To Dare a Rogue - Lana Williams (novels for beginners TXT) 📗

and thin with pronounced cheekbones in a narrow face. His thick hair was combed back from his high forehead in an odd manner meant to be stylish but fell short. His nose had a distinct bend in its bridge, making her wonder if it had been broken in his youth. His appearance was less than appealing. That hadn't changed since she'd last seen him.

“Good evening, Lady Charlotte.” He bowed and she curtsied. He completely ignored Margaret. He looked over Charlotte’s shoulder to her mother and bowed again before his gaze returned to Charlotte. “May I say you look lovely this evening?”

It was on the tip of her tongue to say no, but she bit back the retort. “How kind of you.” She gestured towards Margaret. “You remember Miss Gold?”

He glanced at Margaret. “I can't say that I do.”

Though tempted to call him a liar since she knew they’d been introduced, she didn't bother. It came as no surprise that he was one of the lords who seemed to consider the Gold family upstarts. Margaret’s father’s title had been awarded rather than inherited.

“How disappointing that you forgot our meeting last month.” Margaret offered a bright smile. “I thought our introduction was quite memorable. You spilled champagne on my slipper. Surely, you remember.”

Charlotte couldn’t help a chuckle though she quickly sobered. Trust Margaret to refuse to allow the slight to bother her in the least.

Lord Samuelson shifted, looking decidedly uncomfortable. “I seem to faintly recall it now.”

Margaret gave a single nod as if to say of course you do.

Charlotte did her best to keep from smiling.

“I’m so pleased you’re already acquainted as Miss Gold is a dear friend of mine.” Would that discourage the lord from pursuing her? She could only hope it would be so easy.

“I see.” He glanced between the two of them as if gauging the extent of their friendship. “How...interesting.” He turned to Charlotte. “I do hope you will save a dance for me.”

“Of course.” She felt the weight of her mother’s glare as she joined them. No doubt she thought Charlotte should say something more. “The pleasure would be mine.”

Lord Samuelson smiled and it was all Charlotte could do not to stare at his teeth. The idea of kissing him made her stomach burn and filled her with distaste. Spending additional time with him was going to be even more difficult than she’d expected. She had to find a way to convince him a match between them would never work but her mother’s close regard kept her from saying a word. Despair settled over her at the impossibility of the situation.

Chapter Six

James stared across the numerous guests at the Washburn Ball, wondering what on earth he was doing there. Why had he felt the urge to attend when he’d avoided all formal gatherings up until this point, with the exception of one?

Then again, he knew exactly why he was there. No purpose would be served in lying to himself.

Charlotte was the reason.

He hadn't been able to get her out of his thoughts since the museum visit. One moment, he was berating himself for kissing her and the next he was berating himself for not kissing her longer.

He had obviously lost his mind.

Even worse was the evening he’d spent with Edward after that kiss. Somehow it felt as though if Edward looked at him long enough, he'd realize James had kissed his sister. He could only imagine how angry his friend would be if he discovered what had happened.

The concern over jeopardizing their friendship should have been enough to keep him away from Charlotte and the ball. Was he here just to make certain she was well? If so, one look at her—even from a distance—should be enough to ease the concern. But he feared viewing her from afar wouldn't be enough.

Had he come to reassure himself that she didn’t intend to venture out with Palmer again? He latched onto the idea with both hands. That had to be the reason. The tension in his shoulders eased at the logical concern.

From what Edward had mentioned, Charlotte would be marrying soon. While not unusual for a father to select his daughter’s future husband, he was surprised that Charlotte had no say in the matter and taken aback that Edward wasn’t bothered by it. No wonder she wished to have a few adventures beforehand. Was it so wrong of him to make certain she did so safely? If he ignored the voice in the back of his head, the reason almost rang true.

James made his way through the crowd, nodding at a few people he recognized but only stopping to speak to one or two. He continued forward again only to pause at the sight of Lord Palmer standing in his path. He only knew his identity as a friend had pointed out Palmer at a gaming hell recently.

“Redmond.” The tall man dipped his head in greeting, his slick smile enough to put James on edge. A carefully placed lock of pale hair fell over his brow. The points of his collar were so high, he surely couldn’t turn his head. How the lord knew him, James didn’t know.

“Palmer.” He had no desire to speak to the man though he was tempted to discover if he and Charlotte planned another outing if only to put a halt to it.

“I'm rather surprised to see you here,” Palmer said. He raised a brow. “Isn't there some gaming hell calling to you this evening? I understand those kinds of establishments are your preference.”

James smiled politely despite his longing to place a fist in the man’s face. “One might say the same of you. The evening is young. That still might occur. Have you seen Lady Charlotte?”

“What makes you ask?” Palmer almost appeared startled by the question. Had he hoped to keep his actions secret?

“I thought perhaps you intended to escort her to another inappropriate party.” James allowed anger to color his tone. Someone had to make it clear