Page 73 of Her Wolf of a Duke

“Very well, you may ask my sister.”

“But she–”

“Does not want to dance with you. Is that what you were going to say?”

“She hasn’t said that to me, no.”

“Liar,” Sarah hissed, but Emma nudged her gently.

“Then you may ask her now. I do not speak for her.”

“Then where is your father?”

“He prefers not to attend events such as this one. I am my sister’s chaperone for this evening, and so you must either ask for my permission or that of my sister. The choice is yours.”

“Then I shall ask for yours, Your Grace. Given how your marriage came to be, you understand far better than your sister what it means to do what is necessary.”

She raised an eyebrow, knowing that an easy escape had been found.

“Are you making suggestions that my marriage is illegitimate?” she asked, enjoying the look of panic on his face.

“No, of course not. I am only saying that you know that marriage can help your reputation when needed.”

“And whose reputation requires aid? It certainly would not be that of Miss Kendall, whose sister is a duchess,” she answered, meeting his eyes evenly to prove her point. “Not only that, but given that she already has a suitor that is showing interest in her—one that is of similar age to her at that—I do not believe there is any need for you to dance with her for her sake. Your help is therefore not necessary, my lord, but I thank you for your efforts.”

“But, Your Grace–’

“Must I have my husband come here and tell you all of this himself, or will you take a woman’s word?”

He was quiet for a moment, clearly trying not to show his anger. Emma kept her gaze cold and unbending, refusing to let the man think that he could treat herself and her sister however he pleased. She hoped, however, that he would at last accept her refusal and leave, for if she had to bring Levi she would have to confront him for being so close to so many women, and she did not want to do that then and there.

Thankfully, he nodded to her and walked away, bowing to Sarah as he went. Sarah, meanwhile, beamed.

“Sometimes,” she said brightly, “I wish that you were my father instead of my sister. I might have better fortunes if you were.”

“You are fortunate as it is. You have Lord Rosendale, after all, even if he is not yet here.”

But Emma saw the look of uncertainty in her sister’s face, as though she knew something was amiss.

“He said that he would be here,” she said quietly.

Emma tried to comfort her sister, but she too noted the strange absence of the Baron. He had come to see Sarah even in the midst of scandal, so he clearly did not care much as to what was happening in that respect. It was odd that he was not present, but there could have been any number of perfectly reasonable explanations. He could have been unwell, perhaps, or had an emergency to tend to on his estate. He would not have changed his mind and not attended the ball to see Sarah, Emma knew that much.

As she explained all of this, however, they both paused as they noticed a gentleman approaching Dorothy. He was a rather plain looking man, but she seemed pleased enough when he asked her to dance with him. He led her away to the dancefloor, and the others looked on in amazement.

“Well,” Emm laughed, “at least one of us is interested in dancing tonight!”

“I would dance too, if I was asked,” Beatrice protested. “You must not consider me a spinster yet!”

They all laughed, but then Emma saw Levi again, surrounded by a new group of ladies. They were practically crawling all over him, and she hated it. It was not jealousy, she told herself, for she did not love Levi, but she certainly felt territorial. He was her husband, a known rake, yet after a mere week of their marriage he was openly flirting with other ladies. It made her look like a fool for marrying him, and it made her feel unwell. Eventually, her friends noticed too, and Emma saw Cecilia’s hands clench into fists.

“Shall I say something?” Cecilia offered. “I refuse to let him disrespect you like this.”

“There is no need,” Emma replied gently. “Besides, he is already making a mockery of my marriage. If you start, you shall not stop, and then it will eventually make a mockery of me, too. He is a duke, and so ladies will flock to him. It is to be expected.”

Cecilia did not seem convinced, but she did not press the matter. They returned to watching Dorothy, who did not seem to be instantly in love with the man but she seemed to enjoy the dance well enough. Emma wished that she had been able to enjoy her time out in society, not that she regretted caring for her sister’s debut the way she had. Besides, she reminded herself, she had been afforded the life of a duchess, and all of the security thatbrought. She had to be grateful for that, rather than missing what she did not have.

That did not mean, however, that she would accept her husband’s behavior.

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