Matthew glanced down at her almost absently. “Why not?”

“Because I didn’t put your name into the hat!”

He made his face unreadable. “Obviously someone did,” he said, and jerked his arm from her clutches.

A nervous hush fell over the room as Matthew approached Daisy, and then excited titters scattered through the group. Daisy controlled her expression admirably, but there was a frantic riot of color on her face. Her slender body was as tense as a bowstring. She forced a careless smile on her lips. Matthew could see the violent pulse in her throat. He wanted to put his mouth on that visible throb and stroke it with his tongue.

Stopping in front of her, he held her gaze, trying to read her thoughts.

Just who held the upper hand in this situation?

Ostensibly he did…but Daisy was the one who had called his name.

She had chosen him. Why?

“I heard you during the game,” Daisy said, so softly that no one else could make out the words. “You sounded like a cow with digestive problems.”

“Judging from the results, my cow was better than Llandrindon’s cricket,” Matthew pointed out.

“He didn’t sound at all like a cricket. He sounded as if he were clearing phlegm from his throat.”

Matthew sternly choked back a sudden laugh. She looked so annoyed and adorable that it was all he could do not to snatch her against him. Instead he said, “Let’s get this over with, shall we?”

He wished Daisy wouldn’t blush so hard. Her fair coloring made it even more apparent, her cheeks like scarlet poppies.

There was a collective intake of breath from the group as Matthew stepped closer until their bodies were nearly touching. Daisy’s head fell back, her eyes closing, her lips slightly pursed. Reaching for her hand, Matthew lifted it to his lips and pressed a chaste kiss to the backs of her fingers.

Daisy’s eyes snapped open. She looked stunned.

More laughter from the group, and a few playfully chiding cries.

After trading a few good-natured quips with some of the gentlemen, Matthew turned to Daisy and said in a pleasant but decisive tone, “You had mentioned earlier, Miss Bowman, that you wanted to look in on your sister at this time. May I escort you to her?”

“But you can’t leave!” Cassandra Leighton exclaimed from the back of the room. “We’ve only just begun!”

“No, thank you,” Daisy told Matthew. “I’m certain my sister can wait a bit longer while I enjoy myself here.”

Matthew gave her a hard, penetrating glance. He saw from the sudden change in her expression that she understood.

He was calling in the favor.

Leave with me now, his gaze commanded, and no arguing.

He saw also that Daisy wanted badly to refuse him, but her own sense of honor would not allow that. A debt was a debt.

Daisy swallowed hard. “On the other hand…” She nearly choked on the words. “…I did promise to sit with my sister while she had her tea.”

Matthew presented his arm to her. “At your service, Miss Bowman.”

There were a few protests, but by the time they had crossed the threshold, the group was busy organizing another game. God knew what minor scandals were brewing in the parlor. As long as neither himself nor Daisy was involved, Matthew didn’t give a damn.

Daisy snatched her hand away from his arm as soon as they entered the hallway. They proceeded several yards and came to the open doorway of the library. Seeing that it was empty, Daisy charged into the room without a word.

Matthew went in after her and closed the door for privacy. It wasn’t proper, but neither was brawling in the hallway.

“Why did you do that?” Daisy demanded, rounding on him immediately.

“Take you away from the games?” Disconcerted, Matthew adopted a censorious tone. “You shouldn’t have been there, and you know it.”

Daisy was so furious that her dark eyes seemed to be shooting sparks. “Where should I have been, Mr. Swift? Reading alone in the library?”

“That would have been preferable to causing a scandal.”

“No it wouldn’t have. I was exactly where I belonged, doing exactly what everyone else was doing, and everything was just fine until you ruined it!”

“I?” Matthew couldn’t believe his ears. “I ruined the evening for you?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

She glared at him accusingly. “You didn’t kiss me.”

“I…” Caught off-guard, Matthew stared at her in bewilderment. “I did kiss you.”

“On the hand,” Daisy said scornfully, “which means absolutely nothing.”

Matthew wasn’t certain how he had been so abruptly derailed from self-righteous superiority to affronted protest. “You should be grateful.”

“For what?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I saved your reputation.”

“If you had kissed me,” Daisy retorted, “it could only have improved my reputation. But you rejected me publicly, which means Llandrindon and Mardling and all the rest know there is something wrong with me.”

“I didn’t reject you.”

“It certainly felt like rejection, you cad!”

“I am not a cad. If I had kissed you in public, then I would be a cad.” Matthew paused before adding in baffled irritation, “And there is nothing wrong with you. Why the devil would you say that?”

“I’m a wallflower. No one ever wants to kiss me.”