Redeeming the Deception of Grace (11 page)

"
Grace
…
"
h
e whispered, speaking her name with reverence and
—
dare she hope love?

"
Hmm?
"
She allowed her gaze to wander
from his hungry
eyes
to his full lips.

When
the music ended
,
she found she couldn
'
t move from Ewan
'
s embrace. Even if she could have moved her body, Ewan wasn
'
t releasing her
.
After a deliciously tense moment where
Grace
waited and wondered, Ewan closed his eyes
.

H
e took a deep breath
and
opened the
m
.
The way his eyes hungrily demanded her gaze left no question as to how he was affected as well.
With a slight bow and an improper kiss to her gloved fingers that reminded her of the one she had received earlier
—
for which she had mercilessly berated him
—
he escorted her to the edge of the room.

"
Until later.
"
He spoke the words as promise
,
and after a slight hesitation,
he
trailed a finger down the edge of her face, leaving Grace shivering with hope as he walked away
.
Hope
,
she feared
,
would be her undoing.

C
hapter Seven

As Ewan walked away from Grace he berated himself. He had almost kissed her on the dance floor! The scandal! He would have ruined her! As much as the though
t
appealed to him, he didn
'
t think she
'
d find it romantic
.
Regardless of how he would profess his love afterward, it would still be tainted
.
No, he must guard himself
,
lest he destroy everything he was trying to gain.

Looking over the room, trying to settle his aroused state after his waltz with Grace
,
he noticed Miss Jacobsen along the edge of the wall again, not
too
far away from where he stood
.
She hadn
'
t seen him
—
her eyes follow
ed
Shiply with unabashed longing.

With a quick stride, Ewan stood just behind Miss Jacobsen as she watched Shiply, hiding behind a few leaves of the palm.

"
On w
hom are we spying?
"
Ewan asked, earning a surprised yelp and slight jump from Miss Jacobsen.

"
Your grace
!
"
s
he gasped, her eyes reflecting anger and embarrassment.

"
A pleasure
,
Miss Jacobsen
.
I
f I may be so bold
—
why the secretive spying?
"
h
e asked while he nodded in Shiply
'
s direction
.
Miss Jacobsen blushed profusely before
averting her eyes
, either in avoidance of the question or in
effort
to think up a lie.

"
Come now
,
Miss Jacobsen, we
'
re friends
.
T
ell me the truth
,
"
h
e urged gently.

"
Are you so trustworthy?
"
she asked markedly.

"
Of course!
"
Ewan responded readily.

"
I remain unconvinced
,
"
s
he replied dryly before she returned her gaze to Shiply
'
s form.

"
Ah, then it seems I must guess.
"
He raised an eyebrow and gave her a small smile.

"
Guess?
"
Miss Jacobsen asked, distracted by the young lady approaching Shiply. Ewan chuckled
,
amused at her antics
.

"
Yes, guess
.
B
ecause, if I am correct
,
I believe we could be of great use to one another.
"

"
Oh?
"
Miss Jacobsen asked, turning her attention once again to him.

"
Yes
.
You see
…
"
Ewan began, pacing a bit to the side of the palm so it would hide him
.
"
If you are after the affections of Lord Shiply, I would be more than willing to help in any endeavor to help you secure them.
Although, I would be
re
miss if I didn
'
t tell you it would be in your best interest to find a different suitor.  He hasn
'
t the best of reputations.
"
He waited
,
holding his breath.  He knew she deserved better than a rake such as Shiply, but at the same time, he knew it was quite possible that Shiply had indeed changed his ways.  His courtship of Grace was proof, much to Ewan
'
s chagrin.  Perhaps Miss Rachel knew something about Shiply that he didn
'
t.

"
Shiply?
"
s
he asked, her eyes betraying her hope.

"
Yes.
"
Ewan
held
his breath as he waited for her response.

"
I have no idea what you
'
re talking about
,
"
s
he replied after a moment
,
with haughty indifference.

"
Oh, I believe I do have an idea…
"
h
e began
.
"
After all, you were watching him just a moment ago
—
though
spying would be a better term.
"

"
I was not spying
.
M
erely observing…
"
She stopp
ed abruptly
,
as though
she realized she had given herself away.

"
Ah, you were saying?
"
Ewan teased, unable to control himself.

