Free Miss Foster’s Folly by Alice Gaines Page A

sure you remember my wife,” Mitford said.
    He bowed. “Lady Mitford.”
    She extended her hand for a kiss, which he supplied.
    “May I present Mrs. Marlow and her cousin Miss Fletcher?” Lady Mitford said.
    Miss Rhodes came to her senses first and dropped a curtsey. He bowed again and then straightened and glanced at Miss Foster. She still stared at him as if she’d swallowed something too large and it had stuck in her throat. After a moment, she recovered somewhat and curtseyed as well. This time, he didn’t bow but simply smiled at her.
    Cornered, and she knew it. How delightful. He’d toy with her for a bit before he decided whether or not to expose her as a fraud.
    “I’m sorry, Lord Mitford,” she said. “I’ve broken one of your champagne glasses.”
    “No matter.” Mitford waved to a nearby servant. Miss Foster stepped aside, and the servant did his best to clear the mess.
    “Shall I get you another?” Derrington asked.
    “Thank you, no. I think I’ve had enough.”
    “Then, perhaps you’d do me the honor of a waltz.”
    The orchestra had just started another dance. Miss Foster didn’t move, and Miss Rhodes glanced from her friend to him and then toward the floor. Awkward all the way around for the Americans. Great fun for him.
    Miss Foster brought her hand to her forehead. “I’m sorry. I suddenly have a headache.”
    Lady Mitford clucked her sympathy. “Shall I get you something?”
    “Not necessary. I’ll lie down for a bit, and I’ll be fine.”
    Before she could escape, he moved to her side and took her elbow in his hand. “Let me help you.”
    She looked up at him, and a bit of her usual fire entered her eyes. “I can manage on my own.”
    “But I insist.” He squeezed her elbow. Gently but firmly enough to show her he wouldn’t be swayed.
    “I can take care of my cousin,” Miss Rhodes tried.
    He glared at her for a moment before pushing Miss Foster away from the others and heading off.
    “What do you think you’re doing?” she whispered.
    “Taking you somewhere quiet,” he replied. “So you can recover.”
    “Let me go.”
    “Not a chance in hell.”
    “I don’t have to obey you,” she said.
    “Oh, no?” He paused long enough to stare into her face. “Would you rather go back so I can tell Lord and Lady Mitford who you really are?”
    She blanched. “You wouldn’t.”
    “I wouldn’t depend on that, if I were you.” He started walking again, pushing her through clusters of people as they went.
    He found a fairly quiet hallway. People glanced as he went by, but no one interrupted them. He turned back briefly and found that Miss Rhodes had followed at a distance. He raised a brow and gave her his most imperious glare. It had been known to frighten servants and reduce his social inferiors to stuttering. It worked well enough on her to stop her in her tracks. Good. Now, to find some privacy.
    He went to the very end of the corridor and found an empty room. He guided Miss Foster inside and closed the door behind him. Not a soul in sight. A library, much like the one he’d first met her in New York. Well, that couldn’t be helped.
    Miss Foster jerked her elbow from his fingers. “You have some nerve manhandling me like that.”
    “Why did you run away from me?”
    “From you?” She laughed dismissively. Or so she tried. It wasn’t very convincing.
    “Yes, from me. Whom else?” he demanded. “Or did you ask some other man to deflower you after things didn’t work out with me?”
    Her face turned a violent shade of red, and the color spread to the flesh of her bosom as it had that day at her home. She wore a green gown this time, and it flattered her breasts every bit as much as the crimson had.
    “I’d appreciate it if you’d forget that conversation,” she said.
    “Impossible. Could you forget it?”
    She didn’t answer. Instead, she bit her lower lip in a way that made his body tighten.
    “You didn’t answer me,” he said. “Am I the only one