He pushed down the currents swirling in his breast.Tomorrow he would propose the unthinkable. But just seeing Miss Rochewell tonight shook him. Her knowledge of his secrets had been disconcerting. What he had accepted on a ship in midocean seemed absurd in the middle of Lady Jersey’s great hall. Did it seem that way to her as well? Was she sorry she knew so much about so vile a monster? Still, she had danced with him. The feel of her waist beneath the horrid lavender muslin she was wearing still seemed to burn his palm. He could still feel her small fingers in his other hand. Why could he think of nothing else? Was he afraid of her? She could further his plans or refuse to fall in with them. That was it. She would not reveal him. On the contrary, it was the fact that she would keep his secret to her grave that made her dangerous.“Lord, Rufford,” Beatrix was saying as she undid the buttons of her long white gloves. “You are the catch of the town. You could have your pick of any female in the room tonight.”
