So caught up in her friend's deftness, Alex forgot that she had been unceremoniously left with Blackmoor. Almost forgot, that is. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him take a breath; he was about to speak. She steeled herself for what she was certain would be a teasing remark about her clumsiness and attempted a look of polite disinterest in preparation for his comment.

"Would you care to dance, Alex?"

Polite interest switched to confusion. That was not what she had been expecting. Before she could find words to respond, Blackmoor had led her onto the dance floor and wrapped her up in his arms for her first waltz of the evening. Her first waltz ever with a man who was not her brother. They were twirling across the room when she finally found her tongue.

"I would, indeed, care to dance, Lord Blackmoor," she said wryly. "How kind of you to ask. Would you like to see my dance card?"

Ignoring her sarcasm, he deftly avoided another couple and spun her out of their way. "You can't have expected me to let your first ball go by without dancing with you, Alex. Considering your obvious attempt to escape Waring, it seemed there was no time like the present. Don't you think?"

"I fail to see that I had much of a choice, frankly," she said with a smile. "But I suppose it could have been much worse."

"Oh? How?"

"You could have stepped on my gown — Waring did it twice."

He gazed down at her attire, letting a few moments go by before he spoke, his voice quieter, more thoughtful than usual. "Criminal. 'Tis a stunning gown."

Even Alex couldn't ignore the way his appreciative comment made her feel. Tempering the urge to preen, she smiled up at him. "Why, thank you, my lord. I'm rather fond of it myself."

He cleared his throat almost inaudibly and said, "You look beautiful, Alex. All grown up." Blackmoor's grey eyes darkened, narrowing on the garment in question, then rising to meet her gaze. The look in his eyes was one she'd never seen before, and it sent a tremor of excitement through her as she felt heat rising in her cheeks again.

He looked away, then back again, and the emotion she had seen there was gone, so quickly that she couldn't be certain it was ever there to begin with.

She forced a smile, attempting to bring the conversation back to the realm of the comfortable. "Thank you, my lord."

"If I may speak frankly?"

"Certainly."

"I know you want to try out all your lessons, but take care with whom you test your skill s. I noticed how Stanhope was looking at you earlier."

"Lord Stanhope was a charming partner." Alex met Blackmoor's eyes, daring him to disagree. "I'm certain I don't know to what you are referring."

"I think you know all too well to what I'm referring. Any man would have to be blind not to notice you. This dress is designed to lure a lion. I assure you that particular lion will bite."

"What are you saying?"

"Simply that I would prefer not to have to play protector tonight. I merely caution you to think twice before getting wrapped up with Stanhope, or any like him."

Alex's spine stiffened in response. Her tone turned frosty. "As usual, my lord, your caution — or shall I say interference? — is unnecessary. Need I remind you that I've been managing Freddie Stanhope since he was in short pants?"

His chuckle held no humor. "Take my advice, Alex. Your 'Freddie' is no longer in the schoolroom. And you're out of your league if you think you can, as you say, 'manage' him. Just because you wear a gown that marks you as all grown up doesn't mean you are prepared to take him on."

Alex's temper flared. "I require neither your advice, nor your opinion, my lord. I would thank you to remember that, besides the fact that you're not that much older than I am, I already have a father — and three brothers. I hardly need another overbearing male telling me what to do and with whom to do it."

"More like what not to do. And with whom not to do it."

She inhaled in a sharp intake of air, eyes narrowing, and made a move to leave him mid-waltz. To an outside observer, nothing changed about their movements — but Alex felt Blackmoor's arms turn to stone around her. He held her fast, and tight, and his voice lowered. "You will finish this waltz with me, Alexandra. I will not allow you the pleasure of giving me a set-down at your first ball."

Recognizing how damaging leaving him on the dance floor would have been to his reputation, not to mention her own, Alex remained in his arms, thoughts reeling. Why was she responding to him so strangely tonight? Ordinarily, she would have laughed off his concern. Clearly something was amiss. After all, hadn't she noticed the cut of his waistcoat, the width of his shoulders? In seventeen years, she had never noticed anything special about Gavin. And yet, even now, through her irritation and her anger, she was acutely aware of his hand on the small of her back, the heat of his gloved palm through the silk of her gown, the feel of his fingers resting against hers. What was wrong with her?

Alex looked up at him, searching his gaze for a hint of what he was really thinking. He was usually so unflappable, so calm, and yet — he had been tight with anger at the thought that Stanhope might have been interested in her. Was it possible he was experiencing the same mix of bizarre feelings that she was tonight? Could it be that he, too, had felt the tremor of emotion pass between them? Now his grey eyes were unreadable behind a mask of civility.

"I don't know what to say." She spoke quietly. "The excitement of the evening seems to have addled my brain a bit."

His gaze softened. "I shouldn't have taken such liberties. You are, of course, right. I am neither your father nor your brother. Let's not think of it again."

There was something about his comment that left Alex feeling even more unsettled. They'd always been as close as siblings; was he pulling away? She shook herself mentally. This new world was already turning her into a cabbagehead, and she'd only been a part of it for an evening. "That," she said, pushing her disquiet to the back of her mind, "sounds like an excellent idea."

He smiled and took a deep breath. "I forget, sometimes, that you aren't that little girl stuck up in a tree, Minx. It's hard not to jump in to save you whenever I think I should."

