I curtsied. “Your Grace.”
He bowed. “Miss Graham.”
A moment of indecision rested in the air before he held out his hand. “Might I request your company for the duration of the next set?”
My mouth was so dry I had to touch my tongue to the roof of my mouth before I could speak. “Yes, Your Grace.” I turned back for a moment. “Excuse me, Robert.”
The stiff set of Robert’s jaw attested to his displeasure.
I placed my hand in Halstead’s. His touch was all that was gentle, and I knew he hadn’t forgotten my slowly healing burn. The room slowly flowed back together as the next dance began. He guided me back toward the ballroom’s entry. The receiving line had petered out, and a small circle of chairs sat empty. He motioned for me to take a seat.
I sat and drew a hand down my middle, smoothing my dress. “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?” I accused. “You wanted to make a scene.”
“You jump to a great many conclusions about my motivations, Juliet.” He leaned in, his expression severe. “Please never doubt that when I seek you out, I do so only for the pleasure of your company.”
I might have thought him flirting were his eyes not so serious. How could a woman respond to such words? Thank goodness I was sitting down.
“I am sorry I cannot ask you to dance.” He set his walking stick against the chair and adjusted one of his cuff links.
His compliment, his candor, removed my inhibition. If he could speak so freely, surely I could as well. I waited until I’d captured his gaze before I leaned forward. “Dancing has never held much charm for me. I much prefer your company.”
“In another life, you might have had both.” He shook his head.
My stomach dipped again. “In another life, I am quite sure you wouldn’t have looked my way twice.”
His mouth twitched. “I did tell you I was a fool.”
My limbs had been filled with tension the entire evening, and I could no longer hold it all in. I laughed aloud. Halstead chuckled as well. Several women who were standing nearby turned to stare.
My smile faded. “This is one of the disadvantages of your company—a duke will never go unnoticed.”
“One of? Are there others?” His voice held a trace of amusement.
“You are as brash as you please, and no one tells you to show more respect for propriety.”
“Of course they don’t.” He laughed. “A duke sets the rules of propriety. How is that a disadvantage?”
A nearby footman held out a tray of drinks, and I took one, nodding my thanks. “Because then it falls to me to keep you humble.”
“Oh, come, you enjoy it. Go on; what other disadvantages are there?”
I smirked back at him as I fingered the stem of my wine glass. “Now that I’ve been seen in your company, I will have quite a lineup of unsolicited admirers asking me to dance. My feet will surely ache by the end of the night.”
“Is that all?”
I pulled my mouth to one side as I tried to think of another clever disadvantage. In truth, I could think of far more advantages than disadvantages. One of them being how at ease I felt in his company, how much I felt like . . . me.
Halstead’s eyes danced. “Your list is not so daunting. I’d feared my company was much more burdensome than it proves to be . . . although, I am not sure I take kindly to the notion of you having a slew of dance partners. Perhaps you could disappoint them all and meet me up in the observatory. During the supper hour.”
I looked up in surprise. “The observatory?” Wary of garnering more unwanted attention, I lowered my voice. “Do you mean it?”
He set a hand on his knee. “The observatory is up six flights of stairs, Juliet. I don’t make the offer lightly.”
My heart lifted at his words. I hardly felt myself capable of conscious thought. “Yes. Yes, please.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Time passed at an interminable rate as I waited for the supper hour. My prediction had been accurate: after the time I’d spent with Halstead, there was no shortage of men wanting to dance with me. My current partner was a friendly young man whose name I had difficulty recalling. Mr. Phelps, perhaps?
He bowed as the dance closed. “Miss Graham, thank you for the pleasure of your company.”
“The pleasure was all mine.” I curtsied, hoping he wouldn’t notice I’d omitted his name.
“Juliet, there you are.” Robert came up from behind me and extended an arm. “Supper is set to begin in a few minutes. May I escort you in?”
My heart was already racing up the stairs, but it wouldn’t do to explain my rendezvous to Robert. “May I join you a little later? I’d just like a moment of quiet before the noise of supper.” Despite the prickle of guilt I felt, I had no intention of telling Robert the exact truth. Perhaps he cared for me, but that did not mean he was entitled to know every detail of my whereabouts.
The downturn of his mouth made me rush to alleviate his concerns. “I won’t be gone long.”
“May I have the first dance after supper?”
I nodded. “Of course.”
At that Robert’s frown was swept away by a grin, and he let me go. He turned toward the tables as I weaved my way through the crowd, all the while keeping an eye open for Aunt Agnes. I couldn’t allow her to catch me sneaking off.
Thankfully, I slipped into the cavernous entryway without difficulty. Halstead had instructed me to take the stairs up the east tower, so I made my way down the corridor and found the door he’d described.
With a final backward glance I tugged it open and slipped inside. The stairwell was quite drafty and lit with interspersed lanterns, and I held up my skirts to ensure I wouldn’t trip up the steep steps. By the time I reached
