Chapter 2All his attention was apparently on the lady determinedly teasing him. But, out of the corner of his eye, Sebastian noted the tall dark stranger leave the fray. How disapproving he looks, he thought with inner amusement, and how deliciously stern. Dismissing the incident, he turned his full focus to his eagerly flirtatious audience, perfectly executing his social duty with seasoned panache.
Sebastian might have forgotten about the lowering stranger who lurked at the edges of the ballroom had he not been a continual presence. After a short interval, when the dancing re-started, the man returned to his post near the refreshment table and stood there stiffly, as if on sentry duty. He was ship-shape in his dark blue naval officer’s uniform, his long dark hair severely tied back from
