Redeeming the Deception of Grace (12 page)

"
A pleasure to meet you
,
Miss
Rachel
. I trust you
'
re not
too
injured from your fall?
"
Grace asked graciously
.
After all, it wasn
'
t Miss Jacobsen
'
s fault she had been run over by Ewan or caught in the middle of Grace
'
s jealous imagination.

"
Oh, I
'
m quite al
l
right
.
And please
,
call me Rachel.
"
Her blue eyes twinkled with merriment
,
and Grace found she didn
'
t harbor any resentment toward the beauty. Her eyes were not cool and calculating like many of the other debutant
e
s,
but they were warm and joyful.

"
Of course
,
Rachel.
"
Grace responded with more warmth than she had originally offered.

"
I was thrilled
when
the Duke of Greys
said he had known you since you were children! Imagine! I once
knew
a boy who was my best friend when I was a young girl.
"
Her eyes were bright as she spoke.

"
You did? Are you friends still?
"
Grace inquired politely.

Rachel
'
s blue eyes were sad as she replied
,
"
No, we lost touch with
his
family as I grew older
.
It
'
s been about ten years or so…
"
Her voice
trailed off
,
but not before Grace noticed her cast
ing
a longing glance toward Shiply.

"
I am sorry
.
I
t is difficult to
lose
friends
.
"
Grace
murmured
with empathy.

"
Yes, but it
'
s also
lovely
to make new ones.
"
Rachel spoke
with sincerity as she looked Grace in the eye
.
Even though the temptation to be jealous of
Rachel
was great, she found that she truly did desire to be friends with the beauty
.
True friends were rare among the
ton
.

"
I would have to agree
,
"
Grac
e replied casting a look toward
Ewan
.
He was grinning at her and she couldn
'
t help but grin back
.
He was so handsome when he smiled! White teeth flashed against his too full lips
,
and his eyes always looked like he was harboring a delicious secret he wanted to share
.
With a longing sig
h
expelled by her heart, Grace turned her attention back to Rachel.

"
Perhaps we
'
ll get a chance to get to know one another better?
"
Grace offered to Rachel.

"
Oh yes! I
'
d love that! In fact, I
'
m planning
a
shopping
trip
tomorrow, for Christmas, and I
'
d love
for
you to
join
me
.
It
'
s ever so boring going by yourself with only a maid for company.
"
Her eyes were pleading
,
and Grace understood. It was indeed tedious
to shop
alone.

"
I
'
d love to
,
"
Grace replied with a small giggle.

"
Will two o
'
clock be acceptable?
"
Rachel asked, hope evident in her voice.

"
Perfectly.
"
Grace smiled as she spoke, hoping Rachel did indeed become the friend she believed she could be.

"
Since that is all settled.
"
Ewan rubb
ed
his hands together.
"
Lady Grace
, would you care to take a turn about the room with me?
"
Ewan
'
s eyes beseeched Grace; imploring her to accept his invitation, unaware that she would say yes to almost anything he requested.

"
Of course.
"
Grace nodd
ed
to Rachel and reach
ed
out to place her gloved hand on Ewan
'
s arm
.
His warmth radiated through his coat and warmed her hand, causing her belly to flutter in response.

Rather than speaking
,
Ewan gently led her through the
crush of people
.
When they needed to go around a couple, Ewan touched the small of her back with the softest of pressure, and then trailed his gloved fingers slightly down
her dress
before
losing
contact with her heated skin
.
As they maneuvered around another group of people conversing, he guided her by taking her hand and deftly interlacing his fingers within her own
.
It was only for a moment before he properly plac
ed
her hand once again on his strong arm, but not before giving her a flirtatious glance that let her know he was fully aware of each touch
.

The flirtatious glance wasn
'
t one she had seen before
.
N
o
, it was smoldering with a passion that was carefully restrained
.
But why
?
Grace couldn
'
t make sense of it. Her mind was blurry as she was lost in the simple sensations of Ewan
'
s gentle attention
.

