Chapter 18
Eighteen
Felix stared down Lord Townshend, waiting to see if the other man would back down or challenge him. There was a hard set to his jaw that seemed like he would argue for the opportunity to dance with Isabelle.
She looked over her shoulder at Felix before turning back to Lord Townshend. “I am sorry. My first dance has been spoken for.”
“Then your second.” Lord Townshend looked determined, his hands falling to his sides and balling into fists. He drew his shoulders back.
“Her second dance is spoken for as well, and if I were you, I would not dare to ask for her third, because Lord Stanford has already spoken for that, and by her fourth she may be ready to retire for the evening.
Isabelle looked as confused as Felix felt. He didn’t know what he was doing, but when he walked into the ballroom and saw Lord Townshend approaching her, he knew he had to step between them.
She had made her feelings about the man quite clear. Even if she hadn’t, Felix would never allow him to marry her. He had proven himself utterly unworthy of her during the promenade.
Not that Miss Alden was incapable of caring for herself. She had also proven that.
However, if Felix intended to see her married, he would have to keep her from wasting time with the wrong men. If that meant that he would share a dance or several with her over the course of the coming weeks to keep the scoundrels away, then that is what he would do.
I will not for one moment allow myself to think that it means more than it does.
As the musicians started to play, Felix stepped neatly between Isabelle and Lord Townshend and extended his hand.
Isabelle raised an eyebrow, a small smile curling at the corner of her mouth as she allowed him to lead her onto the floor. She hummed along with the tune, but her gaze was distant.
It was as if she was focusing more on the steps than just losing herself to the music. Felix pressed her closer as they waltzed, moving around the room together like it was the easiest thing in the world.
At least it was until she tripped over her own feet.
Felix let out a low chuckle, his hand pressing harder against her back to keep her upright before she could fall over. “Step on my toes.”
“I would not do that. You will end up waddling out of here when our two dances are done.” The impish smile was back as she looked up at him, mischief shining in her beautiful ocean blue eyes. “Thank you for offering to dance with me.”
“You make it sound as if it is charity,” he said, lifting her onto his feet.
“Is it?”
His gaze locked onto hers and he gave a slight shake of his head. “I prefer to think of it as two friends rescuing each other. If I did not dance with you, then Miss Fitzroy would be expecting me to be with her right now.”
“Oh.”
Felix arched an eyebrow. “Is that a problem?”
Isabelle smiled but it failed to make its way to her eyes. “No. I was simply unaware that we were friends.”
“We are, and I should warn you that after our two dances there will be a swarm of bachelors coming your way.”
“And here I thought my third dance was to be with Lord Stanford.”
“It will be, but the men will try to sneak in between us. They always want what they cannot have.”
Isabelle laughed and shook her head. “You overestimate the power of my dancing capabilities. Anyone who looks at me right now should see that dancing is the last thing they should be asking me to do.”
“I do not think you give yourself enough credit,” he said, his voice soft as he looked down at her.
The light cast by the lamps and the candles that surrounded the room bathed Isabelle in a warm glow. She was more beautiful than ever, and it would be impossible not to notice.
It would also be hard to ignore the fact that all the attention in the room was fixed upon her.
He would be a fool if he thought there wouldn’t be a line of suitors at his drawing room door the following morning waiting to meet her.
Felix didn’t know why that left a sour taste in his mouth and he didn’t care to analyze it.
He leaned closer to her, his mouth hovering near her ear. “Do not look now, but I think we have reduced him to tears in the corner. You will have to do your best to look sad and remorseful when he speaks to you next.”
Isabelle laughed and put her hand on his chest as she again stumbled over her own feet. “You cannot be cruel when you have stolen what he valued most.”
“You?” His tone was teasing as he pulled back to gaze down upon her, his blood rushing in his ears.
Her cheeks turned a rosy shade of red. “You are horrible. I was simply saying that what he valued most would be the attention of everyone else in the room and he would have that if he was the man dancing with the American.”
Felix chuckled. “No, they would be staring at you because you happen to be the most beautiful woman in attendance.”
He paused, not knowing where that came from. It was the truth, but he hadn’t meant to voice it. Not when she was standing in front of him in a pale blue silk that complemented her sun-kissed skin, making her ocean eyes appear an even deeper shade of blue.
