Insufferable

Chapter 6

It had been an hour and Kate could say that balls weren't all what they seemed to be. She had danced with two suitors who had stood on her toes and almost made her seem a fool. She was stood by herself away from the crowd of gossiping mothers and men who had a little to much to drink. "Hiding already? It's only been an hour." Kate didn't turn her head as the Viscount spoke, instead watched as Lady Featherington tried to make her daughters chest look perkier for Lord Fife who kept staring. "Yes well, I'm not one for crowds and I'm sorry to say that a lot of your townsmen are unbearable ." Kate furrowed her brows as she heard him chuckle. It was unfamiliar compared to his hard stares and demanding tone. "I must agree with you, Miss Shaw. Either way they are my townspeople and no matter how odd we all are we've known each other a very long time." Kate turned around and faced the Viscount, catching herself off guard when she realised he was a lot closer then she thought. He wasn't bad looking either, quite attractive actually and she didn't know how she hadn't seen it before. "You speak in sentiment, is that real emotion from the Viscount? Shocker." She watched as his jaw tightened and she smirked. She was rather good at getting under his skin. "Care to dance, Miss Shaw?" The viscount stuck his hand out and Kate hesitantly placed her gloved hand in his. His skin was rough, that of a working man, but still soft to the touch.

He pulled her to the dance floor as the orchestra played a romantic tune and the pair immediately began to dance. There was something about the way he held her in his grip, how he didn't let her fall or trip when she swayed and twirled that made her heart feel warm. As she spun into his chest, she could feel his warm breath tingling on the back of her neck. The entire crowd had stopped along with the other dancing couples to watch as the heartless rake of a Viscount danced to his hearts content with the new woman in town. A perfect match, most would say. As the music came to a stop, the pairs faces were so close that their noses nearly touched. Kate came back to reality and stumbled out of the Viscounts arms, giving a quick curtsy before rushing off to the terrace ignoring the applause from the ballroom.

The cool night air did much to take Kate from her daze. She had no idea what had come over her, call it the spur of the moment or what not but whatever it was she couldn't decide if she enjoyed the feeling.

She knew that night would be the last time she'd act kindly towards the Viscount, after all she couldn't go falling in love with a man like him.