Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
“Laurence,” Ellen breathed as he swept her down the stairs.
“Laurence, wait!” she hissed under her breath. “I cannot dance!”
It was the truth. She was far too young to start learning when her mother had died, and after just a few lessons from an instructor her father had paid for, she had downright refused to learn any more. It was one of the many reasons why she had stuck to the wall during her years as a debutante.
“You do not need to know how to dance, Ellen. You simply must allow me to lead. I will do the rest,” Laurence answered as they reached the dance floor.
He then pushed her away at the waist, twirling her out.
She gasped, thinking for a moment that she might lose her balance and fall in front of the entire ball, but then Laurence’s hand gripped around hers, and he twirled her back into him, drawing her to an abrupt stop just as she was about to slam into his chest. She looked up at him, wide-eyed as she braced both hands on his chest, wondering how on earth he had just made her body perform such a graceful act.
“Left hand on my shoulder,” he instructed, a bit of rage still dancing in his green gaze, “right hand in my left. Deep breath.”
His other hand was still settled on her waist as he stepped forward, and without thinking twice, she took a step back and allowed him to lead.
For a moment, they both just listened to the slow, sweet sounds of the violins as Laurence led her into the dance, moving her effortlessly in graceful circles around the dance floor.
Something twinged and mewled inside her as she gave him control, as if her body wanted to give him more. Yet she couldn’t. She felt too guilty.
“I failed,” she whispered, looking up at him with apologetic eyes.
Laurence’s gaze was as steadfast as always as he led her through the steps.
“You did no such thing,” he replied, his deep voice still holding a bit
of the enraged edge.
Ellen shook her head.
“I did not ask him the right questions. Did not find out anything new. We had an opportunity, and I wasted it,” she whispered.
She began to bow her head in shame, but Laurence’s fingers lifted from her waist and caught her chin, stopping her. The pressure in his fingertips was gentle as he nudged her head back up to meet his eyes, where she found that same sternness from before.
“You were not ready,” he replied, his tone still tinged with coldness.
His thumb smoothed tenderly over her chin before he dropped it back to his waist.
“You should not have given in to Solomon’s insistence,” he chastised.
Irritation skittered through Ellen’s veins, and she frowned.
“I needed to,” she whispered. “This was the plan. I could not back away just because I was afraid!”
She scowled at him, at his handsome face that looked even more alluring than usual as he held onto his obvious rage.
“Maybe I could have gotten farther if you had not intervened,” she accused.
Laurence raised a single brow, but did not reply.
“He was getting angry. He was getting ready to slip. I am sure of it,” she pressed on.
“Oh, I am sure he was,” Laurence agreed coldly.
It caught Ellen off guard that he was agreeing with her, but she continued.
“I think I almost had him. I slipped up once, yes, but I almost had it turned around.”
“I know you did,” Laurence said, agreeing with her again in that same cold tone.
Both confused and irritated now, Ellen pressed her lips together in a firm line.
She then gasped as both of Laurence’s hands wrapped around her waist and picked her up, spinning her in a controlled circle before putting her gracefully back down on her feet.
She looked at him as if he were mad for a second, but then noted that the rest of the dancers were performing the same exact step.
Even when arguing, Laurence seemed always to be aware of his surroundings.
She couldn’t help but admire him for that. Ellen took a moment to draw in a cooling breath, willing her irritation to fade a little more.
“If you knew that I had it handled,” she said when she felt calmer, “then why did you intervene?”
Laurence’s jaw ticked as another spark of golden rage erupted in his green eyes.
“Because he was about to put his hands on you,” he said with lethal disgust. “And that, I could not allow. I promised you my protection, and I was not about to break that promise just for a tidbit of information that might have been proven useful.”
Part of Ellen wanted to hang onto a bit of her irritation just a little longer. To use it, perhaps, to try to speak to Benedict one last time after the dance. Yet as she tried to keep the emotion tight within her grip, she felt it bleed through her fingers and dissolve into nothing.
“As I said, you were not ready,” Laurence said under his breath after a moment of silence. “That you moved through your fear is admirable, but you should not have allowed Solomon to persuade you into taking on a task you were not ready for.”
“It needed to be done,” she said with an exhausted sigh.
“What you need is to learn how to say no,” Laurence retorted.
Ellen let out a tired laugh.
“I know how to say no,” she replied.
“Not well enough, obviously,” he replied, pulling her closer as the rhythm of the song drew into a slower beat. “Do not worry, though,” he whispered, his lips grazing her ear in a way that made a shiver of need pass down her spine. “I shall teach you.”