The Seductress' Marriage Ploy

16. I Shall Like To Leave Now Your Grace

"If I may be so bold as to ask for your first dance." Wychford said as he extended his hand. "Is your dance card filled already? He enquired further.

Julia shook her head and said, "No." Her dance card was in fact full, but Wychford didn't need to know that. The most important thing was that she had saved him a dance.

He offered his arm and Julia placed her hand on the proffered sleeve. As he led her away, his expression was grave. As if pained by something. Wychford looked stiff, and he even acted stiff. He still had not said a thing to her. Just led her across the ballroom, silently forcing Julia to start the conversation. Julia wished she had her hand fan with her, that way she would have had something to busy herself with. She tipped her head back and stared at Wychford. For a fleeting seconds she wondered if she should break the silence or just keep quiet. After what seemed like forever, she opened her mouth.

"Are you alright? Is something amiss?"

Grey eyes lifted to meet hers. Pinning her with a hot stare. His eyes, Julia realized, was hovering over her in a manner that suggested he wanted to do something other than just talking or dancing.

Under that gaze, she blushed. Wychford followed the trail. From her cheeks to her neck, and then to her cleavage, it stopped. Resting there.

Julia felt herself blush anew. This was what she had wanted, to entice him so he might be moved to offer for her. But why did she suddenly feel uncomfortable?

Wychford swallowed. In a deep voice, too deep even for himself, as if the words couldn't get past his throat. As if some kind of emotion clogged his throat, he said, "My, but don't you look beautiful tonight." His eyes were alive and gleaming. "I fear you might have collected the heart of all the beaus tonight, myself included."

"Why, thank you." Julia demurred.

Moving his hand slowly on the small of her back. He asserted more pressure and propelled her closer towards him.

She could feel the pressure of his legs against the skirt of her gown and felt her breathing suddenly become shallow. Julia panicked. Wychford had taken their simple dance and turned it into something sensual.

As they separated among the other dancers and came back together again, Wychford used the opportunity to draw her closer, his hand lingering too close to the curve of her derriere. He was well vast in this act of seduction Julia thought. He did it in such a way that it wouldn't even be noticeable.

For someone standing several feet away from them, it would look like his hand was firmly rested in the small of her back as it should. But his hands were doing wicked things to her. At one point when they were dancing in a dark side of the room he had bent slightly and whispered in her ear the softness of his lips massaging her earlobe. Julia had shivered, and she was suddenly starting to feel hot.

He looked at her knowingly. What it was he knew, Julia didn't know. At that moment, one of Julia's hand was rested on Wychford's shoulder and she thought, if he would get her all hot and bothered she might as well do the same. Moving her hand to the base of his neck, she gave him a feather light touch with the tip of fingers. Instantly, his eyes narrowed and his mouth tightened into a thin line.

"I have a proposition for you." Wychford rasped out. Julia beamed. She had finally succeeded. At last. She smiled up at him and patiently waited for him to tell her he was finally ready to offer for her. But it never came. Instead she heard, "Be my mistress." In a voice that faintly resembled a growl if it had been spoken any louder. Rather it came out in the form of a noisy whisper, his breathing harsh. "I will set you up in a big house. A London townhouse of your own, or a country house if that's what you wish. I will..." But Julia had longed stop to listen, she was dumbfounded by the profanity of what he had just said.

This was not the type of thing one said to a gently bred lady. She knew she was not gentle, but at least she likes to think of herself as a well-bred lady.

When he had asked her to be his mistress, she had lost all color on her face. Considering that she already had a pale complexion, it was a hard foot to muster. But Wychford had achieved that, with just the right effect. Now she looked like she was sick.

All colour had been lost from her face, if there was any to be lost at all. Wychford, she realized, was still talking. something in the lines of, "...I had fallen in love with you the very first night we met, but my brother had gambled away the whole estate. Unless I marry an heiress, I won't be able to keep the estate up and about. I wanted to offer for you, I really did, but then I found out you didn't have much dowry to go by. Of course that's no problem at all. We can still be together if only you would..."

Julia had heard enough. The first thing that came to her mind after the first spasms of shock have left her body was how dare he! The nerve of him! She was angry. Scratch that, she wanted to scratch his eyes out till there was blood. If she didn't see one she wasn't sure she could stop.

Through clenched teeth, she muttered, "I shall like to leave now, your grace." Spatting the last part out.

"You don't understand I..."

His words fell on deaf ears. Something else aside from anger was quickly replacing her need to be angry. Julia felt alarmed. Wychford was gripping her arm, his hold on her vice like. If care wasn't taken. He would soon be on the verge of creating a scandal. A situation that would be entirely against her favour. She was alarmed.

Her main aim now was to find a way to extricate herself from Wychford without causing the least bit scandal. She turned from Wychford and scanned the guest until her eyes landed on Sebastian standing by the refreshment table. Julia cast him a very desperate glance. He seem not to understand, but that didn't deter her. Julia forced herself to meet his gaze, conveying all the fear and anguish she was feeling. Until eventually his eyes darted away from her to rest on Wychford's hand. Julia breathed out a sigh of relief