in3 by Lord Of Seduction

Author:Lord Of Seduction
Language: eng
Format: epub

But then memory descended mercilessly—the bitter shame of her jilting and the scandal that followed.

The pain of being branded an outcast, so devastatingly alone.

Seeing Lady Ackland's tight, jealous smile, however, Diana crushed the tangled emotions knotting her insides and somehow managed a civil welcome. Then she introduced Lord and Lady Ackland to her current betrothed.

She could tell at once that Thorne recognized the title, for his gaze sharpened and his tone turned cool as he greeted the baron and baroness.

As soon as the couple had moved away, Thorne bent to murmur grimly in Diana's ear. "So he was the bastard who broke your heart. That explains why you've been so quiet all evening. Why you've had that troubled frown between your eyes."

Still a little unsteady, Diana refrained from replying, although she wasn't surprised by Thorne's perceptiveness, since he missed little.

Fortunately, the next guests in line commanded their attention. Shortly afterward, the receiving line was disbanded and the ball opened with the first dance, a cotillion.

Thorne led Diana out, yet it was hardly the opportune moment for private conversation. Halfway through, Diana recalled she had meant to speak to him about Venus. She had to wait for more than a half hour, though, when Thorne whisked her into a waltz, before she could mention her discovery.

When she told him the name and location of the orphanage where Venus had been raised, Thorne promised to follow up on the new lead promptly. Yet he seemed surprisingly uninterested in her achievement.

It was just then that she spied Francis waltzing with his wife. Quite without meaning to, Diana found herself studying her former suitor, asking herself how she could have fallen so ardently in love with him.

Certainly she understood why, as a girl, she would have thought him devastatingly handsome. And why she would have been attracted to his artist's soul. No doubt also, she had been too naive then to recognize the shallowness of his character.

But only now could she comprehend the deeper forces that had driven her: how vulnerable she had been then, how needy.

She'd been an orphan much of her life. Even though she had a dear family—her aunt and uncle and cousins—she'd felt an undeniable sense of alone-ness. Francis had somehow filled that aching void inside her, had fulfilled her yearning for love.

Diana shook her head sadly, letting out a deep sigh.

She wasn't aware her gaze was still riveted on Francis until she felt Thorne's arm tighten about her waist.

"You should keep your attention focused on me," he said in a biting tone as he whirled her away. When Diana glanced up at him, she saw his jaw was set in a hard line.

Feeling herself flush, she wished the dance would end. Thorne was an expert at waltzing, but the press of bodies and the heat from the myriad chandeliers seemed suddenly oppressive, while the exertion left her feeling a bit dizzy.

Perhaps Thorne noticed her discomfort, for at the conclusion, he wordlessly urged her out the open French doors and onto the terrace.

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