Chapter 13
Standing in the corner of the ballroom alongside two other companions, Jane kept a careful eye on Chloe, never more grateful for her modest Sunday dress and spectacles that offered a modicum of protection. Though what she’d expected in taking on the position as companion to a lady, other than attending lavish ton events, she did not know.
Just then, Lady Chloe, entirely too forgiving, by half, and in that way, naively trusting, stood beside Gabriel and a tall, slender gentleman. While she conversed with the two men, Chloe darted her gaze about the room and then her stare collided with Jane’s. Gabriel’s sister pointed her eyes to the ceiling, letting Jane know precisely what she thought of the marquess’ matchmaking.
An unexpected bark of laughter escaped Jane, and she promptly clamped her lips together. Alas, she’d already earned censorious stares from the companions beside her and curious stares from nearby lords and ladies.
Blend in. Meld with the walls.
Blast and double blast. How many years had she attempted to perfect that very feat? And how many years had she failed? Every single one of them. Jane smoothed her palms over her satin skirts, the smooth, cool fabric luxuriantly soft against her hands. She’d long ago committed herself to remaining unseen, and yet with her sharp tongue, and bothersome golden curls, she’d never quite successfully managed to do so. No, she’d not wanted the attentions of those self-serving nobleman with their wandering stares. Until Gabriel. Unbidden, her gaze found him once more. His sister, now gone, escorted onto the dance floor by the gentleman whom she’d previously spoken with, he stood off to the side, skimming his hard gaze over the heads of the twirling dancers.
Her breath caught. With his midnight black coat and stark white cravat, he really was quite magnificent. So very different than the fops and swains in their vibrant, satin knee breeches and slick oiled hair. What was it about Gabriel, the Marquess of Waverly, that so commanded her notice? She continued to study him. He sipped from the crystal flute in his hands. With her eyes, she took in those hard, firm lips once pressed against hers, touched to the rim of his glass. Oh, of course with his chiseled cheeks and thick, midnight black hair, he possessed a remarkable beauty lauded about by artists. But there was more. His solemnity, his devotion to his sister plucked at the strings of her heart. For he’d proven that not all men were, in fact, self-serving and living only for their own pleasures. He lived for his sister. Jane’s throat worked. And in a world where no one had ever lived for her, there was something potently addictive about a man capable of that regard and love for a person other than himself.
As though feeling her gaze on him, Gabriel looked out across the crowded dance floor, and then their stares collided. She should look away. She should politely avert her gaze and turn to the other women at her side. Yet again, however, she proved herself remarkably like her audacious mother, for she continued to boldly study him as he drained the sparkling contents of his glass. Fear pounded away at her chest, pressing down on her like a boulder and threatening to cut off her airflow. This hold he had upon her was dangerous. He’d been abundantly clear in her role in his household and yet for that vital reminder he’d given, she could not set aside the thought of him. He presented folly of the worst sort, only heightening her weakness as a woman. Jane drew in a breath. She should be fixed on the ruse that had brought her into his life—a reprieve until she secured the funds settled on her by her father. Yet, how often had she thought of the goal that had driven her all these years? Once? Twice? Always as an afterthought and a matter of guilt.
A couple stepped into her line of vision and immediately broke the charged energy between Jane and Gabriel. The young gentleman, with his too-long, nearly black hair had an air of vague familiarity to him, but it was the captivating crimson-haired creature at his side that commanded attention. The elegantly attired couple spoke with a relaxed ease, motioning and laughing, and the faintest softening occurred on the harsh planes of Gabriel’s face, a genuine appreciation of the two before him.