He coughed to drive out that uninvited but tantalising image. ‘Miss Regan, thank you for coming tonight. My sister obviously appreciated it.’
She reached the bottom of the stairs and smiled up at him. ‘You’re very welcome and your sister is a delight.’
He nodded. ‘As promised, I have instructed the servants to prepare a suite for you and a meal will be brought up to your room. The coachman has been instructed to take you back to the station at a time of your choosing. I’ve also instructed my steward to provide you with sufficient remuneration to compensate you for the time you have taken away from your business. I hope that is satisfactory.’
Dominic’s voice sounded suitably professional. Good. He felt much more comfortable now that they were discussing business terms, although he’d feel even more comfortable if she wasn’t gazing up at him with those bright green eyes, or if those soft pink lips weren’t slightly parted, as if encouraging him to imagine what it would be like to kiss her.
She gave a little laugh, as if he had made a joke, although he suspected she was laughing at his formal manner, not anything amusing he might have said. ‘Very satisfactory, thank you.’
‘Good. Then I hope you have an enjoyable night.’
‘And you as well. I hope your ball is a rip-roaring success, just like your engagement party.’ She bit her lip and blushed slightly, although he doubted it was from embarrassment.
He suppressed an exasperated sigh. Of course she wouldn’t be embarrassed. She enjoyed mocking him and it seemed she was doing it again. Although he had to admit she was right. His engagement party had been somewhat staid, but that was in keeping with the occasion. It was an event to announce the advantageous joining of two families. And his own ball would not be a rip-roaring affair either. It would be one of his sister’s last chances to find a suitable husband before the end of the Season and would be conducted with all the necessary decorum.
‘You’re right, Miss Regan. My engagement party was nothing like a night out at The Hanged Man.’ He knew he was sounding pompous, but he would not let her mock him in that manner without any repercussions.
Any hint that she had embarrassed herself with her jibe about his engagement party disappeared. Instead, she thrust her chin forward, in that defiant manner with which he was becoming familiar. ‘No, you wouldn’t want to host a ball where there was laughing and merry-making. You couldn’t expect the gentry to do something as common as actually enjoy themselves.’
It was Dominic’s turn to bristle. ‘Indeed, the gentry do tend to aim for a level of refinement and decorum that would be out of place at The Hanged Man.’
Her lips tightened into an irritated line. ‘Well, I suppose decorum and refinement is one way to describe it.’ She exhaled loudly. ‘Although I’d call it boring and passionless,’ she murmured, but loud enough so he could hear.
Dominic’s teeth clenched tightly together. He drew in a deep breath and released it slowly through flared nostrils. He would not rise to her bait. He would not be seen arguing with an ex-lady’s maid when his guests arrived, no matter how insulting and ill mannered her behaviour.
‘Well, if you’ll excuse me, Miss Regan, I have a rip-roaring ball to attend.’ With that he took Miss Regan’s hand and kissed the back of it. Why he felt the need to do that when even a formal bow was more than he would usually perform for a servant or a person in trade, Dominic did not know. Perhaps it was because she was the most irritating woman he had ever met and such irritation had upset his equilibrium and caused him to act so oddly. Or was it because despite everything, he just found her so damn attractive and wanted to feel the touch of her skin against his lips?
Whatever his reason, Dominic took some satisfaction at having removed that superior look from her face. Her mouth had fallen open, her eyes had grown wide and she was staring at her hand as if she no longer knew what this strange thing was attached to the end of her arm.
Good. Dominic smiled to himself as he walked through to the ballroom. It hadn’t been his intention to shock her, but shocking Miss Regan was indeed a very satisfying thing to do.
Chapter Fourteen
Dominic stood in the reception line at the entrance to the ballroom, greeting his guests. This ball was important. He had to remember that and not get distracted. It was nearing the end of the Season and Amanda needed to secure some interest from at least one of the titled men present. And as the host it was also his opportunity to make an impression on the guests, members of England’s elite, men who would now see him as the future son-in-law of the Duke of Ashmore, not as the son of a former stable boy.
Focusing on the task of meeting and greeting would be made a lot easier if he wasn’t still thinking about Nellie Regan. Somewhere in his house she was no doubt wreaking havoc. Either that or she was flirting with one of the servants. He looked over at the line of footmen, standing tall and straight along the far wall. No, she wouldn’t be doing that. They’d be busy until the ball was over. Not that he should care who she chose to flirt with. She could flirt with as many footmen, coachmen or whomever she wanted to. It was none of his business. He bowed his head as another aristocratic couple was announced.
It was the present company he should be concentrating on, not some disrespectful ex-lady’s maid. These people were all closely associated with his future in-laws and it wouldn’t be long before they would be associated with him. His sister would hopefully soon be married to a titled man. Thanks to
