Rescuing Mr. Gracey by Eileen K. Barnes Read Free Book Online

backward. How could ya, Mary Smyth? Proving to him how silly and ridiculous ya are! Her gaze shifted to her feet, her hands clasped tightly before her. She dared not one tiny peek to see if the man recovered from her clumsiness.
    After a mortifying moment of silence, he cleared his throat. “I feared you were not coming.” An awkward pause followed. His voice lowered slightly. “I almost abandoned staying.”
    “Oh? Did ya miss us?” Lily teased.
    Though Mary studied her faded blue slippers, she imagined the man touched her—caressing her face, shoulders, arms, and waist—leaving behind a shivery tingling. Her breathing became shallow; her heart fluttered.
    “Aye, Miss Lily. The dance lacked all allure until now,” he said.
    Lily giggled. “Ah. Ye’re foolin’ us, ya are.”
    Daring to finally lift her eyes, first to riding boots, dark trousers, a light muslin shirt opened at the neck—he wore no cravat—Mary found a soft, encouraging smile and gentle eyes.
    “Where’s Mr. James? Did ya no’ bring him?” Lily asked.
    He answered without lifting his attention from Mary. “Mr. James found himself otherwise engaged.”
    Mary remained incapable of moving away, though a tiny voice warned her to do so. Instead, the music in the background, the cool night air brushing against her cheeks, the unsteady beat of her heart, and the intense blue heat from his eyes merged and lifted her out of time.
    “Oh. I was hopin’ for a dance.” Lily jammed Mary’s shoulder, but she seemed incapable of reacting.
    “What ’bout ye, Mr. Alexander? Ya wanna to take a spin with me?”
    Stunned by Lily’s inappropriateness and rudeness, Mary winced back to the present. Pressing her lips together, she once more burrowed her head downward. How could she possibly excuse Lily’s forward request? How could she explain her friend’s lack of propriety to such a gentleman?
    Silence swallowed the seconds before she heard his reply. “It would be my pleasure if you would allow me this dance.”
    Stiffening, Mary looked up. The gentleman’s arm was extended to Lily! Beyond surprised, Mary felt her mouth dropped.
    “Oh, t’ be sure.” Lily beamed, slinging her rough hand through the offered arm.
    Regard for the stranger rose a substantial notch. She watched until they faded into the crush of dancers, then she forced herself to look away, reminding herself of the important task of securing a courtship from Sean.
    Sean was still huddled with a group of farmers, obviously unconcerned about Mary’s whereabouts. Her foot tapped with annoyance as she watched him, laughing, his head nodding in agreement to some boisterous discussion.
    All other times, Mary ignored his inattentive nature. But not tonight! Tonight a gorgeous creature circled about and threatened her very existence—her courtship, her marriage, her future.
    She released a little growl, imagining herself stomping Sean’s foot and slapping his face and shouting to all the single men to stop ignoring women who wanted to dance.
    Folding her arms tight, she replaced her scowl with what she hoped was a serene and patient expression and turned her annoyed attention from Sean Dennison.
    In the middle of the dance area, Mary noted, dancers seemed to be giving a wider and wider berth to the middle. She walked a little past her spot to get a clearer look at the cause and noticed a pair of dancers who were bouncing off other dancers, tripping about the floor, generally presenting themselves as ill-timed lumbering fools.
    Mary gasped. The couple drawing so much attention was none other than Lily and Mr. Alexander, who, for all his suave and mysterious tendencies, did not have the vaguest notion about Irish country dance.
    At first, she giggled, almost relieved that he was not, indeed, perfect. But then she noticed the reaction from the crowd, who whispered and pointed, laughed and imitated his clumsy moves.
    Her stomach tightened with an odd worry. He does not belong here. He appeared