"Only one," Rosalie replied, her blue eyes laughing. "Miss Germain may not be aware of the fact that more than one dance with the same man will place her in a most compromising position."
"Surely you wouldn't count our dances," Carr protested to Mira.
"I certainly will," Mira said. "I will not allow myself to be compromised at the first ball of the Season."
He grinned and offered his arm in a gallant gesture. Mira handed her bow and quiver of arrows to Rosalie,and she allowed Carr to lead her to the crowded middle of the ballroom. As he whirled her amid the glittering couples, Mira found that he was an adept dancer and that her steps were well-matched to his. After a minute of silence, Mira threw him a teasing glance. "Have I said something to rob you of speech?"
"No… no…" he said hastily, "I was just… thinking of something."
Mira looked at him through her lashes and smiled. Although Carr had no way of knowing it, his similarity to Alec was enormously intriguing to her. It was possible, she mused, that this was what Alec might have been like when he was younger… a little vulnerable, his manner both cheerful and slightly awkward, his handsome face touched with the innocence of youth. Was Carr an accurate picture of what Alec had been several years ago?
"Thinking of something?" she repeated, forcing herself back to the conversation at hand. "Of anything or anyone in particular?" Carr merely shook his head slowly. "How disappointing," she said coquettishly. "I had expected you to say that you were thinking of me."
He laughed, his hair falling in a coal-black spill over his forehead as he looked down at her. For all his youth, he was still taller than most of the other men in the room and dwarfed her considerably. "If I thought only of you, Miss Germain, my feet would stumble to a halt, my chin would drop to the floor, and all I would be able to do is stare at your beauty in stupefied amazement."
"You would be the first to do so," she assured him.
"With all respect, I doubt that."
It was with difficulty that Carr kept from complimenting her so lavishly that he would appear foolishly smitten. He managed to conduct himself with commendable restraint. This was his second Season in London, and by now he considered himself to be morethan proficient in the art of flirtation. He had even thought of himself as becoming rather cynical, though not quite as impressively jaded as his cousin Alec. Women, all women, had once possessed the power to make Carr feel awkward and tongue-tied… and just when he had congratulated himself on overcoming such an affliction, this small woman in his arms had brought it back in less than a minute. He was bewitched by her, and moreover, he could feel the jealous stares of his comrades as they watched him dance with her. A night like this was the stuff of a young man's fantasies. Carr gave up all attempts to make conversation and simply concentrated on memorizing each detail of her face.
Content to dance in silence, Mira followed him easily, her fingers resting lightly on the metallic fibers of Carr's costume. It was with great reluctance that she realized the waltz was ending. She walked back very slowly with Carr to the Berkeleys, who were conversing with Helen of Troy, Shakespeare, Delilah, and Henry VIII.
"He is perfect for you," Rosalie whispered behind her fan to Mira. "Young and sweet, and very handsome. Play your cards wisely."
"I will," Mira whispered back, unable to think of any way to explain to Rosalie that Carr would have indeed been perfect, had he not been so young… had he not been Alec's cousin. Aside from the fact that she would inevitably find herself making comparisons between the two of them, she knew that Alec would not tolerate any involvement of hers with a member of his family. What would he do if Carr became seriously interested in her? The thought was both amusing and horrifying.
As she turned her attention to the conversation and laughed at a quip Carr had made, she felt a sudden prickling sensation along the back of her neck, as if someone's eyes were on her. Glancing over her shoul-der, she saw Alec in the midst of a large group… j and he gave her a long, measured glance before turn- j ing away. His gray eyes had been smoky with jeal-; ousy. A quiver of excitement raced through her. That j doesn't change anything, she told herself sternly. Itj doesn't matter that he still might want you, and you're't a fool to care… But she couldn't deny that it had i felt good to have him stare like that… yes, it felt i very good. And even though she had disclaimed any j tie with him, she couldn't repress a twinge of pride as 't she looked at him; he was very handsome tonight,; even more than usual. i