The Duke of Defiance (The Untouchables #5)(22)

“Lord Knighton, why don’t you ask Jo to waltz? It’s just starting.”

Waltz? At Nora’s insistence, Jo had practiced the steps earlier today, but she’d never actually waltzed. “I’m not certain that’s necessary.”

Lord Knighton held out his arm. “Would you do me the honor?”

Now she was trapped. Although if she could refuse any man and predict that he wouldn’t take offense, it was Knighton. Once she explained her anxiety, she’d no doubt he would understand given his own foibles.

In the end, she simply put her hand on his arm and allowed him to escort her to the dance floor. It could be her only chance.

“I’ve never waltzed,” she said softly.

“Me neither.”

She turned her head sharply to look at him. “Oh dear.”

“How hard can it be?” he asked as they stepped onto the dance floor.

He rested his hand on her waist and clasped her hand. She placed her palm on his shoulder and, despite the layers of clothing, was certain she could feel his muscle.

“See, we’re experts,” he said.

The couples around them began to move with the music, and for a moment, they stared at each other. Then he jolted forward, and Jo somehow managed to remember what she’d practiced earlier.

“Thankfully, this isn’t too taxing,” Bran said. “Provided you can count.”

“As it happens, I am excellent with numbers.”

“I would expect nothing less as you seem to be a woman of sharp intelligence.”

Warmth spread through Jo at his praise. “Thank you.”

They turned in a new direction, and his scent curled over her. He smelled of freshness and citrus.

“I appreciate you joining me for the interview on Tuesday. Is there anything I should prepare?”

She thought of their last endeavor. “No, I’ll ask Nora if she has any questions to recommend. Just promise me you’ll leave all your clothing on until we’re finished.”

“I did last time,” he said, moving her effortlessly across the floor. Truly, she didn’t have to do much but enjoy his touch. “And I’m completely clothed tonight. I thought I did an admirable job of it. Rather, my valet did.”

“You look splendid.” Her gaze dipped to his cravat and a bit lower. His silver waistcoat shimmered in the candlelight just like her dreamed-of ball gown.

“Thank you,” he murmured. “I daresay I pale next to you. I’d grown accustomed to seeing you in gray. You are far lovelier in pink. I do hope you won’t go back to the drabber colors.”

She’d thought the same thing, but hadn’t committed until that moment. Lady Satterfield had insisted that she needed a new wardrobe, and Nora had offered to pay for it. That took Jo right back to feeling as though she were in need of their charity…which she was.

Stop thinking like that, she admonished herself.

“I fear I may have just insulted you again,” he said. “I didn’t mean to say you looked drab.”

“Oh, but I did. Between your distaste for certain clothing and my depressing wardrobe, we’re quite a pair.” Had she just referred to them as a pair? She rushed to say something else. “Speaking of wardrobes, I wanted to tell you that you need to wear gloves when you’re out.”

He looked at their clasped hands. “I am. Not that I’m enjoying it.”

“I was referring to the other day when you picked up Evie. You weren’t wearing gloves then.”

“No, I wasn’t. Must I really wear them to pick up my child from your house, of all places?”

“It isn’t my house. It’s the Duke of Kendal’s.”

He gave her a wry look. “I don’t think he’d mind.” He shook his head. “I’m not very good at being an earl.”

“Nonsense. You just need more practice. Most men prepare to inherit the title. You didn’t have that advantage.”

He gazed at her in appreciation. “Perhaps I’m the one who needs a governess. Surely she could teach me how to be an earl.”

She laughed at the image of him learning deportment. “I think you may be onto a grand idea. There ought to be a school for that, at least.”

“Oh, there is. It’s called Oxford. But I’d rather be lost at sea than return there.”

She felt a shudder go through his frame. “Why?”

His jaw hardened. “I was…awkward in my youth.” His lips twisted into a self-deprecating smirk. “Some would say I still am, I’m sure. I didn’t fit in at Oxford. My brothers had attended there before me and ensured I had a reputation for oddity. Many of my schoolmates were brothers of their friends. They were predisposed to dislike and ridicule me.”

There was no pain in his revelation, but his tone held a distant quality, as if he were speaking of someone else. “How awful. Why would your brothers do such a thing?”

He lifted his shoulder, and she was aware of where they touched. She clasped him more tightly and wished that gloves could be optional in this instance. “Because that’s the way they always treated me. They were the best of friends and I was…a nuisance.”

A nuisance? How could anyone think that of their sibling? Or any member of their family? Jo and Nora’s father was a dunderhead and their relationship was distant, but if he needed them, they’d be there for him.