Regency: Rakes & Reputations (Mills & Boon M&B) by Dorothy Elbury, Gail Ranstrom Page A

encounter.”
    “Then you cannot confirm or deny the rumors concerning Mr. Hunter’s…skills?”
    “Alas.”
Indeed.
The memory of that brief moment of promise brought a little smile to her lips.
    “Ah! I see you are gaining confidence, Gina.” Harriett squeezed her hand and winked at her sister. “Our little protégé is blooming.”
    Yes, she was gaining confidence but she was far from being at ease. She was acutely aware that there could be men present who had heard of her ordeal. Perhaps even a few who had been there, who had seen her. Though they were unlikely to mention it, she had felt the weight of clandestine eyes upon her.
    She glanced around the ballroom as they strolled toward the punch bowl, wondering if James Hunter was still there, watching her. When her eye caught Miss Metcalfe dancing a lively reel with an eager young man, she was suddenly struck with a memory. Metcalfe! Was that not a name she’d heard before? A man who had been a friend of Mr. Henley and who had been at that scandalous tableau?
    “Harriett, what can you tell me about Miss Metcalfe?” she asked. “Does she have family?”
    “Goodness, yes! A handsome brother by the name of Stanley.”
    “Is he here tonight?”
    Hortense craned her neck to look about in one direction while Harriett scanned the other. “I do not see him. Come to think of it, Harri, have we seen him at all in the last few weeks?”
    Harriett chortled. “No, but it does not matter. I do not think he would suit you, Gina.”
    “Oh?”
    “He is engaged to a dear friend of ours. Miss Christina Race. Have you met her?”
    Gina shook her head. In truth, she’d met very few people since arriving in London.
    “She and Missy have been almost inseparable since the engagement, have they not, Hortense?”
    Hortense nodded. “Like peas in a pod. Would you like to meet them? The reel is almost over and I believe I saw Christina near the fireplace.”
    Her heart beating harder, Gina donned an airy smile. “That would be lovely. The more people I meet, the less you will have to coddle me.”
    “Pshaw!”
Harriett laughed. “We adore coddling you, Gina. Why, introducing a pretty newcomer lends us a certain mystery and importance we do not possess on our own.”
    Gina laughed. She had noted how many heads the twins had turned, and not just because they were identical. They certainly did not need an unknown newcomer to gain attention.
    The twins flanked her as they headed toward the fireplace at one end of the ballroom, nodding at acquaintances as they passed. Their progress was slow and perfectly timed to coincide with the end of the reel.
    Gina had been watching the dancers and when they stopped she turned her attention back to the group at the fireplace. Surprise coupled with a twist of her stomach shot through her. There stood a lovely woman of average height with glossy black hair and eyes nearly as dark. Her fair complexion deepened with the pink of a blush as she recognized Gina’s face. The woman from the tableau—and she was engaged to Mr. Metcalfe!
    Hortense performed the introduction. “Miss Eugenia O’Rourke, I am pleased to present our dearest friend, Miss Christina Race. Miss Race, please meet Miss O’Rourke.”
    Gina noted the tiny plea in those eyes. Clearly the woman did not want to acknowledge their previous acquaintance. How could they ever explain that away? She took a deep breath. “Miss Race, how nice to make your acquaintance. I pray you will not hold these two against me,” she said with a nod toward the twins.
    The woman smiled and squeezed Gina’s hand in gratitude. “If you will do the same, Miss O’Rourke.”
    Harriett arched one elegant eyebrow. “Come now. Our reputations are not quite that bad.”
    Laughing and jesting with a young man over her shoulder, Miss Metcalfe returned from the dance floor and was quickly introduced. “O’Rourke? Is your sister the one who finally tamed Lord Libertine?”
    Gina frowned, unfamiliar with the