She stared out at the dance floor where her sister was currently in Sullivan’s arms.
“He didn’t have a choice,” Harriet said.
“He’s too much of a gentleman to have said no to her when she asked the way she did,” Agnes said in agreement.
They were right, of course. Melanie had seized an opportunity to claim a dance with Tilly’s husband in front of the Duchess of Kilby. Sullivan would never have accused a woman of lying in such a situation. But she had been. He’d been at Tilly’s side since they entered the ballroom so she knew there’d been no previously agreed upon waltz.
“They make a striking couple.” Her sister was beautiful, no matter how much Tilly wished otherwise. Melanie was still so pretty. Petite and perfectly curved with golden hair and shining blue eyes; she was the very picture of conventional beauty.
“You look far better at his side, and he looks at you with so much fondness,” Agnes said.
She wanted to argue the point with her friend, but there was no use. Tilly knew the truth. He might say he wanted to do wicked things to her, but he hadn’t even so much as kissed her yet.
No, when he said things such as that, it was merely to get a rise out of her. To make her blush so everyone watching them would see her reaction to his whispered words and assume they were besotted. He’d admitted as much when they’d danced at the previous ball, after Lady Evanberry had confronted them.
Perhaps she should be grateful he was trying to protect their ruse, but she couldn’t, not when his words affected her so profoundly. Not when he couldn’t be bothered to consummate their marriage.
“It’s obnoxious what she’s wearing,” Harriet said. “I know that’s a nasty thing to say and I know she’s your sister, Tilly, but that red gown is inappropriate.”
“I agree. You don’t try to draw attention to yourself when attending a wedding ball. Especially your sister’s,” Agnes said.
“I love you both, but I’m quite accustomed to Melanie’s behavior. The truth is, she could wear a flour sack and still look prettier than me. The daring gown is unnecessary.”
She was saved from having to listen to the protestations of her friends by the arrival of Lord Davenport, Harriet’s husband.
“You look beautiful tonight, Matilda,” Lord Davenport said as he bent over Tilly’s hand.
“Thank you.”
Harriet smiled up at her husband. “She certainly does. Where have you been?”
“Causing trouble, my love, as usual.” He looked down at his wife