There was a pause before Alex could think of a retort. "Well, don't go shirking your duties as savior altogether." Her smile turned into a knowing grin.

"After all... who else will save me from eager suitors with leaden feet?"

The couples around them turned to look as he laughed — entirely too loudly.

six

After the waltz, Blackmoor and Alex joined a waiting Vivi, Ella, and Will at the far end of the ball room. The orchestra had paused in its performance, and Alex took a moment to drink in the sights and sounds of the ball room — the experience of her first event of the season. The room was lit with thousands of candles placed in chandeliers high above the crowd of people. No one seemed bothered by the hot wax that dripped from the light fixtures; they were far too dazzled by the glorious satins and silks in every imaginable color that were illuminated around the room.

The roar of chatter was deafening — it made conversation nigh impossible if one wasn't within inches of one's partner — but over the crowd, Alex could pick out some unique sounds: Ella and Vivi's laughing chatter with Blackmoor and Will, the rustle of skirts as a gaggle of other young women brushed past her, the deep rumbling voices of a nearby group of men talking about a foxhunt planned for the coming week's end. Alex watched the hundreds of men and women making their way across the ball room to the refreshment room and back again, stopping every few feet to speak to old acquaintances or to make new ones.

Tonight, London society was at its best: the women, dressed in gowns that could feed dozens of London's less fortunate, ready for another four months of gossip and jockeying for position; the men eager for another season to begin, keeping the women entertained and out of their orbit for a time. Alex was acutely aware of the elaborate game that played out around her as she surveyed the scene. In London, it really was about whom you were seen speaking with, especially at Almack's, and tonight offered a new set of chances to those with less title and less money to raise their own visibility by being spied in conversation with the most powerful members of the ton.

She shook her head, amazed at the arbitrary rules of the game as she watched the odious Duchess of Barrington, whose opinion — thanks to a very smart marriage match — mattered above most others in this world, regard a group of eager young hopefuls with devastating disinterest. With her searing ennui, the duchess was in stark relief to Alex's own parents, just as powerful in this room, who she noticed were graciously accepting the acquaintance of a young woman who certainly hadn't met a duke and duchess before tonight. The girl, Alex's age, blushed prettily and fell into a deep curtsy as the Duchess of Worthington spoke, and Alex smiled with pride as her mother introduced the newcomer to Nick, who, ever the gentleman, responded to the introduction with elegant ease.

It just goes to show,  she thought to herself, throwing an unnoticed glare in the direction of the Duchess of Barrington, a title guarantees neither grace nor charm.

Her reverie was cut short by the arrival of Penelope Grayson. Penelope's father, the Marquess of Haverford, was an old acquaintance of the Duke of Worthington, and the girls had spent much of their youth together as victims of that timeless parental blunder — the theory that, if adults enjoyed one another's company, their children must certainly do the same. And so she had been thrust into nurseries with Penelope for the duration of their joint childhood, forced to suffer her whining demands, her vapid dissertations on fashion and beauty, and her rather tiresome tendency toward bullying.

Alex could have forgotten all of Penelope's youthful transgressions if the other girl hadn't grown into a stunningly beautiful and spoiled woman, who never saw fit to alter her nasty habits. Alex sighed and exchanged a look with Vivi, who offered a generous smile in Penelope's direction. "Penelope! How lovely to see you."

Lady Penelope didn't spare a glance in Vivi's direction. She knew what, or rather whom,  she was after, and she didn't waste time.

"Lord Blackmoor." Her voice was rich and smooth like caramel syrup. "I was afraid I might miss you in the crush, and I would have been devastated to miss our dance."

One of Alex's eyebrows kicked up at Penelope's blatant forwardness. She met Ella's eyes with surprise before returning her attention to the scene unfolding before them.

Blackmoor had taken Penelope's boldness in stride and, as the orchestra was beginning a new song, he extended his arm to his partner. "Lady Penelope, it would be my pleasure to partner you through the next quadrille. Shall we?"

And with that, they were off, into the throngs of revelers, leaving Alex speechless, staring after them. Almost speechless, that is. "Did you see that?!"

Vivi looked after Blackmoor and Penelope. "I will confess, she did seem a trifle presumptuous. And rather rude also. Was it me? Or did she completely ignore us?"

Ella spoke up: "'T’wasn't you. She did, indeed, ignore us. But, in all honesty, Penelope has never cared much for us. I like to believe it's because our conversation is much too intellectual for her taste."

Alex snorted in a truly unladylike manner. "That's definitely it. But she's found her match in Blackmoor! Look at him! He's positively thrilled that she threw herself at him!" She watched as the couple in question spun away into the crowd, Blackmoor smiling down at some quip from Penelope. rolling her eyes in disgust, she turned back to her friends.

"I really don't think anyone can blame us for wanting no part of the marriage mart if she is already the belle of the ball," Ella said. "My mother even had the audacity to ask me earlier if I didn't think I should have a gown made like hers! Lord deliver me from the London season!"

Vivi smiled. "It is enough to make one wish one could hide behind a potted fern for the entire evening, isn't it?"

Will cut in here, reminding the girls that he was with them. "I suppose I could deign to save at least one of you from another tedious dance partner. Lady Vivian? Shall we?" He held out a gloved hand to Vivi.