Chapter 1 #3
But no. He refused to dig up history better left buried.
What had happened during his youth in England wasn’t worth dwelling on.
He’d been abandoned by friends, family, even God.
Now, however, he’d found a fresh start in America.
He was about to begin the project he’d dreamt of since starting work on his entomology degree at Cornell University eight years ago.
That would be plenty to fill his days, and Alexander’s request for Miles to accompany him and his wife to society events would fill up the rest.
Alexander’s wife, Grace, approached with a young woman in tow, her determined expression signaling that Miles wasn’t going to be able to simply avoid the marriageable women who had left Cleveland to summer on the island.
He was soon swept up into asking the woman to dance, followed by several more dances with young women who appeared out of nowhere, always with someone to introduce them and finagle him into an invitation.
All the pretty faces and meaningless small talk blurred together after some time.
Until he came face to face with Miss Bryce once again.
In a gown that stood out among the rest, she was breathtaking.
Despite the warm evening, not a single golden hair was out of place or a bead of sweat showing.
She stood tall and straight, refusing to meet his eyes, while her mother simpered.
“Oh, Mr. Wen…ah, Marquess? My lord? I must apologize for my daughter’s behavior earlier.
The crush of people at these balls is vexing at times, don’t you agree? ”
Her words tugged Miles’s attention from the daughter’s angular profile. “Call me Mr. Wentworth, please. But whatever do you mean about her behavior? Miss Bryce, I should apologize to you. You asked a simple question, and I was rude. Would you allow me to make it up to you with a dance?”
It was the first one all night he hadn’t felt cornered into requesting, and the only one that made his breath catch as he waited for the answer. Miss Bryce looked him over with cold eyes and pursed lips until her mother nudged her in the side. “I suppose a dance wouldn’t hurt.”
Hardly an enthusiastic acceptance. It bruised Miles’s pride a bit.
But forcing aside the sting, he held out his hand until she slid her soft fingers over his.
He drew her onto the dance floor, more aware than he’d ever been of trying to move with grace, to guide her steps without faltering.
Tipping his head down so she could hear him over the chatter around them while other dancers lined up for the quadrille, he attempted to win her over with a grin.
“Dancing was never my strong suit. I hope I won’t disappoint you. ”
Miss Bryce arched one eyebrow. “I don’t have any expectations of you to begin with, so I hardly think you could.”
So he’d been right. This woman would not easily brush off a slight just to impress a marquess.
Instead of hurting his vanity, it was rather refreshing.
“I’m not usually the man I appeared to be earlier, you know.
It’s been quite some time since I attended a large social event like this, and I admit, such zealous attention from the women is overwhelming. ”
Did her gaze soften? Miles harnessed his rising hopes. She wouldn’t be placated with apologies but might respond to honest curiosity. “What about you? Do you attend many social events?”
A heavy sigh accompanied a slight shrug. “All of them. Sometimes it seems that’s all I do—put myself on display for gentlemen.”
Her gaze shot up to meet his as if her own admission startled her.
For a moment, Miles concluded that it wouldn’t be so terrible to drown in blue eyes like hers, with as much hidden depth as the waves he’d crossed traveling from England.
She had charmed him without trying. “My experience is likely not the same as yours, but I do know how it feels to be the center of attention when you’d prefer not to be.
If you need someone with whom you can be honest, be completely yourself, I’d listen at any time. ”
She nodded slowly, muttering “Perhaps,” as the dance began.
The steps whisked them into spirited motion that barred talking, to his great disappointment.
Before the strains of music faded at the end, she slid her hand from his and disappeared into the crowd, leaving him wishing propriety allowed him to chase after her.
It didn’t, however, and the rest of the evening passed in a regrettable blur of dancing with young women who had nothing to say except what they’d been told to.
Miles tried to be unfailing in his manners, aware Miss Bryce was somewhere in the swirling crowd and could be watching him at every moment.
At least, he hoped her attention strayed to him now and then.
Late into the night, the ball finally ended.
Miles joined Alexander and Grace to return to their home, ruminating on the surprising change the evening had wrought.
He’d been dreading the social events Alexander planned to drag him to, but Miles now rather anticipated the next one.
If Miss Bryce attended them all, too, he would get plenty more opportunities to prove himself to her. And that was now Miles’s top priority.