"
I
'
m pleased you will be spending time with Miss Rachel.
"
Ewan cast her a clear blue gaze as they continued to walk
.

"
Yes.
"
Grace struggled to form a clear though
t
,
though
all she wanted to do was watch him and memorize the new expressions in his eyes as he watched her.
"
She seems very nice
,
"
Grace offered after a moment of collecting her fragmented thoughts.

"
Well, she certainly is very forgiving.
"
Ewan chuckled.

Grace laughed in response.
"
Ah, yes, I can see how that would be helpful in your current situation. How did you run into her anyway? Did you not see her?
"
Grace inquired, feeling more comfortable. She looked up and grinned at Ewan.

"
No, I saw her clear as day and wanted to make a fool of myself
,
"
Ewan replied with dry sarcasm.
"
Of course I didn
'
t see her! Do you really think me
so
clumsy that I
'
d run into someone even if I had seen him or her?
You
'
re
wounding my ego here
,
Grace.
"
Ewan grasped his heart in mock pain.

"
Well, one never does know with you
,
"
Grace teased back.

"
Touché.
"
Ewan nodded with a wicked grin.

Ewan stopped and Grace took a moment to glance around her
.
They were outside of the ballroom and on a deserted balcony
…
alone. Her mind spun
.
Why had he brought her here
?
Yet, just as soon as she thought the question, she dismissed it. She didn
'
t care
.
A
ll that mattered is he had.

Ewan
'
s grin faded slightly as he turned to face her. Grace
'
s smile faded as well
,
and
she looked up into Ewan
'
s eyes as they roved over her countenance
.
Never had she been gazed upon like Ewan was presently doing
.
For just a moment
,
his eyes dipped to her lips
,
and then
he
forcibly
shifted
his
gaze
to meet hers once again
.

"
Grace
,
I…
"
His eyes
search
ed
hers
.
H
e grasped both of her gloved hands within his own, sending heat waves up her arms and intensifying her heartbeat
.
Ewan
massaged small circles in her wrist with his thumb
,
and she felt her breath hitch with desire as she stared into his searing gaze.

"
Ewan…
"
s
he whispered, leaning forward, swaying slightly and dropping her gaze to his lips.

Just as Ewan leaned forward
,
Grace heard footsteps click against the marble floor of the balcony. With a gasp
,
she stepped back to a proper distance at the same time as Ewan.

"
Lady Grace
! Here you are! I
'
ve been looking for you. I have someone you must meet!
"
c
ame the very unwelcome voice of Lord Shiply
.
With a downward glance and a disappointed sigh, Grace closed her eyes and prayed for him to disappear
.
She instinctively knew that Ewan would have kissed her; that something intangible had changed between them
.
But gone was the moment
.

With an apologetic smile she glanced at Ewan,
losing
her train of thought at the blatant desire burning within his eyes; desire and possession. Grace curled her toes in her slippers at the warm sensation his gaze gave her
.
Yes, there was hope, and she was not about to give it up.

"
Later
,
Ewan?
"
s
he whispered,
staring
at him and allowing him to see just a portion of her heart in her eyes.

With a slight nod he grasped her hand and very gently kissed the back of it
,
then
turn
ed
it over and press
ed
another moist and
prolonged
kiss to her wrist
,
sending shivers up her arm.
After
one long
, lingering
glance
,
she turned to meet Shiply.

****

So close! Ewan had been so close to finding the perfect moment to press his suit, but no. Again Shiply intervened and stole the moment away from him
.
The only reason he hadn
'
t challenged the arrogant cad to a duel was the bewitching look that came from Grace that would have made a saint sin with lust
.

Her eyes had
glowed
with desire
,
and Ewan had used every ounce of self-control to not take her lips with his own, in front of Shiply; especially in front of Shiply. But he was honest in his endeavor of being worthy of Grace, which meant he must be the gentleman and put her before himself
.
But how difficult it was
,
when she continued to cast him g
lanc
es where he swore he could see her soul buried in the green of her gaze
.