He turned and looked down at her. "Juliana."
She pulled him away from the group. "What an unpleasant man. His face suits his personality. His nose is square, rather like a pig's."
"I've often thought that myself," James said, a tipsy smile curving his lips.
Excellent. She wanted him tipsy and amorous. "Lady Amanda is feeling ill."
"I was just dancing with her. She looked fine."
"Well, she's feeling ill now. She went to the library to lie down. Will you come and have a look at her?"
"Of course," he said, suddenly looking sober and concerned. So sober and concerned that Juliana felt a pang of…
Guilt? She could think of nothing else the sensation could be. But it was a ridiculous pang of guilt, because this was the right thing for everyone involved.
She led him to the library, where Amanda was draped elegantly on the sofa, emitting little moans. She'd followed Juliana's instructions exactly. Her gloves were on the desk, and the room was romantically lit, not too dark and not too light.
James set his drink and his own gloves beside Amanda's, then knelt by the sofa. "Lady Amanda, where does it hurt?"
"It's my heart," Amanda said breathily, laying a graceful bare hand on the expanse of bosom exposed in her low neckline. She was a surprisingly good actress. James didn't stand a chance. Any man would fall for that sensuous voice.
Except James didn't. "You're a mite young for heart trouble," he told her.
"But it aches," she insisted, implying it ached for him. "Won't you listen to it at least?"
"If you wish." He rose to his feet.
"You cannot listen from there." Amanda patted her bosom and arched herself toward him. Dear heavens, she was practically falling off the sofa. "You need to press your ear to my heart."
"No, I don't." Seemingly oblivious to her wanton display, he walked over to the writing desk. "I can hear it better through a tube."
"Are you sure?" Amanda asked.
"I'm positive." He opened a couple of drawers, then found a piece of paper and rolled it up. "This won't work as well as my new stethoscope, but it should be better than listening without it."
Crossing back to Amanda, he placed one end of the paper tube on her chest and lowered his ear to the other. Except for Amanda's breathy sighs, the room was silent for a moment.
"A little fast," he reported at last. No surprise, since she was likely scared out of her wits. "But strong and steady."
Apparently at a loss, Amanda looked toward Juliana.
"Maybe Lady Amanda has a rash," she said. "James, I think you should loosen her clothes and have a look."
He eyed Amanda's bare arms and low décolletage in an altogether clinical manner. "I see no evidence of a rash." He smiled at his patient, but it was a kind smile, not seductive in the least. "This ball is quite a crush. If you've no symptoms to report other than a vague ache in your chest, perhaps sitting quietly for a few minutes might help."
Juliana didn't know what to think. Amanda was doing everything right, yet James appeared unmoved. Which, oddly enough, seemed to relieve Juliana's guilt, but that was as ridiculous as feeling the guilt in the first place.
And it didn't explain why.
Then she suddenly realized why. "Please stay with her while she sits quietly, James. I'm going to fetch Lady Billingsgate."
She didn't, of course—there was no point in fetching Lady Billingsgate until James and Amanda got into a compromising position. Which clearly wasn't going to happen with her in the room. What a fool she'd been for not realizing James wouldn't seduce her friend with another woman watching.
She went out quietly, leaving the door slightly cracked so she could listen.
"I'm sure you'll feel better in no time," she heard James say.
"I'd feel better if you'd sit beside me."
"I cannot imagine how that could help," James said. But apparently he did sit down, because the next thing he said was, "There. Do you feel better?"
"No, not yet," Amanda said and paused. And then she added, "Why don't you kiss me to make me feel better?"
A shocked silence followed. Juliana was shocked, too. She hadn't thought Amanda had it in her to be so forward. But then the silence continued, and Juliana realized it wasn't a shocked silence. It was the silence that resulted when two people were kissing instead of talking.
Amanda's forwardness had worked.
Well, of course it had worked. James was a man, and what man alone in a room with a woman he loved would resist an invitation to kiss her? This behavior was exactly what Juliana had counted on when she'd plotted to trick him into compromising Amanda.
But now that her plot had worked, the pang returned again. The ridiculous pang of guilt at the thought of tricking a man she'd come to think of as a friend.
"I don't think that would be a good idea," James finally said.
Juliana couldn't figure out what he meant by that, exactly, but the pang subsided. She released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. He hadn't kissed Amanda. Not yet, anyway. She sagged against the door in relief.
Or rather, she thumped against the door in relief. And then it opened, and she all but fell into the library.
James caught her by her shoulders and grinned. "I thought you were Lady Billingsgate."
Of course he had. She'd said she was going to fetch Lady Billingsgate, after all. A mistake, she now realized, because of course James wouldn't kiss Amanda while expecting Lady Billingsgate to show up at any moment.
That was what he'd meant when he'd said it wouldn't be a good idea.
But his hands felt warm on her bare shoulders, and she couldn't be sorry she'd made the mistake. She didn't want to trick James. She hadn't wanted to from
