someone.
The music seemed to stop along with him. Or perhaps Siusan was too distracted to hear it any longer, for the dancers were still swaying. Slowly she came to her feet. His dark hair was thick with a slight wave to it. Though he was dressed in a smart coat cut for dancing, he wore boots rather than slippers. There was a sprinkling of growth on his angular jaw, too, as though he had decided to attend the cotillion only belatedly.
Then his eyes met hers. The suddenness of his attention sent a jolt through her, but she did not withdraw her gaze. Lord above, but he was a handsome devil of a man.
From the distance, she could not discern the color of eyes. Were they blue … or green? Honestly, it didn’t matter. It was that all-encompassing way he studied her that did.
A warm quiver shook through body. She didn’t know him, but lud, everything about him made her want to. His gaze alone awakened her womanly desires, sending a flush of warmth into her cheeks.
“Lady Siusan?” Someone was shaking her arm. “Forgive me, Miss Bonnet?”
Emerging from her daze, she looked to her side and saw her two students standing beside her.
“Oh Miss Bonnet, I am all aquiver. My new guardian has come!” Miss Gentree told her. “This is so unexpected, I am at a loss as to what to do. And yet, there he is! What a surprise.” She nodded toward the door. “My word, you do not think he has come to take me from the school? I shall die if that is his plan.”
Siusan followed her gaze to the very gentleman who had so engaged her own attentions.
“He
is your new guardian?”
“Yes. Oh, do come with me, Miss Bonnet. You too, Penelope—you
must
meet him.”
At last, there was his ward. Sebastian exhaled in relief. From Gemma’s letter, the one that practicallyleft his grandmother wilting beneath a vinaigrette, he’d half expected to find the young miss dancing the waltz with some wasp-waisted pink of the
ton
and her bag packed for a lecture tour to Gretna Green. Instead, she was standing with another demure young miss beside a proper lady.
A very beautiful woman, one, if he had his wish, he would gaze upon all evening.
He reined in his straying gaze and focused on Gemma. Where was this Miss Bonnet creature mentioned endlessly in the letter—the mistress responsible for stripping the innocence from a young girl’s mind and replacing it with altogether womanly wiles? When he stopped by the school, Mrs. Huddleston had told him Miss Bonnet was here … with Gemma.
Well, he’d soon find out where she was. Sebastian had just started across the ballroom toward them when he saw the goddess shake her head before bending and whispering something into Gemma’s ear. Gemma lowered her head momentarily, then raised it again and lifted her hem an inch from the floor as she glided toward him.
“Lord Sebastian—I beg your pardon, your ascension is still so new. Allow me to begin again.
Your Grace,
I was not expecting you in Bath.” Gemma’s eyes sparkled.
“There is no need to beg pardon. In truth, Lord Sebastian is preferable—as long as I remain in Bath.” He cast a serious gaze. “I do not expect you to understand, but I have learned that people are far more guarded when in the presence of a duke, and I would like our visit to be as comfortable for everyone as possible.”
She nodded, though he could see she was dubious about his explanation. “Lord Sebastian, I haven’t seen you since—” The light suddenly drained from her smiling face.
Since Quinn’s funeral.
“My visit was somewhat unexpected, that is true, but your letter to my grandmother suggested great changes at school,” he told her as calmly as he might given the fact that, if her letters were truthful, he would ensure this Miss Bonnet was promptly set to the street. “When I called for you at the school, I was informed by Mrs. Huddleston, herself, that you were here—with Miss Bonnet.”
“Oh, yes, she is here. I have learned ever so much from her
The music seemed to stop along with him. Or perhaps Siusan was too distracted to hear it any longer, for the dancers were still swaying. Slowly she came to her feet. His dark hair was thick with a slight wave to it. Though he was dressed in a smart coat cut for dancing, he wore boots rather than slippers. There was a sprinkling of growth on his angular jaw, too, as though he had decided to attend the cotillion only belatedly.
Then his eyes met hers. The suddenness of his attention sent a jolt through her, but she did not withdraw her gaze. Lord above, but he was a handsome devil of a man.
From the distance, she could not discern the color of eyes. Were they blue … or green? Honestly, it didn’t matter. It was that all-encompassing way he studied her that did.
A warm quiver shook through body. She didn’t know him, but lud, everything about him made her want to. His gaze alone awakened her womanly desires, sending a flush of warmth into her cheeks.
“Lady Siusan?” Someone was shaking her arm. “Forgive me, Miss Bonnet?”
Emerging from her daze, she looked to her side and saw her two students standing beside her.
“Oh Miss Bonnet, I am all aquiver. My new guardian has come!” Miss Gentree told her. “This is so unexpected, I am at a loss as to what to do. And yet, there he is! What a surprise.” She nodded toward the door. “My word, you do not think he has come to take me from the school? I shall die if that is his plan.”
Siusan followed her gaze to the very gentleman who had so engaged her own attentions.
“He
is your new guardian?”
“Yes. Oh, do come with me, Miss Bonnet. You too, Penelope—you
must
meet him.”
At last, there was his ward. Sebastian exhaled in relief. From Gemma’s letter, the one that practicallyleft his grandmother wilting beneath a vinaigrette, he’d half expected to find the young miss dancing the waltz with some wasp-waisted pink of the
ton
and her bag packed for a lecture tour to Gretna Green. Instead, she was standing with another demure young miss beside a proper lady.
A very beautiful woman, one, if he had his wish, he would gaze upon all evening.
He reined in his straying gaze and focused on Gemma. Where was this Miss Bonnet creature mentioned endlessly in the letter—the mistress responsible for stripping the innocence from a young girl’s mind and replacing it with altogether womanly wiles? When he stopped by the school, Mrs. Huddleston had told him Miss Bonnet was here … with Gemma.
Well, he’d soon find out where she was. Sebastian had just started across the ballroom toward them when he saw the goddess shake her head before bending and whispering something into Gemma’s ear. Gemma lowered her head momentarily, then raised it again and lifted her hem an inch from the floor as she glided toward him.
“Lord Sebastian—I beg your pardon, your ascension is still so new. Allow me to begin again.
Your Grace,
I was not expecting you in Bath.” Gemma’s eyes sparkled.
“There is no need to beg pardon. In truth, Lord Sebastian is preferable—as long as I remain in Bath.” He cast a serious gaze. “I do not expect you to understand, but I have learned that people are far more guarded when in the presence of a duke, and I would like our visit to be as comfortable for everyone as possible.”
She nodded, though he could see she was dubious about his explanation. “Lord Sebastian, I haven’t seen you since—” The light suddenly drained from her smiling face.
Since Quinn’s funeral.
“My visit was somewhat unexpected, that is true, but your letter to my grandmother suggested great changes at school,” he told her as calmly as he might given the fact that, if her letters were truthful, he would ensure this Miss Bonnet was promptly set to the street. “When I called for you at the school, I was informed by Mrs. Huddleston, herself, that you were here—with Miss Bonnet.”
“Oh, yes, she is here. I have learned ever so much from her
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