Free Annie Burrows by Reforming the Viscount Page A

than attracting a group of her admirers and holding court in her usual, impartial manner.
    But ought Lydia to be part of the group? Was it acceptable to stay on the far side of the room, observing? Or should she, as chaperon, stick much closer to her charge?
    She did not really want to intrude and put a damper on Rose’s enjoyment. It was just that several rather haughty-looking people had looked down their noses at the jolly group of youngsters as they had stalked past. Was it the fact of finding a nabob’s daughter, and a couple of junior naval officers in Lord Danbury’s house at all, or their free and easy manner of interacting, which was drawing down such disapproving stares?
    She had almost decided that she ought to go and stand a little nearer, just to give them more of an appearance of respectability, when she was startled by an all-too-familiar, dark-brown voice drawling into her ear.
    ‘Champagne?’
    She did not need to look round to know that it was Lord Rothersthorpe standing behind her, offering her a drink. She knew his voice only too well.
    Though for the life of her, she could not think why he had approached her tonight. They had seen nothing of him since his visit to their house on the day they had decided to leave town. And on that occasion he had made it quite plain that he despised her for having die-away airs which made her so vulnerable she could only ever have been an encumbrance to him.
    Though it made no difference to her, not now. How could it?
    ‘It does not have poison in it,’ he said, moving to stand in front of her, which gave her no choice but to acknowledge him. ‘I just thought you looked as though you could do with some fortification.’ He glanced across the room to where Rose was holding court.
    ‘I don’t know what you mean,’ she said, though she took the glass from his outstretched hand. It was the only way to make his arms go back to hanging by his sides. It was ridiculous of her, but having his hand stretched towards her like that made her remember things better left forgotten. Like how it had felt to be held in his arms. And taking a drink would give her something to blame for the peculiar fizz that was rushing down her spine. For it was not, it could not have been, created merely by the sound of his voice.
    ‘You were debating whether you ought to go over there and lend an air of respectability to the proceedings,’ he said.
    Since it was ridiculous not to look at him while he was talking to her, she lifted her head, and did exactly that. The initial fizz turned into a sort of slow burn.
    ‘And I would guess, from the look of trepidation on your face, that you were also imagining the beauty’s reaction should you attempt anything so heavy-handed.’
    She hated the way he’d read her so accurately. But what she hated even more was the way her body leapt to attention, just because he was standing so close and giving her his undivided attention. Bother her heart for fluttering and her lungs for needing to drag in extra amounts of air, and her knees for behaving exactly as they always did in his vicinity. Could they not pay attention to her head? It had been a mistake to been so taken in by him when she’d been a girl. She’d known it then and he’d confirmed it by the way he’d spoken to her since. He was not, and had never been, the man for her.
    ‘I fail to see why it should concern you,’ she retorted waspishly.
    ‘Nor do I, to be perfectly honest.’ He rubbed the back of his neck with the hand that had just held her champagne glass, his eyes growing uncharacteristically perplexed.
    ‘I have come to town to look for a wife, but ever since discovering that you are here, I keep looking out for you instead. And now that we happen to be at the same event, I have not been able to stay away from you. Have you any idea how annoying that is?’
    He couldn’t stay away from her? He had been looking for her? Didn’t he mean, for Rose? She instinctively looked across