“Is she?” Fish smirked. “I doubt she’d like to discover that we’d snuck off to dally on a park bench.”
“It wouldn’t be any of her business.”
“If that’s what you think, then you’re still a fool.” She drew her hand from his and stepped away. “I better get inside. Libby will be looking for me.”
“Don’t abandon me. Not yet.”
“I’m sorry, but I have to.”
He smiled a delicious smile, and she was terrified he was about to beg her. She wasn’t sure she’d decline twice. She spun and hurried inside—before she could behave precisely as she shouldn’t.
Penny dawdled on the edge of the crowd surrounding Simon Falcon. He was performing magic tricks with a coin that had people gasping. He was so flamboyantly charming that it was difficult to not watch him.
He was slender and willowy, his body imbued with the grace of a dancer or an athlete, and he was incredibly handsome. His hair was blond, and his eyes blue, so he had the traits common to most any Englishman, but his hair was a golden blond, his eyes a dazzling blue. On him, the common traits were much more striking.
His hands were the most intriguing, moving with a casual air that was hypnotic. He talked constantly too, having an innate ability to keep the spectators laughing and listening.
She thought he was her same age of eighteen or perhaps he was a bit older than that, but he had a flair and confidence she would never have dared exhibit. She didn’t realize there were men who carried on so flagrantly, and his antics had her wishing she could carry on flagrantly too.
He’d been twirling a coin, then it vanished, and he held up his palms to prove it wasn’t there.
“Where is it?” he asked, then he turned to Penny and said, “Oh! I believe I see it!”
He walked over to her and brushed his fingers under her hair to caress her ear. The bold advance was audacious, and she should have been incensed that he’d touched her, but when he pulled his hand away, the coin had reappeared.
“Lady Penny!” he said. “You’re such a scamp. Why were you hiding it from us?”
He displayed it for everyone, and the observers clapped and patted him on the back. Several of them patted Penny on the back too, as if she’d been his assistant. He winked at her, and for just an instant, it seemed as if Time stood still. Sounds faded away, and there was only dashing, brazen Simon Falcon.
“More! More!” the crowd urged. “Show us another!”
He shrugged them off, but in an affable way. “I can’t show you all my tricks at once. You’ll stop thinking I’m interesting.”
People chuckled at that, and he sauntered away. She tried to ignore him as he left the room, but she couldn’t conceal her piqued attention. But then, all the young ladies were furtively peeking at him.
She tarried where she was until she felt she could wander off without others assuming she was following him, but she definitely was. When she finally found him, he was in a different parlor and over by the doors that led onto the verandah. He was posed there, as if he’d been waiting for her.
He noted her immediately, and he nodded pompously, as if she’d behaved exactly as he’d been expecting.
He grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing waiter, then went outside, providing a clear invitation that she should accompany him. She hesitated for a minute, then a minute more, and she couldn’t resist any longer than that.
Initially, she couldn’t see him anywhere. She rushed over to the balustrade, and he was out in the grass, standing under a lantern, and he motioned for her to come down.
She recognized that she was perched on the edge of a significant ethical cliff. It would be wrong to go to him. He would escort her farther into the garden. They would find a secluded spot and . . . what?
Probably kiss, but she was so naïve that she couldn’t guess with any certainty if that was what he planned.
At school, she and her classmates had spent untold hours, fantasizing about the husbands they would eventually have. They’d been determined to be swept off their feet by Prince Charming. In reality, they’d all been high-born heiresses who were destined to wed whomever their fathers picked. The man could be old or fat or horrid, and they’d have no say in the matter.
Their marriages would be contracted to make their fathers and husbands richer, to spur the united families to new heights of power and influence. Passion and love were irrelevant, but frivolous girls could always dream.
Her father was hosting her party for Luke, in the hopes that—at the conclusion—Luke would be so enamored of Penny that he would propose. Luke wasn’t the worst choice. He was handsome in a dark, severe manner, and he was calm and courteous. With his wealth and title, he was the biggest catch in the Marriage Market.
For the next two weeks, if Penny acted like the appealing, pretty girl she was, she could win him with very little effort. But did she really want him?
He was so old—twelve years older than she was!—and almost as old as her father. He was very much like her father too: stern in his attitudes, strict in his habits, and morally inclined in every situation.
Because his deceased brother had been a wastrel, he shared her father’s same zeal for quiet living and modest conduct. He wasn’t the type who would entertain a rapt crowd with his exploits. He would never deliberately make himself the center of attention.
Mr. Falcon gestured again, and he raised a brow in question. Was she coming or not?
He was able to read her mind, was able to understand how conflicted she was. If she took a step into the garden, she’d be crossing a line she shouldn’t cross. Then he
