A Lady's Guide to Improper Behavior by Suzanne Enoch Read Free Book Online

Bartholomew shook his head. “I know who I am,” he muttered, “and no one else gives a damn.” Not waiting for either a protest or an agreement, he limped through the milling crowd and slipped into the main room.
    He took a seat in the first vacant chair he sighted. Only one poor soul had offered assistance to help him up the stairs, and that fellow wasn’t likely to do so again. Drawing in a stiff breath, he sent his gaze around the room. Before he could demonstrate to Miss Theresa Weller that he didn’t give a damn about either her or dancing, he needed to find her.
    “Colonel James,” a round fellow greeted him, stepping out of the crowd. “Didn’t expect to find you at a soiree.”
    “And why is that, Mr. Henning?” Bartholomew asked, barely sparing the man a glance.
    “Well, you…because…you know.” Francis Henning backed up a step as he blustered.
    “No, I don’t know. Humor me.”
    “It’s…well, you’ve a bit of a limp. And you ain’t exactly been social since you came back from India. I wouldn’t even have known you was in Town if I hadn’t read about it in the newspaper.”
    Finally Bartholomew eyed him. “And yet I apparently am being social.”
    “I suppose.”
    “Go away, Henning.”
    “Oh. Very well, then.”
    As Henning sped away, Tolly spied Theresa Weller—and the breath that he’d drawn to sigh, instead caught in his chest. Good God . Her spun gold hair curled about her temples and coiled onto the top of her head, while the gray-green of her eyes matched the colors of her gown to such perfection that the silks might have been made expressly with her in mind.
    Because he saw her an instant before she saw him, he had the opportunity to watch her pretty eyes widen a little, and the tip of her tongue swipe quickly at her lower lip as their eyes met. She wasn’t quite as collected as she pretended, then.
    Apparently he remained enough of a gentleman to wish to stand as she lifted her chin and approached. At the same time, stumbling to his feet wouldn’t precisely strengthen his position, and so he forced himself to remain seated. “Miss Weller,” he said, nodding.
    She stopped in front of him. “Colonel James. How pleasant that you came to watch me dance.”
    A slow smile touched his mouth. Clearly she wouldn’t believe him if he claimed to have made an appearance for some other reason—and it would be a lie, anyway. He’d made a fair living at turning disadvantage into advantage, however, until that one, last time. “I did,” he drawled. “I shall watch you every moment. Try not to disappoint me, will you?”
    Miss Weller tilted her head, examining his expression. “I think I shall save a dance for you,” she announced.
    “That would be a waste of a quadrille,” he retorted. If she was attempting to injure his feelings, he’d been cut by a far sharper blade than her tongue.
    “Well, if you can’t dance, then we’ll have to find something else with which to amuse ourselves.”
    For a heartbeat he was tempted to tell her precisely how he could imagine the two of them amusing themselves. It would involve smooth, bare skin glowing softly in candlelight, and the sound of her moaning beneath him. His cock twitched, and Bartholomew blinked. It had been a while since that had happened.
    “Cat got your tongue, Colonel?” she prompted, still gazing at him. “It’s polite to respond when someone converses with you.”
    “I was just considering what you would do if I agreed to us going somewhere to amuse ourselves,” he said after a moment.
    “As long as your suggestion is polite and respectful, I am at your disposal.”
    “Then, Miss Weller, perhaps we should take a stroll in the garden during your first available dance.”
    She glanced down at her dance card. “Ah, the second country dance.” This time she smiled. “That would be acceptable.”

Chapter Four
    “Though it is considered forward to shake hands with a man if he is not a close friend of the family,