The Untamed Earl(30)

“Does Lavinia like to dance?” Owen asked as they spun around the room.

Oh, why did he have to go and ruin the moment by mentioning Lavinia? I love to dance. “Yes, she enjoys it immensely.” When it’s over. “You must be certain to ask her … often,” Alex added for good measure.

“I’m pleased to hear she enjoys it. I’ve always been quite fond of it myself. Though admittedly not usually at ton balls.”

It was on the tip of Alex’s tongue to ask where he liked to dance, but the answer might be far too shocking and far too disappointing for her. Instead she closed her eyes and enjoyed the lightness of her head and the feel of the man beneath her fingertips. How shocking would it be if she rubbed his shoulder a bit? Just to outline his muscles and—

“Not nervous?” he asked.

She nearly tripped but caught herself in time to smile up at him dreamily. “Not a bit.”

Minutes later, she realized she was actually doing quite well at dancing. It was as if her feet were moving of their own accord and she floated across the room. But then again, she’d never had such a debonair partner. Perhaps Owen was the reason the dancing was good. It was entirely unfair of him to be so handsome and good at dancing. She hummed along with him to the beautiful waltz. It took a few moments before she realized that it was the same one that had been playing the night she’d seen him beneath her window. She giggled to herself.

“What’s so funny?” he asked, studying her face.

“I like champagne,” she replied, not about to tell him the truth.

“So do I.” He winked at her, and an unexpected warmth spread through her limbs. She was suddenly quite aware of the feel of his hand on hers and of his broad shoulder beneath her fingertips. The weight of his other hand along her waist was positively burning.

“You’re learning quickly,” he said, spinning her again.

“I wasn’t aware that I’d learned anything yet.”

“You should keep smiling, laugh at my jests. It’s quite alluring, I assure you. But if I go too far, you should slap my shoulder and look at me out of the corners of your eyes with a mixture of warning and challenge.”

“Oh?” Had she been alluring? How? She wanted to do it again. And the bit about slapping his shoulder and looking out of the corners of her eyes … it all seemed far too complicated to keep straight. Who knew there was an entirely different set of things to learn that had nothing to do with the steps of the dance? Her mother had certainly never mentioned such things.

“You should seem perfectly at ease with every partner,” Owen continued. “Look around now and then at the other dancers. You mustn’t seem too taken with the gentleman you’re with.”

Alex swallowed. If he only knew how taken she was with the gentleman she was with. She forced herself to glance around at the other invisible dancers.

“That’s good. Keep the smile pinned to your face,” he prodded.

She widened the smile that had begun to droop a bit when she’d looked away from him, until she began to feel like a grinning fool.

“What else?” she asked, wishing the dance, the entire afternoon, actually, would not have to come to an end.

Owen finished humming the song and drew their dance to an end. He took one step back, and his arms fell away from her, breaking their contact. “Would you be my partner again?” he asked.

“Of course.” She held out her arms and stepped forward, quite willing to resume their dancing.

“No,” he said, stepping back again. “That was a test.”

Alex frowned. “A test?”

“You must never agree to two dances in a row with the same gentleman. It makes you seem far too interested, not to mention the potential gossip. Always keep your partner wanting more.”

“So I can’t dance with you again?” Surely, the look on her face surely was crestfallen.

“You can,” he replied with a grin. “But not right away. You should always keep a gentleman guessing as to whether you’ll say yes again.”

“Then what should I say if I’m asked?”

“Say, ‘perhaps,’” he replied. “And say it while walking away and glancing back over your shoulder like this.” Owen turned and did an impression of a female batting her eyelashes and walking away that made Alex giggle so hard, she worried about ripping the seams of her gown.

She tried unsuccessfully to stifle her laughter at that bit of advice. The champagne was making her giggle. Not good. She must concentrate on the lesson. A master was teaching her, after all. This was priceless information. Not to mention the delicious irony that he was teaching her what to do to snare his attention. She practiced by turning sharply away from him and turning back, her chin tucked to her shoulder, batting her eyelashes coquettishly. A dark curl flew over her shoulder.