She forced a smile, knowing his words weren't true —other than the fact that her ball gown didn't come close to anything worn by the women in the room, she awkwardly stood by the wall like a social misfit.

“I'm not a lady, Lord Ashton.” She gently corrected his error of assuming that every woman in the room held a title. She wasn't a lady in the sense that he imagined her to be. “I'm Gretchen Riverside.”

“And you're American.” He observed her and she nodded, remembering the fact that her accent always gave her away. “Very well Miss Riverside, may I have this dance?”

Surprised, Gretchen opened her mouth to say no —the last thing she wanted to do was be the center of this large room's attention. She especially did not want Ethan to find her dancing with a strange man...

She paused, surprised by her line of thought. Why did it matter whether or not Ethan saw her? Surely, he wouldn't be offended. She knew he hadn't invited her to the ball just to have her stand by the side like a wallflower.

Still, for some reason, she didn't want him to think she was interested in another man.

She shook her head in a failed attempt to shake the thought away —Ethan wouldn't care whether or not she was interested in another man and if she wanted a future, then perhaps it was time she opened herself up to being courted by another man.

“Very well, Miss Riverside,” He said, releasing his hold on her hand. She glanced up to find him observing her with disappointment dimming his blue eyes. “Do have a good evening.” He placed his hand on his abdomen and bowed to the waist, before straightening and turning to walk away.

“Wait!” She called after him, gaining his attention. He turned sharply around and raised a brow. She imagined that he had interpreted the shake of her head earlier to mean a refusal to dance when in truth she had only been trying to rid her mind of thoughts of a different man. “I would...” She paused. “I would love to dance.”

A smile immediately spread across his handsome face as he held a hand out to her.

Placing her hand in his, she followed his lead to the dance floor, a soft sigh of surprise drifting from her lips when his arm circled her waist.

“Are you alright?” He frowned down at her.

Swallowing, she nodded; she simply needed to pull herself together.

They swayed to the slow tune of the music, her gaze sweeping the room for signs of Ethan. She found it impossible not to seek him out in the crowd. She wondered if he would be displeased by her decision to dance with this complete stranger.

Secretly, she hoped he would indeed be displeased. She hoped that so much more than displeased, he would be jealous to find her in the arms of another man.

Lost in her thoughts, she stepped on Lord Ashton's foot more times than was appropriate until she feared she had managed to leave him with a terrible bruise, even if he insisted he was fine and waved her apology aside.