Free Accidentally Compromising the Duke by Stacy Reid Page B

had been told he had been out riding. What if he ignored her for the duration of the ball? That would cement in society’s eyes, that she was soiled and unworthy. Firming her jaw and straightening her spine, she scanned the crowd. Satisfaction curled inside her that many were unable to meet her gaze for long. It was a small triumph but she welcomed it.
    Many greeted him as he came off the final steps. Lord and Lady Gladstone were one of the first to approach him, and they smiled and chatted as if nothing were amiss. After a few minutes the duke inclined his head and walked away. The crowd parted as he moved with purpose not toward her, but away.
    Adel’s heart pounded and in desperation she went to the refreshment table and collected a punch glass.
    “He is cutting her .” A whisper to her left reached her ears.
    Tears pricked her lids. Should she stay? Or should she try to slip away unnoticed. It did not take her long to realize that such an endeavor would be impossible. The attention of the lords and ladies at present was split. Some ogled her and the others were craning their necks, making no attempt to not be obvious as they watched Wolverton.
    If she left they would know she was fleeing in shame, and the slander would be worse tomorrow. She dreaded reading about her own escapades in the scandal sheets. Although Adel stood in a sea of people, she had never felt so desperately alone. It was quite evident she was at this moment, a pariah. No one moved close, even Lady Margaret was carefully nearing the terrace door, her eyes wide with apprehension as she watched the duke. As if on cue, Adel’s cheeks smarted where her stepmother had slapped her earlier, when she’d informed them she rejected the duke and asked if they could arrange an audience, so she could correct her error.
    It seemed as if she could do nothing right.
    Another wave of titters crested through the ballroom, and her gaze unerringly landed on the duke’s broad shoulders. He was beside the orchestra. He bent to say something to one of their number. The musicians nodded, and he sauntered away, bold and graceful…right toward her. Adel’s hands shook, fearing she would spill the punch she had yet to sip, she placed it on the refreshment table with a soft clink.
    He stopped in front of her, and it was as if the entire room held its breath.
    A few seconds later the violins sounded, and the scandalous strain of a waltz filtered on the air, shocking her. The duke bowed, then straightened and held his hand out to her. “Miss Adeline, would you honor me with a waltz?”
    From the periphery of her vision she saw her stepmother wilting in relief, and even Evie smiled, her eyes filling with tears. Adel wanted to fling herself into his arms and shout for relief. His public show of support must mean that he still desired to marry her. Her sisters were saved; her family was not ruined, if she did not botch it further. She sank into a curtsy. “I would be honored, Your Grace.” Then she rose and stepped into his arms as if she belonged there.
    On cue the rousing strains of the waltz filled in the ballroom. Adel was painfully aware they were the only couple dancing. It seemed the members of society who were packed into the Gladstone ballroom were now content to watch them in stunned silence.
    The duke held her firmly, at a respectable distance, but there was something possessive in his embrace. Her heart tripped in her chest. As she soared with him, the dozens of eyes boring into her back faded. “Thank you for being kind after my earlier stubbornness.”
    “Think nothing of it,” he reassured her, his regard piercing and intent.
    “Why have you singled me out? Not that I am ungrateful,” she hastily added.
    His mouth curved faintly. “You are very direct. It is a trait I admire.”
    “Thank you.”
    “My attentions to you now are a double edge sword. If I walk away without any announcement of our impending nuptials, your ruination will be completed. Yet if