“Please, Lady Alexandra,” Owen said. “Promise me you’ll dance with me again tonight.” He held out his hand in supplication.
Alex wanted to fall at his feet and shout, “Yes! Please!” But instead she batted her eyelashes some more and waved an imaginary fan in her gloved hand. “I cannot possibly commit to such a promise, my lord. I must consult my dancing card. I fear it is too full, as my dances are greatly in demand.” She pressed her lips together hard to keep from laughing more. “My dancing card has never been full, by the by,” she added.
“Never admit it, dear girl,” he said with a wicked grin that made Alex feel like she’d been kissed by the sun. She sighed heavily and stared up at him.
“How was that for a first lesson?” she asked.
“Quite good,” he replied. “A bit too good, perhaps.”
Alex wasn’t certain what he meant by that, but it sounded promising.
“Do you think you have the right of it?” he asked.
Alex bit her lip. How many opportunities would she have to dance with him so closely in a secluded ballroom? Only an imbecile would cut short such good fortune. “Not quite,” she managed to reply with a straight face, also deciding to completely ignore the fact that she had the pressing need to use the convenience after drinking the champagne. She held out her arms to him and did her best to seem businesslike. “I’d like for you to show me again, please.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
“Today I’m going to teach you how to be flirtatious,” Owen announced the next afternoon as soon as Alex had entered Cass’s ballroom. Alex was wearing a bright pink gown and looked fresh and pretty as a poppy.
“Flirtatious?” Alex echoed. “I don’t think my mother would appreciate that. But at least I remembered to bring my fan today.”
He cocked his head to the side. She was a funny little thing. She was full of contrasts but never ceased to make him laugh. He had dressed himself with special care again—black top boots, buckskin breeches, blue waistcoat, perfectly starched white cravat—and had ensured that he arrived on time for the second day in a row. Quite a habit he was making, this “being prompt” business. It seemed Alex was bringing out the best in him.
“Of course your mother wouldn’t appreciate it,” he replied. “But it will draw the eye of many a gentleman. If done correctly, that is.”
“I see,” Alex said. “How exactly is it done correctly? I thought that was what yesterday’s eyelash batting was accomplishing.”
Owen laughed aloud at that. “Partly, yes, but there is a bit more to it. Flirtation is both a skill and an art.”
“An art?” Alexandra echoed, stepping closer to him. “I quite like the sound of that.” Her hair was swept up in a fetching chignon, and her strawberry scent was ever present. Coupled with her pink gown, she reminded him of a ripe little fruit.
“It’s a trick, really.” Owen walked around her, assessing her from head to toe. “You are an innocent, so obviously you cannot be as flirtatious as, say, some of the ladies with whom I’ve been known to keep company.”
Alex snorted. “I’m excessively glad to hear that.”
His lips cracked into a grin. “Do I sense judgment in that answer, my lady?”
She shook her head, and one large, dark curl flew over her shoulder. “Oh. No. Not at all, my lord.” But the way she drew out the words and overemphasized them indicated her sarcasm. That, along with a bit of overly fluttery eyelash batting.
He eyed her up and down again. My, but she was appealing. He wished for the dozenth time that it was her and not her sister whom his father insisted he marry. Marriage to Alex might not be entirely … unpleasant. He shook his head to clear it of such unhelpful thoughts.
“Very well,” Alex replied. “Teach me how to be flirtatious, then. What do I need to know?”
Owen circled her, his hands folded behind his back. “It’s about wordplay, coy looks, the hint of a smile on your lips.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Alex said with a self-deprecating laugh. “I usually say all the wrong things and I’m not certain I’d know a coy look if it bit me upon the ankle. I suppose I could try the ‘hint of a smile’ part. That doesn’t sound terribly difficult.”
God, she was honest. It was completely refreshing. But also completely a detriment if she meant to be sought after on the marriage mart.
“I think you’ll see what I mean if we try it,” Owen said. “Dance with me, and let’s put it into action.”
Before she had a chance to respond, he pulled her into his arms. “You look ravishing tonight, Lady Alexandra.”