Deb Marlowe - Cinderella in the Regency Ballroom

Her arms dropped. Her eyes grew huge and some emotion that looked dangerously like pity crossed her face. ‘Protect myself from what, Mr Alden?’ She gestured towards the door. ‘In there is a roomful of people come to pass a pleasant evening and enjoy some good music. It is not a den of monsters.’

She was so young. So naïve. Jack wanted to wrap her in swaddling and spirit her away, to somehow keep her safe in this pristine, happy state.

He took a step back. He was doing it again. She was doing it again. This was not why he had come here. He sketched a quick bow. ‘I’m sorry. I did not mean to insult you.’

She inclined her head a little. He took what he could get and forged ahead. ‘Your mother, she is well? I hope that was not the nature of your news?’

‘Oh. No. Mother is fine. I had a letter from her yesterday. She and Lady Ashford appear to be enjoying themselves. They have met many new people and even approve of a few of them.’

‘And the rest of your family?’ he persisted. ‘I hope they are well, also?’

‘Thank you, but I have no other family. Mother and I have been alone since my father died.’

Jack’s fist clenched. His breath caught. It could not be. Please. He did not want to have been wrong about her connection to Matthew Beecham. ‘Just the two of you alone in the world?’ he asked past the constriction in his throat. ‘That is sad enough, in and of itself.’

‘Just the two of us,’ she said. ‘Unless you count my cousin Matthew—but he lives in America now.’

Jack almost slumped in relief. Almost. He grinned at her. ‘An American cousin? My brother’s wife boasts such a connection. I hope yours is not so, ah, vibrant a character as hers.’

He’d actually drawn an answering smile. ‘Oh, Matthew is a character, without a doubt.’ She laughed. ‘You would never believe me if I shared half the antics we used to get up to.’

‘Are you close, then?’ He held his breath.

She sighed. ‘We were. Matthew lived with us for several years after his parents died. I was just a girl and I thought the sun rose and set with him.’

‘I hope he returned the sentiment.’

‘He did, or close enough to please me.’ She smiled. ‘He taught me the most unsuitable things! And I loved him for it.’

‘Hmm, now he sounds like my brother Charles.’

‘Oh, I’ve already heard a few of the tales about Charles.’ She laughed. ‘I don’t think we could have kept up with him, even on our best days.’

‘Nor could I.’

She glanced sharply at him and Jack wondered if he’d revealed too much.

‘Matthew was special to me. Other than my father, I would say that he may be the only person in the world who has ever truly known me.’

Jack fought a twinge of conscience. He was too close to back down now. ‘Was special? Do you not keep in touch any longer?’

‘We exchange the occasional letter.’ She grinned sheepishly. ‘I confess, although I have altogether less to write about, I am far more likely to write him than vice versa. And though his correspondence has always been irregular and infrequent, it is always a delight when it comes.’ She grinned again. ‘American life has some rather droll differences from ours, based on his descriptions.’ Jack watched, hopeful and more than a little enchanted, as a tiny frown of concentration creased her brow. ‘But it has been months and months since last I heard from him. I don’t think I realised until now just how long it has been.’

‘And how does he find America, besides droll? Does he not miss his home?’

‘Not at all, as far as I can tell. He’s quite happy there. He’s a shipbuilder and doing tolerably well.’ She cocked her head. ‘Perhaps his business has increased and that is what keeps him from writing.’

Disappointment and hope warred in Jack’s chest. For a moment he considered telling her the truth, but cast the thought quickly aside. She obviously knew nothing of the trouble her cousin had tangled himself in. Matthew Beecham might just contact his cousin and ask for help. It would behoove Jack to stay close as well.

It was a sobering thought. She was damned perplexing. He didn’t know if he could win her confidence, and, more importantly, he didn’t know if he could keep a rein on his own unfortunate reactions to her.

He’d been quiet too long. She watched him, curiosity etched in her clear, fresh face. ‘Well,’ she said, ‘thank you for distracting me from my sombre thoughts. I had best return to the music room.’ She glanced at him again and made to move away.

‘Wait,’ he asked. His conscience still pricked him. He could not forget the earlier hurt in her voice.

She paused.

‘About what I said earlier,’ he began, stumbling a little over the words. ‘I have no authority to dictate to you, or even advise you. Truly, I meant my words, as I said, as a warning. A friendly warning.’ She’d stopped on her way out and stood very close now. The darkened room contracted around them. ‘Perhaps you do not know, but my own family has shown a disregard for society’s expectations in the past—and been persecuted for it. I just wish to spare you that sort of pain.’

Her face softened. Jack’s gaze locked with hers. Her colour heightened and he noticed that those adorable freckles disappeared when she flushed. ‘I begin to understand,’ she said softly. Jack had the impression that she spoke as much to herself as to him. ‘Perhaps you will scoff—’ she spoke in nearly a whisper ‘—but we are very alike.’

A frown furrowed her lovely brow, and she caught that enticingly plump bottom lip with her teeth. Jack could not look away. Somehow the chit had turned the tables and was now worried for him. It was an intoxicating thought. Yet he was here with a purpose. He drew a deep breath and tried to clear his mind of anything else.

Her hand rose between them. Jack’s pulse began to race. Small and uncertain, that hovering hand drove all thought of his objective from his head. For a moment, he felt sure she meant to draw it back. His gut twisted inside out as part of him longed to jerk away—and the other waited in breathless anticipation for her to touch him.

She did touch him. He saw the resolution in her eyes as she extended her arm and then he felt the butterfly touch of her fingers tracing a path along his jaw. His eyes closed. Her warm little hand slid over his shoulder and came to rest on his chest.

‘When my father died, I thought just as you do,’ she whispered. ‘It is a very hard thing, to feel alone in a room full of people.’

But Jack’s eyes were open again, and her words did not register. He could not think past the mix of empathy and desire swimming in the cool blue of her gaze, could not focus on anything but the movement of that tempting lower lip. Logic, his close companion all these years, screamed at him to stop, shouted a warning that, for the first time ever, he ignored. Her mouth beckoned. He had to taste it, mark it as his.

His gaze fixed, he mimicked her earlier movement, raising his hand and brushing the silky skin of her jaw. She gasped. He did not let it deter him. He ran his fingers into the smooth knot of hair at her nape and cupped her jaw. He leaned in, intent on his purpose—

‘Miss Beecham?’

She jerked back, her eyes wide. Jack blinked. Then he cursed. Ever so slowly, awareness began to return. She stepped quickly towards the door, but the alarm in his head did not fade.

‘Miss Beecham, there you are!’

It was one of the young pups who had drooled over her in the music room. He gave an extravagant bow and offered her his arm and a friendly grin. ‘Miss Beecham, I’ve been sent to fetch you. Our hostess hopes you will entertain us all with a song on the pianoforte.’