Those eyes were now dragging him out to sea and he was doubtful that he would ever return to shore.
He wasn’t sure he wanted to, even if he could.
Isabelle’s tongue darted out to lick her lower lip. “You are teasing me, though I must say you are quite handsome tonight, Windham.”
“Isabelle, I wouldn’t joke about such matters,” he said, relishing her name on his tongue and hearing his when she spoke.
She spoke it softly, with the lightest caress of her mouth, as though her fingers were trailing down the sides of her words. Everything about the way she said it made him want to hear it over and over again.
She is not mine.
His job was to see her married, but they could happily remain friends in the meantime.
Just being friends with her is going to be one of the hardest things I have ever had to do.
He forced the thoughts from his head. Although it might be a night to get lost in the fantasy in his head as they were dancing, it wasn’t the reality he was faced with.
The first song led into a second, though this one was livelier. Isabelle looked up at Felix with panic in her eyes before stepping out of the way as couples began dancing between them.
Felix studied the look on her face before taking her by the hand and pulling her back out onto the floor. “You are going to dance. Just follow my lead.”
Isabelle shook her head. “I do not think I can do this without looking foolish. I do not know any of the steps.”
“Just stay light on your feet and everything else will be fine.”
“Easy for you to say,” she muttered as he whisked her out on to the dance floor.
He began the steps of the country dance, demonstrating them to her at first, then guiding her slowly so she could pick them up. They moved together with an easy grace that seemed as natural as walking.
When a radiant smile lit up her face, he could not stop himself from grinning back at her with equal delight.
As the song concluded and Lord Stanford came to collect the third dance from Isabelle, Felix smiled and waved him away. If this was the time that he had allowed himself with her, then he was determined to draw it out for one more dance.
“People will begin to think that you have a soft spot for me,” Isabelle whispered in a playful tone as they began the waltz. “Rumors will be flying throughout the ton that you have given up finding a husband for me and intend to marry me yourself.”
He faltered in his steps. “I still intend to find you a husband.”
She giggled with an impish look on her face. “I did not say that you have given up your quest. I just told you what the ton will be whispering about in the morning. We will be the talk of the mamas and their daughters.”
“Then we had best give them something exciting to whisper about,” he said, his voice slightly husky as he swept her onto his feet once more.
“For a man who claims to have no interest in me, you are certainly determined to hold me close.”
Not a single response came to his mind, so he simply huffed and kept dancing with her.
Felix felt his heart threatening to beat its way right out of his chest. He didn’t know how much longer he could hold on for, or how the night would end. All he knew was that when the imp came out to play, he had met his match in her.
A part of me loves this far more than I care to admit. What is happening here? Many years have passed since anyone has treated me as anything other than a duke.
He spun Isabelle in a circle and dipped her low before pulling her back to him. Their faces were just a touch too close to be considered proper, and he fought the urge to close the distance between them. Even when her gaze dropped longingly to his mouth, he resisted.
But it was a Herculean test.
Felix cleared his throat, his fingers drifting higher up her back, pressing her closer to him. “I think that after this dance I should speak with Lord Stanford. He has been getting far too comfortable with Victoria.”
Isabelle looked over her shoulder, smiling when she saw the two of them tucked into a corner near Edith. “The pair of them are nothing more than friends. I do not think you have reason to worry.”
“I believe there is great reason to worry. You do not know what Lord Stanford is thinking. He may not wish to mature, but there will soon come a time when he no longer has a choice.”
“And what of yourself?”
“What do you mean?”
“You cannot stay a bachelor forever, can you? There will come a time when you need a son to whom you can pass your money and estate, and then what will you do?”
The corner of his mouth twitched with mirth. “I will find an American urchin. One who reminds me of an angry old goose I used to fear.”
Isabelle’s head tipped back as she laughed and shook her head. “You are too much!”
“And you are entirely so much more than that.”
She chuckled and stepped away from him to clap as the musicians finished their song.
All Felix could do was watch her. He tried to commit that smile to memory, but the attempt was futile. He was never going to be able to capture it in its full glory.
As Isabelle turned and looked at him again, Felix stepped back from the thin line he was walking.