The Perfect Waltz Read Online Free PDF Page B

be something—payment of a gambling debt or some such thing—mark my words.”
    “I wouldn’t be so sure.” Hope regarded the two men thoughtfully. There was genuine friendship there, she felt certain. And while the tall man looked as if he would not care the snap of his fingers about flouting the law, he looked too . . . too big, somehow, to stoop to blackmail. Blackmail was a weak person’s weapon. This man didn’t appear to have a weak bone in his body.
    And for a man who had supposedly pushed himself into society, he made no attempt to ingratiate himself. Mushrooms and parvenus made every effort to charm. This man made no effort Hope could see to please or charm anyone. Unless he thought scowling fiercely and looking bored and impatient was charming, she thought with an inner giggle.
    “What did you say his name was?”
    “I didn’t.” Mrs. Jenner took a long, pointed sip of her ratafia. “Are not the decorations elegant tonight?”
    “Yes, very elegant,” Hope agreed. “And his name is . . . ?” She found her chaperone’s determination to shelter them irritating in the extreme. Hope was very well aware of Great Uncle Oswald’s ambition for her and Faith to make a splendid match—preferably to a duke or a marquess—but this was their second season, and they weren’t schoolroom misses, to be sheltered from unpleasant truths.
    Mrs. Jenner took out her fan and fanned herself with a faint air of desperation. “Of course it is most agreeable for the Framptons to host such a squeeze, but really, I do find this room overly warm.”
    “Yes, quite warm,” Hope said affably, “but that breeze from these windows is very refreshing, is it not? I can always discover his name from someone else, you know. I am certain a dozen people would be only too happy to inform me. The ton has such a sad predilection for gossip, does it not?”
    “Most reprehensible,” responded Mrs. Jenner limply. “Oh very well, his name is Reyne, Mr. Sebastian Reyne.”
    Sebastian Reyne. It suited him. Big and dark and somehow . . . mysterious. “And—?” Hope prompted.
    Mrs. Jenner rolled her eyes. “He has sprung from nowhere, has plenty of money—though the source of his wealth is . . . muddy.”
    “He has no family, then?”
    Mrs. Jenner pursed her lips. “As to that, the Reyne family is well-known, but they don’t recognize this fellow.”
    Hope frowned. “You mean he is illegitimate? If that’s true, it’s unfortunate, but I don’t see that he can be blamed for it. It is no reason why he should be shunned, for there are any number of people we know who are not their father’s true child—it is an open secret.”
    Mrs. Jenner was scandalized. “Hush! Do not think to compare genteel people of the ton with such as he! All I said was that the Reynes do not know him. Anyone can use a name. Whether they have a right to it is another matter.”
    “Well, why is he so undesirable, then?” her twin sister asked. “He does look rather sinister. That black frown is quite intimidating. Is that what you mean?”
    Sinister was putting it a bit strongly, Hope thought. Intimidating was right. He looked at her as if he could just stride over, pick her up, and carry her off.
    She wondered briefly what it would be like to be picked up and carried off by such a man. She wouldn’t like it, she decided.
    Mrs. Jenner shook her head. “I’m not basing my opinion on just his looks—though I do agree, my dear, he is quite ugly.”
    “Ugly!” Hope exclaimed involuntarily. “I don’t think he’s ugly at all. Rather severe-looking, to be sure, but there is a certain . . . masculine strength about him that some might find appealing.” She caught the surprised looks of both her sister and her chaperone and broke off, flushing self-consciously. “Not me! You know perfectly well, Faith, he is not my type. But you cannot deny he is interesting.”
    Interesting was an understatement. It was riveting the way he’d watched her,