Rules for Reforming a Rake(25)
“Not seemly for a debutante to be spouting equations while waltzing with a dashing duke, I suppose.”
“Lest the dashing duke find her a crushing bore.” She grinned before continuing. “So I’ll have to wait until the season is over before learning more about Sir Isaac Newton and his writings. Have you read his Opticks or the Principia Mathematica?”
He arched an eyebrow. “You know about those works?”
“Surprised?”
He shook his head and smiled. “I should be, but somehow I’m not. Daisy, you are a rare young lady.”
“In a good way or bad?” she asked with a sudden pang of doubt.
He seemed surprised by her confusion. “Good, of course. I meant it as a compliment.” He sighed. “If I help you, will you do something for me?”
“Help me? With what?”
“Well, do you wish to learn more about Newton or not?”
“Yes... no... it depends.”
“On what?”
“On what I must do for you in return.” He’d found her pearls and saved her from disaster, but she wasn’t so foolish as to sacrifice her virtue for a lesson in physics. She didn’t need to read Lady Forsythia’s book on reforming a rake to know that. “What is it you wish from me?”
His brilliant smile simply melted her bones. “I wish to dance with you.”
CHAPTER 6
A lady repays a debt to a rake with no more than a polite thank-you.
THE GIRL GREW PRETTIER with every breath, Gabriel decided, offering Daisy his arm and escorting her onto the dance floor. Once in place among the other dancers, he took her gloved hand in his, and resting his other hand at the small of her back, brought her as close as he dared. “You’re trembling.”
“With relief,” she said with the softest quiver to her voice. “I’m amazed. I don’t know what to say. You saved my evening. You saved me.”
“Very heroic of me, I must say.”
“It was. Thank you... Saint Gabriel.” She smiled up at him.
Once again, he made the mistake of gazing into her vivid blue eyes and quickly found himself enthralled by their magnificent depths. He was still gazing as the music started. And as the first dancers bumped into him.
“Gabriel? The music.”
And as her soft, incredibly tempting body yielded to him.
He was going to kiss her tonight, damn the consequences.
One harmless kiss.
Sweet.
Short.
“Did you forget the steps?” she asked, reaching up on tiptoes to whisper in his ear. “Shall I lead? We can sit this one out if you don’t feel like—”
He stopped her as she was about to pull out of his arms, and moving with the music, began to twirl her about the floor. She swayed gracefully in her white satin, following his steps with ease. Surprisingly, she was an excellent dancer.
“I’m not incompetent in all things,” she murmured, seeming to read his thoughts. In truth, he didn’t think her incompetent at all, just young and inexperienced, and at times distracted by her boisterous clan and the burdens they unwittingly placed upon her slender shoulders.
“I’m sure you are a very accomplished young lady.”
She pointed her pert nose into the air and cringed. “Oh, dear.”
“I intended it as a compliment.”
“I know, but it’s such a hideous expression. My father often describes his Aunt Hortensia that way. She’s an utter ogre.”
He shook his head and laughed. It felt nice, he admitted, to hold Daisy in his arms. “You’re not an ogre at all.”
She let out a deliciously breathy sigh. “I’m not all that accomplished either.”
“Is that so? You don’t seem the sort to butcher Beethoven sonatas or sew crooked hems.”
“Oh, but I do so constantly,” she said with a twinkle in her eyes.
“Those aren’t important talents. Kindness and generosity such as you’ve shown my grandmother throughout the years of my absence are the virtues that count.” He knew it had been a harrowing time for his entire family. They must have felt helpless, no doubt blamed themselves as they watched him earn the reputation as the family disappointment.
The dance ended and he knew better than to try to continue the conversation by seeking Daisy’s hand for another. No, he’d already caused enough damage to her reputation by choosing to partner her in this one. Then there was the time spent in the library and the conservatory, innocently of course, but vicious rumors often started with much less.
Apparently, she’d already felt the sting of gossip a year or so earlier and suffered for it. He’d ask Graelem about that incident later.
His situation was different. He’d endured the lies told about him—indeed, encouraged those lies in order to maintain his disreputable appearance. Easier to slip in and out of France without being noticed. Easier to infiltrate the lower orders, make contact with Napoleon’s agents and make them believe he would betray his country for a few shillings.