Chapter 4
He did it again two days later.
“May I have this dance, Miss Templebourne?”
Everyone in the ballroom stared as Prince Karalovy bowed deeply in front of her. Heat blazed on Thea’s cheeks.
She tried to keep her gaze on her charges, but his shining blue eyes were striking. Captivating. They danced with mirth, full of life, and invited her to take what he no doubt believed would be the greatest risk of her lifetime.
“Your Highness …” she began.
“Just say yes, dearie. I’ll watch those twins.” That came from Fanny.
Part of her wanted to. Badly. The ache to be held by a man after so long rose within Thea as she stared into the pools of icy blue. She could practically see herself taking his hand and rising to cross the dance floor.
“I am afraid I did not wear dancing slippers, Your Highness.”
“What a shame, my lady. Although I suspect it is more than your footwear that keeps you from accepting my offer.”
The hairs on her neck rose at the feeling of being watched. The attention upon them was palpable.
“I am not afraid. I will have you know that.”
“Just foolish,” said the dowager duchess.
“Nor lacking in good sense,” Thea clarified.
“I would never suggest such a thing,” Prince Alexander said with a warm smile. “Nor is your courage in question.”
“Perhaps another time, Your Highness.”
“I will hold you to it, Miss Templebourne,” he said, his deep, accented words curling around her, sending warmth and chills through her body at the same time.
He bowed again with a flourish before departing.
“Foolish girl,” said the dowager.
“Life is short,” said Fanny. “Next time, I am accepting on your behalf. After all, it is the opportunities you do not take that you regret the most.”
“And what of the gossip?” Thea said quietly. “What of its effect on my charges?”
The dowager looked at her and said plainly, “You think the gossip isn’t already spreading simply from him asking you twice? I say, give them something to talk about.”
Thea couldn’t believe she was having this conversation. “I am thirty years old. Too old to be swayed by a handsome man.”
Even proper Mrs. Chartres joined the older women as they burst into laughter.
“You’re never too old to be swayed by a handsome man,” Fanny said.
“I gave birth to my son when I was older than you. Youth is truly wasted on the young,” the dowager said with a shake of her regal gray coiffure.
“We are not discussing this,” Thea said, and she hoped her tone would put an end to the topic.
“It is the most interesting thing that has happened all season, dearie.” Fanny tapped Thea’s knee with her fan.
“If I were to dance with him, Templebourne would find out within hours and likely kill me.”
“As oblivious as that man is, it would take days,” Mrs. Chartres said, and Thea’s gaze cut to her in shock.
Is she encouraging this now too?
“Pishposh,” Fanny said with a wave of her fan. “The worst he could do is pack you off without a reference.”
And that was Thea’s other worst nightmare. She loved her nieces more than anyone else in the world. “I am here to shepherd the girls through their first season and help them find suitable matches. I didn’t come to dance with a prince.”
“There’s no rule saying you can’t do both,” the dowager replied.
Thea looked away, hoping it would end the subject. But she couldn’t deny the wisdom coming from the gaggle of older women.
When Thea returned to Templebourne House in the wee hours of the morning, she couldn’t help but lie in bed and dream about what might have been if she’d said yes.
It had been much too long since she’d simply been held by a man as they waltzed across the dance floor. She could imagine her body inches from his tall, broad frame.
Why is it this man draws my mind and sends shivers through my body when no other has come close in a decade? Is it because he is a prince?
As Thea reminded the girls before every event of the season they attended, titles did not necessarily equate to good husbands.
Wait a moment, Thea thought as reality intruded. He’s not interested in marrying me.
Matrimony was for young, untouched virgins making their debuts and participating in the season. Not a spinster intent on hiding the fact she’d already been married once in secret.
What were the prince’s intentions then? They could not be honorable.
In that moment, Thea was honest with herself. If she weren’t chaperoning her nieces, perhaps there was a part of her that wouldn’t be offended by the prince approaching her with less than honorable intentions.
After all, wasn’t life for living?
Thea shut down her thoughts before they turned dangerous. She’d already been wild enough for one lifetime.
Prince Karalovy isn’t for me.
But there was a quiet voice within herself that replied, Why not?