A False Proposal by Pam Mingle

entering the room. She took a step backward, and then another, hardly aware she was doing it.
    “You’re going to bump into me if you don’t stop,” Jenny said under her breath. “What is she doing here, I wonder?”
    Cass stopped in her tracks and whispered over her shoulder. “Didn’t you know? She’s always fancied Adam.” She couldn’t express what she really thought, which was that Deborah, and possibly Adam, too, had singled Leonora out as the hostess-cum-wife every politician needed. At the ball, Adam had fervently denied any interest in her when she’d waltzed past. They may simply be courting her for her money. It all amounted to the same thing, didn’t it? Surely Leonora wouldn’t give of her money unless she got Adam, too.
    Cass’s spirits plummeted even further, if that was possible.
    …
    Lord, Adam wished he didn’t have to play host. He wanted nothing more than to corner Cassie and spend the evening with her. Clearly, that was not going to happen. Nor would it be a good idea. If he repeated that to himself often enough, maybe he could quit thinking about her so damn much.
    She was wearing an evening dress of apricot crepe cut low across her breasts. Tendrils of hair hung loose about her neck. Had they escaped from the knot at the top of her head, or had her hair been artfully arranged? Adam felt a stirring in his loins and was grateful for black evening pantaloons. Given the frequency with which they’d been in each other’s company of late, he was spending a good deal of time feeling…stirred. And more alive than he’d felt in years.
    Oh, God, here was Leonora. Wearing a gown of vermillion, with plenty of décolletage showing, she was a stunner, no doubt about it. With her raven hair, the deeper colors suited her best, and she knew it. All self-assurance and beauty, she dominated the room. He approached, and when she offered her hand, he brushed a kiss lightly across it, hating himself for doing it, especially with Cass watching.
    “Lady Leonora. So happy you could join us.”
    “I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”
    Was he obligated to escort her into dinner, since she was the highest-ranking woman present? Or would Jack have the honor? He wanted to escort Cassie, if he could possibly maneuver his way over to her. By the expression on her face, he could see she’d been appalled when Leonora made her grand entrance. It might be wiser to avoid Cass right now, as he did not wish to be on the receiving end of one of her stinging remarks. Coward , his inner voice taunted.
    Deborah, to his relief, was organizing the pairings. Jack was, indeed, escorting Leonora. His mother meant for him to pair with Jenny, but he decided instead to come to Jack’s rescue. “Give your arm to your lovely fiancée,” he said. “Lady Leonora, may I have the pleasure?” She smiled and immediately removed her hand from Jack’s sleeve and placed it on his own. Before leading the procession downstairs, Adam risked a quick glance back. His mother’s friend and admirer, Frederick Cochran, was walking alongside Deborah and the Morgan ladies, and Jenny’s parents were arm and arm. Hugh, to Adam’s dismay, was escorting Cassie. She met Adam’s glance boldly but briefly, and then turned to his brother, who was leaning down to whisper something in her ear.
    Damn him to hell !
    …
    Deborah had said Adam’s father allowed her to decorate the townhome. Obviously, he hadn’t worried about expense. Either that, or she was wealthy in her own right. The dining room was splendid. A gleaming mahogany table dominated the room, with chairs upholstered in striped silk at each place. One wall displayed landscapes, another, what Cass assumed were family portraits.
    Adam, flanked by Miss Morgan and Leonora, held court at one end of the table; Deborah at the other. And there sat Cass, stranded in the middle, Hugh on one side and Jenny’s father on the other. Good heavens, how was she to get through the lengthy meal