Free A Common Scandal by Amanda Weaver Page A

sick to his stomach.
    * * *
    Amelia careened through the ballroom, not noticing whose elbows she banged or whose hems she trod on. Her heart was pounding and her breath was coming in sharp pants. Even though she was surrounded on all sides by bodies, she was aware of only one body, back there behind her on the terrace. No, that wasn’t precisely true. She was aware of her own body in a way she never had been before. Her palms itched inside her gloves. Her breasts felt far too confined by her corset. And underneath all her skirts and petticoats and stockings, she was trembling—her thighs and between her legs.
    Natty had kissed her. Nate . He was right. A man who could do things like that with his mouth and hands had no business being called a little boy’s name.
    Nate had kissed her. And touched her. And it had been glorious.
    She’d wanted to poke at the sparking energy between them to see what might happen. Never had she dreamed such a thing could happen, or that it would be so...spectacular. He’d almost ruined it after, with his stricken, honorable expression, like he was considering doing the Right Thing or some such nonsense. Thank heavens she’d smoothed it over, because if anyone found out what she’d done with him—if her father found out—it would be the end of her. He seemed to be prepared to keep it to himself, however.
    Now she needed to do the same. And there was the rub. She wanted to shout it from the rooftops. “ Nate kissed me and it was wonderful and every man will pale in comparison! ”
    Every man. Or just the one man.
    Her eyes sought out Lord Radwill on the other side of the room. There he was, as pleasant and inoffensive as he had been an hour ago. He was speaking with Lady Bishop. A rather perfunctory conversation, if she could read it properly. This was her opening. She could go pay her own respects to Lady Bishop. She could strike up another conversation with Lord Radwill. Lady Bishop would facilitate the conversation for a bit before discreetly excuse herself, leaving them alone. It was a well-used maneuver, and rather to be expected at a function like this. Still, her feet were rooted to the floor. She didn’t want to go make small talk with Lady Bishop. She had no desire to engage Lord Radwill in conversation and spend the rest of the evening subtly flirting with him.
    This was a disaster. Radwill was perhaps the best option she’d encountered yet. There he was, ready and waiting, and all she could think of was that scoundrel back on the balcony. She couldn’t do this. There was no time for distraction.
    Just as she was shaking off the last of their encounter and resolving to join Lady Bishop and restart her campaign, someone tapped on her shoulder.
    “Miss Wheeler?”
    Lady Evelyn Sanbourne, the only daughter of the Earl of Tewsbury, gazed expectantly at her, with none other than Lady Julia Harrow at her side. Lady Evelyn’s eyes were lit up with some sort of unholy glee. Had someone seen them after all? Was she about to be called out as the trollop she was in the middle of this ballroom?
    Lady Evelyn reached out for her hand, grasping it in her surprisingly strong grip. “Oh, Miss Wheeler, you’re the very person I was hoping to see tonight.”
    “I am?” Lady Evelyn was hardly a bosom friend. In fact, they were little more than nodding acquaintances and she’d always assumed Lady Evelyn resented having to acknowledge her at all. She was a tall, robust young woman, with an attractive face, a head full of thick, light brown hair and an outsize sense of her own importance. While Evelyn wasn’t especially malicious, Amelia had found her to be spoiled and rather self-absorbed. She wasn’t the nastiest debutante in London, although she was close friends with that shrew, Kitty Ponsoy.
    “Oh, yes!” Lady Evelyn enthused. “We’re having a house party at Tewsmere in September and you simply must promise to attend!”
    “Oh...I’m not sure.” Amelia stalled. She knew very