The Accidental Countess (Accidental #2)(26)

“Seeing as how Miss Monroe is not here, would you do me the honor of dancing with me, Miss Bunbury? I shall do my best not to tread upon your feet.”

Cass looked up at Julian and melted. He’d asked her to dance. This was why she’d come over here, after all. But now that she’d secured the invitation, she was a bit hesitant. Why? Because she was frightened that Julian would look into her eyes and know her? Because she was worried that she’d say something that would give her away? Or because she’d never danced with Julian before and she wished that for their first dance that he would know who she truly was.

“I should like that very much,” she heard herself reply.

He took her hand and led her onto the floor just as a waltz was beginning to play. Thank heaven for the waltz. Lovely dance, that.

It was true. Julian was not exactly, ahem, the best of dancers. She hadn’t quite expected him to be as proficient as, say, the dandies, but the effect was quite the opposite of … graceful. Ah, well. The man was good at many other things. She could easily forgive him this. He’d been at war for seven years, after all, not perfecting his waltz. She swept along in his arms as best she could, gazing up into his eyes, and pretending all the while that he knew she was Cass and they were betrothed. Oh, she knew it was fruitless and cruel to her heart to play such a dangerous game of pretend, but she couldn’t keep herself from it, even if she wanted to.

“You are an excellent dancer, Miss Bunbury,” Julian said.

There it was, the reminder that he didn’t know she was Cass. “Thank you. And you are … er…”

“Not?” He smiled at her.

“Oh, no. I wouldn’t say—”

“Don’t worry. No one has ever accused me of being an excellent dancer. Or a proficient one, for that matter. My sister taught me this dance two nights ago in the event I might need to know.” His grin widened. “I consider it a victory that I have kept your feet from harm.”

“It’s an honor to dance with you, Captain.” Cass concentrated on memorizing the broad muscles in his shoulders with her fingertips, the sound of the scratch of the wool of his coat beneath her gloves.

“I’m afraid there is not much opportunity for dancing in the army. Perhaps I should have attended the Duchess of Richmond’s ball after all.”

Cass closed her eyes, allowing herself to be momentarily distracted by his cologne. She’d never forget that clean scent, not as long as she lived. It had been burned in her memory seven years ago on her sixteenth birthday when he’d got close enough to—

“What was that?” Good heavens, she’d completely lost the thread of the conversation and she was distinctly aware of the fact that Julian had just asked her a question of some sort.

“I asked how long you’ve known Lady Worthing.”

“Oh, Lucy? I’ve known her for—”

His brow furrowed. “Her name is Lucy?”

“Yes, why?”

“It’s just that—” He shook his head. “Never mind. My apologies. I interrupted you. You were saying?”

“I’ve known her since I was a child.” Warning bells sounded in Cass’s brain. She couldn’t admit that she and Lucy had been neighbors. He might begin asking questions about who her parents were and where they lived. She had to change the subject. Immediately.

“How is Daphne?” she asked in a rushed voice.

“My sister? How do you know her—”

“Oh, I, that is, Lucy mentioned her name to me. She’s your younger sister, is she not?” Cass smothered her groan. She was a complete fool. She’d gone straight from one untenable subject to another. Lying was entirely too complicated for her. Blast. Blast. Blast.

“Yes, Daphne is in London with my mother at present.”

“Is she old enough to have made her come-out?” Pretending as if she didn’t know that Daphne was nineteen might just make her lies sound more convincing. Never mind the fact that Cass herself had been at the girl’s come-out ball, sneaked some champagne with the younger woman, and then nearly fell into a giggling fit later when she and Daphne found themselves hiding behind a potted palm in the conservatory trying to elude rude (and smelly) Lord Montelroy, who seemed entirely too intent upon asking both of them for a dance.

“Yes, she came out last Season,” Julian replied.

“And has she made a match?” Cass asked next, also pretending she didn’t know all too well that Daphne was entirely unimpressed with the entire crop of London’s finest.

“Not yet,” Julian replied.

“Not to worry. There’s still hope for her. I’ve been out five Seasons now.” Cass winced. If they hadn’t been dancing, she might have clapped her hand over her mouth. Cass had been out for five Seasons but Patience Bunbury … apparently, Patience had been out for five Seasons as well.

The dance was quickly coming to an end, but Cass took a deep breath. She needed to stop talking about people they knew and Seasons and age. She needed to steer the conversation back to Julian. It was much safer that way. She’d come this far, been this bold. She might as well ask Julian another question. A question she’d always wanted to ask and could never quite explain why she hadn’t. Strangely, pretending to be someone else somehow finally gave her the opportunity to ask it.