A Common Scandal by Amanda Weaver Page B

brushing his lips over her knuckles. He held on to her hand for a beat too long and looked back up at her face, smiling again, as if they shared some intimacy. This move had worked on many women in the past, and indeed, Julia’s eyes widened. The corner of her mouth twitched, but before it could all resolve into an expression he could read, it vanished again behind her mask of cool composure, leaving him uncertain as to how he’d been received.
    Perhaps she was a cerebral sort of girl, more impressed by conversation than the promise of physical intimacies.
    “I’ve been so eager to meet you, Mr. Smythe. I understand you are a ship owner like my father.” Her manner was forthright, no flirtatious simpering. But she’d known who he was in advance of this meeting, which was promising.
    “My commercial endeavors pale in comparison to your father’s, but yes, I am in shipping.”
    She smiled slightly. Those intelligent eyes examined him. “How delightful.”
    For the life of him, he couldn’t read her response, and generally he had no problem determining the wishes of the fairer sex. Despite her admission of wishing to meet him, he didn’t sense any sort of feminine interest. There wasn’t a hint of flirtation about her. Perhaps this was why she remained unmarried, a social awkwardness that made other men ill at ease. So, she was terrible at flirting. She wasn’t unpleasant or offensive. Nate wasn’t so easily dissuaded.
    Mrs. Lamott cleared her throat. “If you’ll excuse me,” she said icily. “I see Lady Bartleby coming in and I should say hello.”
    “Not at all, Mrs. Lamott. I’ll see to Lady Julia.” He gave Julia a conspiratorial wink. Quite bold, considering they were strangers. She smiled blandly back at him and said her goodbyes to Mrs. Lamott.
    “Well, Lady Julia...” Now that he’d achieved his goal of getting her alone, he was at a loss. All his usual flirtations felt as if they might bounce off her like a wall. “Are you looking forward to tonight’s performance?”
    “Oh yes, I am fond of music,” she replied.
    “Yes...me, too,” Nate said lamely. Julia smiled on, serene and impenetrable.
    He glanced over her shoulder, scrambling for a new topic. Amelia was already seated between her father and Mr. Cheadle, who were having a conversation across her. Her eyes wandered about the room in abject boredom. Oh, that was a look he remembered well. It was the one always preceding some shocking behavior or dangerous stunt. Did this adult Amelia still respond to boredom by getting herself into trouble?
    Her gaze fell on him and, for a moment, a hot wave of awareness surged through his body. Seeing Amelia all grown-up was still startling. How he reacted to the woman she’d become was even more so. Who would have guessed the scrawny girl with tangled curls, muddy hems and skinned knees would grow into the woman across the room? The jet-black curls and flashing dark eyes were still the same, but they’d all come together in a way he’d have never predicted.
    Just as he was getting lost examining the pale curves of her shoulders and the graceful arch of her neck, her eyes snapped to Julia and narrowed. She looked back at him, rolling her eyes before turning away. The little baggage. She was the same Amelia after all.
    He turned back to Lady Julia. No distractions, not when he’d finally launched the campaign he’d been planning for months. The prize was before him; he needed only to figure out how to win it. “Lady Julia, may I escort you to your seat?”
    She gave him another unreadable smile and took his offered arm. “That would be delightful. I think we have a great deal to talk about, Mr. Smythe.”
    Nate couldn’t imagine what she meant, but he wasn’t about to disagree with her. No matter what Julia Harrow wanted to discuss, he’d do it happily.
    Really? An earl’s daughter and Natty ?
    Amelia watched Natty escorting Lady Julia Harrow to her seat, stewing on an emotion that stung in