A Gentleman's Kiss Read Free Page B

“Cameron was just telling me he hoped you would save him a dance.”
    Claudia wondered why. Then suddenly the woman’s agreeable attitude made sense. Lady Ravenhurst must have high hopes for her son and Claudia. “I don’t really dance—”
    “Oh, nonsense!” Lady Ravenhurst scanned the room. “Oh, there he is—standing by the painting of the Battle of Waterloo. We just added it to our collection, so I’m sure Cameron would love to show it to you.”
    Claudia looked about the room and noticed that all the paintings depicted different battles. Very strange décor for a ballroom, she thought. She wondered how she’d figure out which one was of Waterloo. “Um. . .I don’t know—”
    “Hurry along, dear, before another young lady monopolizes his time. We wouldn’t want that, would we?” she whispered knowingly, as if the two of them shared a secret.
    “I beg your par—,” she started to say, but Lady Ravenhurst had already turned and walked away. Claudia stared after her, trying to make sense of the one-sided conversation she’d just been a part of. Lady Ravenhurst was the rudest and quite possibly the strangest woman she’d ever met. She almost felt sorry for Lord Kinclary.
    Almost.
    She turned to the room at large then, and it was as if Moses himself had raised his staff because the crowd parted slightly, giving her a clear path to where the handsome earl stood.
    And he was indeed handsome, she thought, walking toward him. His dark blond hair seemed as untamed as it had been in the park, falling over his forehead and curling about his neck in a style longer than was fashionable. His dark grey coat and breeches fit him expertly, giving him an air of importance.
    It was not unlike watching the stance of an Indian warrior, which she’d encountered many times in Louisiana. In fact she could almost imagine him in buckskins, wearing the feathers of a chief with his long hair flowing in the wind.
    “Would you like a glass of punch, my lady?” a server asked, stepping in front of her and waking her from her odd musings. Claudia shook her head, dismissing the servant. She took a deep breath and cleared her head of her fanciful thoughts.
    How could she admire a man who was so obviously a snob and a cad?
    I couldn’t, of course , she assured herself as she started to walk again, only to find the object of her thoughts was no longer standing by the painting.
    Still feeling a bit flustered, she surveyed the room and finally found him by the painting of another battle, speaking to a pretty woman in a light pink dress.
    Claudia felt a pang of something that reminded her of jealousy when she saw the way the earl was smiling at the woman. But after reasoning with herself that she couldn’t feel jealousy when she didn’t even like the man, she headed in his direction again.
    She was almost there when he looked up and met Claudia’s gaze. On seeing her, his eyes lit up, and his lips curved into a smile.
    Suddenly she realized she was smiling back at him like a lovesick buffoon.
    “Lady Claudia,” he said in his low soft voice, “I had hoped you would come.”
    Claudia told herself over and over that she was here for Helen’s sake. She would not be charmed by this rogue, even though his words seemed to pour over her like honey and run straight to her heart.
    “Lord Kinclary,” she said coolly, “I had wanted to see you also.”
    She didn’t think it was possible, but his green eyes seemed to brighten even more, and Claudia knew her words had been misinterpreted.
    And not just by the earl. “Ahem!” The young woman beside him threw her a speculative look before gazing back up at Lord Kinclary. “Cameron, won’t you introduce us?” The woman nearly purred, and Claudia wondered if the high, syrupy tone was her natural voice or one she used only around men.
    Claudia did not miss the familiar use of his Christian name either. The young woman was crafty.
    It seemed almost a chore for Cameron to draw his gaze