Devil in Duchess's clothing

Chapter 4

"People will ask us how and when we met..." Lady Gordon said, still staring at something across the balcony, her face in profile to him.

"I will say that the Duke was an acquaintance and I met you when I attended his funeral," Garrett stated.

"Lord Beresford—"

"Garrett. You must address me by my given name."

"Very well, Garrett, you can call me Emma," she murmured. Garrett couldn't suppress the tingle in his spine the moment she said his name. Lord he was behaving like a simpleton.

He signalled for her to continue.

"We barely know anything about one another," she said. "Not that I want to get to know you."

Garrett bit back a smile. This he could handle. But the uncertain, sweet duchess, he could not.

Just as the Viscountess Argyll had said, the music soon began, preventing Garrett from replying.

"Will you dance with me?" he asked.

"Oh but—"

"We can ask each other some basic questions," he said, inclining his head.

She bit her lip before saying, "oh very well."

Garrett hid his smile and offered his hand. There was a slight tremor to her when she placed her palm atop his.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I'm nervous about dancing, is all."

"Do you not know how to dance?"

"Of course, I do. I'm just a little rusty, I haven't danced in quite sometime."

Garrett said nothing. He supposed he could lead her through the reel.

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As it turned out, Lady Gordon was an extremely graceful dancer and did not require his help. There was a time or two when she stepped on his toes. At first he'd thought it was a result of her being "rusty." But it didn't take him long to discover the mischievous twinkle in her eye every time she did.

A pretty blush had stained her cheeks and the exposed part of chest a delectable rosy pink from the exertion of the dance. She seemed to be enjoying herself. And so Garrett said nothing.

They couldn't ask each other anything of import because of the distance between them and the eavesdropping audience. Garrett supposed a waltz rather than a quadrille would've been a better choice for conducting conversation.

When their reel ended, several gentlemen came forward to ask Emma to dance. But she politely declined.

Which pleased him immensely.

"How many siblings do you have?" she asked him when they were making rounds about the ballroom.

"I have three sisters and a brother," he said with a grin. As he'd guessed her eyes widened. "Only one sister is elder to me and the rest are younger."

"You must've had a boisterous childhood," she murmured, tugging at her glove.

An understatement, that. So Garrett just shrugged noncommittally. "How about you?"

"I just had one elder sister," she replied.

"Had?"

"She passed some years ago," Emma replied, her voice catching slightly.

"I'm sorry for your loss," he said. He wanted to ask more questions regarding her sister but he didn't think she would tell him anything.