“Yes … for as long as it would take to fry an egg!”

“No, longer,” she protested. “By that measurement, last night you could have fried up eggs for a regiment.”

“It wasn’t long enough,” Alex said against her lips. “I can’t take it, Charlotte. I feel insane with desire. I feel crazed. What if I lose my mind, strip off my clothes, run into Hyde Park naked, and end up in Bedlam?”

Charlotte chuckled, her eyes dancing. “If I thought that was going to happen I might insist we stay here until midnight.”

“Shhhh, Charlotte!” Alex quickly retorted. “If these old ladies knew how desperate you are to see me naked, there’s no telling what would happen to your reputation!”

“I am an old married lady, my lord.”

“So you don’t think that married ladies have sought my naked self?” Alex gave her a mocking leer.

“I’m a married lady, a married countess,” Charlotte said softly. “And I am very interested in your naked self.”

Alex’s eyes darkened and he swung her around in a circle. “I won’t answer that,” he finally said, in a rough undertone. Alex struggled for self-control, a common problem in the last few months. Lord, if only all those scandal-brewers knew how close he was to the opposite problem. Priapism, he fancied it was called. A constant, painful erection.

Chloe stood in the midst of a group of young ladies, watching the newlywed couple dance. Her eyes were wistful, even if her face was perfectly composed. The same couldn’t be said for her friend Sissy, who was openly gaping at Charlotte and Alex. In fact, Sissy was frantically deciding that she would marry Richard Felvitson, even if he was a younger son and declared absolutely ineligible by her mama. Look at Charlotte! She was marrying an “Ineligible Earl”—and look how happy she was! Unaware of Sissy’s reckless thoughts, Chloe struggled against the knowledge that her throat was tight with tears.

Charlotte’s dress had worked its magic for Chloe. In all, five gentlemen had requested the honor of taking her in to supper. But if Lord Holland was here, The Dress—as Chloe thought of it—hadn’t affected him. When Chloe first walked into the church she thought she caught a glimpse of his tousled blond curls, off to the left on a side aisle. But even when she craned her head to see him again she couldn’t find him. And if he was attending the ball he hadn’t bothered to ask her for a dance. Charlotte and Alex’s dance ended and the ball proper began.