A Little Bit Sinful(35)

…

After much deliberation and a letter from Vivian again detailing how beneficial his assistance could be, Justin had agreed to court Miss Riverton. So it was that he found himself attending yet another ball only two days after the last one. This was becoming a disturbing pattern. It has also been the night he’d gone to see Chrissy and he knew he needed to talk to her, give her some explanation, but what would he say? He couldn’t tell her the truth.

That he wanted her for himself.

In the meantime, he’d keep his focus on Miss Riverton and hope that when it came time to speak to Clarissa, he found the right words. They were dancing now, he and Betsy, and she was a pleasant girl, if not a little overly verbose.

Justin could feel Clarissa’s eyes on him even as he twirled Miss Riverton around the ballroom floor. She was a sweet girl, though she chattered incessantly about horses. A fine species they were, and quite necessary for transportation, but he’d never had a particular affinity for the creatures. Perhaps her fascination with them was why other men had not been interested in courting her. Still, he had agreed to stand in as a suitor for her to get the attention of perhaps some other men.

“Miss Riverton,” he said.

She started at the sound of his voice. “I’m sorry I was going on again.” She gave him a weak smile. “I suppose I blather on when I get nervous.”

“First, you shouldn’t be nervous. I am merely a man. Also, one thing you should take note of with most men, they like to talk about themselves,” he said. “Do not change who you are for any man, the lot of them aren’t worth it, but perhaps take a breath every now and again to allow the man to get a word in.”

That earned him a bigger smile. “I suspect that is quite excellent advice, Mr. Rodale. Thank you. Would you like to talk about yourself?”

“No, my life is vastly boring,” he said, giving her a wink.

She laughed.

There was nothing wrong with Miss Riverton, he decided. She only needed the right man to take notice.

Appearing to court one of the Ton’s darlings was raising some eyebrows and ruffling some feathers. Judging by the way a certain woman was looking in his direction, some of those feathers belonged to Clarissa Kincaid.

After their dance, Justin escorted Betsy to the refreshment table and handed her a glass of lemonade. She smiled coyly and then he returned her to her mother who eyed him suspiciously. The girl could do worse than him. Yes, he was a bastard, but he had more money than most of the families in here. He wanted to remind her that she was the one who had sought Vivian’s assistance with her daughter, but he nodded to the woman and walked off.

Marcus walked over to Justin. “I see that my beloved wife has not retired as she suggested she might. When did she convince you to take on this little task?”

Justin smiled. “The other night at dinner. And then again in a letter. She’s quite persuasive. And good at what she does.”

“Yes, she is,” Marcus said without an ounce of irritation. “On both accounts. In truth, I’m glad people still seek her out. She risked everything revealing her past, and it’s nice that some people don’t seem bothered by it.”

“You weren’t,” Justin said.

Marcus shook his head. “No. We’ve all done things we aren’t proud of. Women are no different.”

Justin glanced at the room around them.

“What’s wrong with the chit?” Marcus asked.

“Who?”

“The Riverton girl,” Marcus said.

“Nothing. Well, she favors horses a little too much, can’t seem to stop talking about them. But she’s pleasant enough and obviously intelligent,” Justin said.

“There you go. Smart women intimidate the lot of them.” Marcus motioned to the crowd in front of them.

He was likely right. Plenty of men found a woman with opinions to be unconventional and mouthy. He’d found, though, that he actually preferred a woman with a mind of her own.

A specific woman.

Briefly he considered bringing his concerns about George to Marcus’s attention, but he knew if he did that Chrissy might not forgive him.

…

Clarissa had been watching Justin all evening. Dancing with Betsy Riverton, making her laugh, getting refreshment for her, behaving suspiciously as if he were courting the girl. But certainly that couldn’t be the truth. His attentions to the girl stung, Clarissa couldn’t deny that, especially in light of what had transpired between the two of them night before last.