She had no answer to that, so she lifted her chin. She wasn’t supposed to tell anyone her name. Not until she was announced. At the time, she’d thought Eleanor’s dictate ridiculous. After all, who would see her but the servants? This man, apparently. So she smiled and folded her hands before her, secretly pressing her ring against her finger. This was her first truetonmeeting, and she needed the reassurance of Trevor with her, if only in the form of a hard cricket ring.
“Allow me to present myself. Mr. Carl Rausch, at your service,” he said.
She dipped her chin. “I am pleased to meet you, sir.”
“No need to tell me who you are. You’re the mysterious Miss Smithson. And I must say, you’re living up to expectations.”
She arched a brow. “We’ve only just met, sir. I cannot have lived up to anything.”
“On the contrary,” he said as he leaned negligently against the door frame. “You are indeed beautiful. I believe the betting books were in your favor on that. Trevor was never one for ugly girls.”
She kept her expression calm, but internally, she winced. Part of her couldn’t help wondering if that was one of the reasons Trevor told her they wouldn’t suit: because she wasn’t beautiful enough.
“And Miss Smithson, I’m afraid I have a secret source. You see—I know your uncle.”
She blinked. “What?”
“Yes, he and I have had some dealings regarding his mill.”
“But I have nothing to do with the mill.”
His smile widened to the point that it appeared nearly wolfish. Angular face, wide smile that showed teeth, and those rakish black locks. Mellie silently revised her estimate of him. He was not handsome, but he was vastly interesting. Especially as he spoke of her greatest accomplishment with admiration.
“I know that you are the one responsible for the bleaching process your uncle uses. I also know that you have continued to work and have an exciting new formula. And that, my dear, makes you brilliant.”
She felt her cheeks heat. Finally, someone who understood that she was smart. As fun as it was to wear a gown covered in feathers, this was true pleasure. This was someone who appreciated the years of dedicated effort she had put into science.
“Do the betting books also list me as a bluestocking?”
“Strangely, no. But I believe that is the work of Lady Eleanor. Bluestockings cannot be of the first stare of fashion, and so she has likely downplayed your intelligence.” Again his smile widened. “I believe I shall win a great deal of money when your true talents are revealed.”
“You bet on my intelligence?” She ought to be insulted, but she wasn’t. He was obviously a discerning man, and so why shouldn’t he make money by learning the truth about her?
“I did.” He pushed off the wall to fully enter the salon. “Do prove me correct by allowing me to introduce you to my chemical society friends. I believe you and they will have a great deal to talk about.”
“You are not a student yourself?”
“Not of the sciences, though I enjoy a mathematical discourse or two. My interests lie more in the realm of economics.”
“Money,” she said.
“And how to make a lot of it.”
He was completely unabashed in his mercenary desire, and in this he reminded her of her uncle. Though her uncle was never this handsome or this refined. While she stood there mentally comparing him to her uncle, he stepped directly before her, possessed her hand, and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. Then he continued to hold her hand as he gazed into her eyes.
“Do say yes,” he said. Only he didn’t just say it. He smiled it. He teased it. No, hepersuadedit. And her.
“Yes,” she said before she even remembered what she was agreeing to.
“Excellent,” he said as he lifted her hand even higher. There, dangling on her wrist, was her dance card. “I shall find you for our dance and then lead you to supper afterward. Most of my friends can join us then.”
“Oh no,” she said. “I’m sure I’m supposed to go into supper with Trevor.”
He arched his brows as he wrote his name on her card. “Trevor should join us then,” he said. “He always enjoys a lively scientific debate.”
“Of course he does,” she said, feeling rather dazzled by the way he simply took possession of her hand, her dance card, and her activities. It was the last part that annoyed her the most. So she pulled her card back, but not before he’d scrawled his name on the last dance before supper. “He and I are affianced, and this is our first ball together. Wouldn’t it be odd if I made plans without him?”
He straightened, pursed his lips, and seemed to consider her thoughts. “I can see your point, but I’m afraid it betrays your country upbringing.Toncouples do not live in one another’s pockets.” Then he shrugged. “But do as you wish. I have no interest in making things awkward for you. I simply thought you would enjoy my friends’ company.”