Dangerous Gifts by Mary Jo Putney Read Free Book Online

for the man who had rescued her from the Duke of Hardcastle, but without success. Instead of a guest, might he have been a servant, perhaps a gardener? She wanted to kick herself for running away in embarrassment that night instead of making his acquaintance. Ah, well, he was probably married and unavailable.
    Leah had just returned from waltzing with a portly baronet when Lady Wheaton murmured behind the cover of an opened fan, “Captain Duncan Townley has just arrived. He doesn’t go out socially very much, so he’s the only one of my eligibles that you haven’t met.” She tapped her lips with the fan reflectively. “Since no one else has taken your fancy, perhaps he will. Half the women in London dote on him. A hero of Waterloo, you know, and heir to a viscount.”
    Leah glanced toward the door, then caught her breath involuntarily. The man who had just entered was stunning, the epitome of the bold, dashing hero who would make any woman’s knees melt. Though not exceptionally tall, his lithe, broad-shouldered form radiated intense virility. A lock of dark wavy hair fell over his forehead as he surveyed the ballroom with hooded eyes. Leah tried to estimate his age. Not old, though, certainly under thirty. Awed, she whispered, “He’s magnificent.”
    For an instant, she thought that he had noticed her. Then her view was blocked by women crowding forward to see him. She understood perfectly. In fact, she had to suppress a mad desire to walk up to Duncan Townley, link her arms around his neck, and announce that she was his destiny.
    Such foolishness! Or was it? There was magic in her life now. Could Ranulph have sent her to London to meet Duncan Townley? The faery lord had said that she could command the love of heroes if she wished.
    Smiling at her protégée’s reaction, Lady Wheaton said, “Shall I introduce you?”
    “Not yet. I must go to the ladies’ retiring room and fix my hair.” More nervous than she had been since the night of her presentation, Leah made her excuses to her circle of admirers and left. But instead of returning to the ballroom after checking her appearance, she detoured to the music room, which was blessedly empty.
    She dropped onto the bench in front of the pianoforte and forced herself to breathe slowly. She must be calm when her godmother introduced her to Duncan Townley. With a man like that, who could have any woman, she would need every iota of her beauty, and charm as well. Nor could she appear too eager. She’d learned enough of men in the last weeks to know that many were captivated by a woman who seemed unattainable.
    Her gaze went to the keyboard of the pianoforte. Unable to resist it, she stripped off her gloves and began to play, keeping the sound soft so that it would be inaudible in the ballroom. Mozart soothed her, reminding her of who she really was. Some days she feared that she was in danger of losing herself.
    By the end of her first piece, she was so caught up in the music that she went immediately into Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata.” The knot of tension that had been part of her since coming to London dissolved. Eyes closed, she played by touch, gently rocking back and forth as her hands coaxed the divine melodies from the instrument.
    At the end she sighed with happiness, head bowed as her hands stilled on the keyboard. Then the sound of clapping hands startled her from her reverie.
    Her lids snapped open. To her shock, Duncan Townley was standing in the doorway applauding. Their gazes met for a charged moment. In his eyes she saw the same kind of intense interest that she felt for him.
    He entered the music room with a pantherlike smoothness that riveted her attention. “So this is where you’ve been hiding, fair lady,” he said in a voice like deep, rich chocolate. “I saw you across the ballroom earlier, but you vanished before I could find you. I’ve been looking ever since.” He halted beside the pianoforte. “You play extraordinarily