Shattered Dreams by Laura Landon Page B

everyone was snickering at the unfortunate male who’d drawn the short straw and was forced to be her escort. And nearly always that male was the least handsome man in the room.
    Someone as magnificently handsome as the Earl of Charfield would never have been forced to be her escort.
    Elly lifted her shoulders and rushed to say the words she knew must be said before she lost courage.
    “I’d like to apologize. I didn’t realize Harrison intended to push me off onto you.”
    Charfield’s gaze narrowed.
    Elly raised her chin an inch higher and blurted out the rest of her words before she couldn’t. “I know we will probably be forced into each other’s company several times over the next two weeks but please understand that I do not expect you to repeatedly partner me.”
    The expression on his face turned darker, the look in his eyes more frigid. For several long seconds he didn’t say anything. Finally, he clamped his hands behind his back and drew a breath that broadened his shoulders even more.
    “I won’t insult your intelligence or mine by pretending I don’t know what you’re talking about. You have a slight limp. It obviously doesn’t hamper your ability to get from one place to the other and it definitely doesn’t impede your ability to ride. You handle a horse better than any female I’ve ever seen. What I don’t understand is why you would think such a minor physical imperfection would make a difference to me.”
    She knew she should be flattered by his compliments. There’d been a time when she would have been. But that was years ago. Now, his insincere comments only frustrated her.
    “Because it always has. I spent a whole London Season watching a room empty when I hobbled in.”
    “You don’t hobble.”
    “I observed everyone avert their gaze so they could pretend not to notice me.”
    “Well, I’m not looking away. I’ve noticed you. And I’m fascinated by you.”
    Elly tightened her fingers around the marble knob of her cane. “Well, don’t be. I accepted my future a long time ago.”
    He paused and cocked his head to the side. “What future is that?”
    Elly couldn’t answer him. The future she saw for herself wasn’t something she wanted to share with him. With anyone.
    Luckily, she didn’t have to say more because the door flew open and Harrison came down the hall at a pace that gave proof to his irritation. He was escorting Lady Lathamton, but from the expression on his face, having her anywhere near him was the last thing he desired.
    Charfield took a step. “This conversation isn’t over, Lady Elyssa.”
    Elly blinked. Did he think her offer to excuse him from partnering her was a test of what kind of man he was? Did he think she evaluated him and he didn’t want to seem lacking? Surely not.
    “My words weren’t a challenge, Lord Charfield. I wasn’t testing your gallantry.”
    “I didn’t think you were,” he said with more flippancy than his last remark. “I merely think you underestimate me.”
    “I—”
    He held up a finger to stop her words and nodded to where Harrison and Cassandra were coming down the hall. “They don’t seem any happier, do you think?”
    Elly shook her head.
    “I think perhaps keeping a friendly conversation going at dinner may well be a bit of a task tonight,” he said as the couple neared them.
    Because Harrison wasn’t married, the role of hostess automatically fell to her and if the deep furrows on Harrison’s forehead were any indication of his mood, they wouldn’t get two friendly sentences from him all night.
    “If you promise a rematch of our race today, I promise to be at my friendliest during dinner and help you keep the table conversation flowing.”
    She couldn’t help but smile. In fact, what she really wanted to do was lean up and kiss him on the cheek and whisper “thank you” in his ear. She pulled back, appalled that she’d had such a thought.
    “Thank you,” she said in a whisper that came out far too