Page 35 of Unmasking the Diamond
Her answering smile was radiant, triumphant, and it tugged an answering curve from his own lips before he could stop it. “I can agree to that.”
“Good,” he murmured, resuming their slow circuit of the room. “I will admit that you continue to impress me.”
She looked amused. “You sound surprised.”
“I am,” he admitted. “You are the diamond, the chosen one by the queen. People view you as perfection.”
At that, her expression faltered, a faint frown curving her lips. “I am far from perfect.”
“You play the part well.”
“Who says I am pretending?”
“I can see it in your eyes,” he countered. “You are bored with being the diamond.”
“You are wrong.” Her voice carried a quiet intensity. “I love being the diamond. It has given me unparalleled access to write my articles.”
“I don’t doubt that,” he said, though he couldn’t resist pushing further, “but aren’t you tired of being the envy of theton?”
Miss Winslow looked away. “It is nice being admired.”
“But that isn’t why you are doing it,” he pressed, lowering his voice so only she could hear. “You are smart, and you have positioned yourself well.”
“Is there a point to this, my lord?”
He chuckled, unable to help himself. “Why don’t you like me?”
She stiffened. “It is hard to like a thorn in one’s side. You tease me relentlessly.”
“It is fun,” he said with a grin, “to see you ruffle your perfect feathers.”
She narrowed her eyes into a glare. “Will you stop saying I’m perfect? I am far from it.”
“You could have fooled me,” he said. “You have not made one misstep, and that is quite rare in our circles. Every young woman wants to be you, and every eligible young man wants to pursue you.”
They came to a stop, and she turned to face him. Her mask slipped, if only slightly. “I am only doing what I must to achieve what I want most.”
His curiosity sharpened, cutting through the banter. “And what is that?”
Her gaze flicked towards her family before lowering, her voice soft, nearly swallowed by the hum of the room. “Acceptance.”
Luca had expected her to say acclaim, or perhaps freedom, but not this. “But you are already accepted by theton.”
“No, you misunderstand me,” she replied, her tone steady though her eyes shimmered with something deeper. “I don’t truly care about being accepted by them. I want to be enough for myself. To have nothing to prove to anybody.”
For a rare moment, Luca found himself without a retort. Her words lodged deep in him, raw and unpolished, and he realized he had only glimpsed the surface of Miss Winslow.
And he very much wanted to see what lay beneath.
A discreet clearing of a throat snapped Luca out of the moment. He turned his head and found his brother watching him.
“It is late,” Jude said, though there was a faint edge beneath the civility. “We do not want to overstay our welcome.”
Luca inclined his head. “You are right, of course.” He turned back to Miss Winslow. Reaching for her hand, he brought it up to his lips. “Goodnight, Diamond.”
“You can’t help yourself, can you?” she muttered.
He smiled unabashedly. “Not when I am around such beauty.” He released her hand with reluctance. “Until tomorrow. For our carriage ride.”