"
Even if I
were
interested in securing the affections of Lord Shiply…
"
she paused, watching Ewan
'
s eyes for a reaction.
"
Why would I want or need your help?
"
s
he asked, placing her small hands on her hips.

"
Do you see that woman over there?
"
Ewan nodded in Grace
'
s direction. She was standing next to another gentleman
,
who was speaking with Shiply.

"
Yes, her
.
Lady Grace
? The one he escorted here?
"
s
he asked
,
her eyes calculating.

"
Yes
,
"
Ewan affirmed with a nod.

"
What about her?
"
Miss Rachel asked
curiously
.

"
I love her.
"
The words were spoken before he thought them through, or their implications, but what was done was done.

"
Good for you.
"
She nodded then returned her gaze to Shiply.

"
I don
'
t think you understand.
"
Ewan waited, growing
impatient.

"
You don
'
t say?
"
s
he remarked
,
tossing him an
irritated glare.

"
Lord Shiply is trying to pay her court, but if we work together…
"
He
waited
for her to think for a moment.
"
I
'
ll do my best to keep Shiply away from
Lady Grace
so that you can have more of an opportunity to gain his attention, if you will do the same for me.
"

Ewan waited, hoping he hadn
'
t made a fool of himself.

"
You m
ight
have a good idea…
"
Miss Jacobsen
regarded
him,
as though measuring his
sincerity
. She waited, clearly thinking over his plan and weighing her options
.
Ewan felt warm as he realized that he could have easily made a
n
irreparable
mistake.

"
All right
.
I
'
ll do it
.
B
ut
…
you may not tell him about our little alliance
.
Do you understand?
"

"
Of course! That goes without saying
.
What kind of fool do you think I am
?
"
h
e questioned slightly offended. He paused for a moment before adding
,
"
And I expect the same from you.
"

"
Of course.
"
She tossed him
a
glance that spoke of her irritation at his assuming anything
else
.

"
Brilliant.
"
Ewan smiled as he began to formulate the plan in his mind
.
"
Now, here
'
s what we
'
ll do…
"

****

Grace had tried all evening to avoid Ewan
,
but after that waltz, where she nearly lost all control and kissed him before the entirety of the
ton,
she hadn
'
t been able to take her eyes from him for more than a moment
.
Her heart stuttered when she saw him speaking to the lovely Miss Rachel
.
Wasn
'
t she the one he had run into, knocking her over? With a heavy sigh that earned her a quizzical gla
n
ce
from
Shiply
,
she forced her
gaze
to her escort. As she eyed Shiply
,
she found herself wishing she could find at leas
t half of the attraction toward
him as she felt for Ewan
.
Then maybe her heart wouldn
'
t feel so fragile.

Even as she danced with Shiply when she first arrived, she had been watching Ewan
,
causing her to trip twice
.
Shiply, ever the gentleman
,
hadn
'
t even remarked on her clumsiness. In contrast, her heart had been in her throat the entire time she had waltzed with Ewan
,
c
ausing her prickly barriers to recede ever so slightly
.
B
ut now she erected them again, knowing she was only asking for pain should she let down her guard.

Resolving to keep her attention away from Ewan and on Shiply
,
she pasted on a joyful smile and entered the conversation taking place between Shiply and Lord Heath. As she struggled to focus her attention on the two men
,
she began to impatiently toy with her fan.

"
Lady
Grace
?
"
c
ame a soft
,
caressing voice from behind her
.

Ewan.
Closing her eyes
,
she allowed the soft tones work their magic over her heart, but only for a moment. Steeling herself against the coming onslaught of devastating charm, she turned.

"
Yes?
"
Grace turned to see Ewan escorting Miss
Rachel
. Her heart pinched with the unwelcome pangs of jealousy.

"
Grace
…
"
Was it just her wishful thinking, or did he speak her name differently? She searched his blue eyes and found them soft and mesmerizing.

"
I
'
d like you to meet a new friend of mine
.
Miss
Rachel
. I don
'
t know if you are acquainted
.
After feeling a need to apologize once more to her for my clumsiness, I discovered that she hadn
'
t been introduced to you earlier. I wanted to remedy my oversight.
"
Ewan spoke the words
,
never breaking eye contact
.

Had he been speaking about her to Miss
Rachel
? Why would he? She scolded her
self
for finding hope in the smallest details
.