Page 75 of Her Wolf of a Duke

“I have been here because I wanted to be, and because frankly I had nothing to do elsewhere. If your friend needs you, you must go.”

Emma nodded gratefully. She had not planned to divulge the contents of Dorothy’s letter to him, but she had to tell someone. According to her explanation, her parents had been unimpressed with how she had been acting, and that she was not taking the marriage mart seriously, and so they had done what was necessary.

Emma’s heart broke for her friend.

She left soon after they had eaten, and she wrung her hands together throughout her journey there. She knew, of course, how it felt to be forced into a marriage that she did not want, but at least she knew Levi before they married. Dorothy was clueless as to who her husband was, and she would not know until nearer the wedding day, which thankfully would not be for a while.

When she arrived, both Beatrice and Cecilia were already there, and tending to Dorothy as though she were an injured bird. In response, Dorothy was gently batting them away, though she seemed grateful.

“How are you feeling?” Emma asked, “It is a foolish question, I know, but I do not wish to assume that you are upset about anyof this. You were never too fond of all of thethings we ladies must do to make a match, after all.”

“That is true,” she laughed softly. “You are right to ask, as in all honesty I cannot say that I am upset completely. It would be nice to know my betrothed, but I will do so in time.”

“Do you know why they are hiding his identity from you?” Beatrice asked. “I do not mean to cause you any alarm, of course, but it is something to consider.”

“I have been wondering, but I think it is best that I trust them. My mother and father want the best for me, and so I know that they would not do anything that would truly cause me harm.”

“It is still quite bizarre,” Emma noted. “If they had found a good match for you, you would think they would be only too happy to tell you who he was.”

“I am considering it my punishment for what I did.”

All eyes turned to her. Dorothy had never dared to do anything improper. Emma was quite certain that she had been born with perfect etiquette and enough politeness to counteract Cecilia’s lack thereof. She couldn’t have done anything warranting punishment, especially not of this magnitude.

“What did you do?” Emma asked, and Dorothy giggled lightly.

“Do you remember that young man that asked Cecilia to dance with him?”

“I certainly do,” Cecilia huffed, her arms folded. “He was so very insistent.”

“And you recall the gentleman I danced with?”

The three ladies nodded in unison.

“Well, I had enjoyed our dance well enough. It was my first time on the dancefloor, and he was quite good at it too. I had truly thought it a nice time, but then when I returned home my father asked to speak with me. It appears that I have made a grave mistake, and danced with a commoner.”

Emma felt her mouth fall open, and she closed it before she could say anything too quickly.

“How did a commoner gain entry to the ball?” Beatrice asked. “He would not have had an invitation.”

“Well, if you can believe it, it was all a plot with the gentleman that asked to dance with Cecilia! They had befriended one another, and the commoner wanted to know what it was like to attend such parties, and so his friend forged an invitation for him.”

Cecilia, at least, found that quite entertaining.

“While they were there,” Dorothy continued, “they decided to place a wager on which of the four of us would be most willing to dance with them.”

At last, Dorothy seemed to enjoy the situation less. She had been describing the antics as if she was almost impressed, but suddenly she did not appear so inclined. She withdrew into herself, her smile fading.

“What is it, Dorothy?” Emma asked.

“According to gossip,” Dorothy said in a stilted voice, “the gentleman that had chosen Cecilia had done so because she was a spinster, and therefore desperate. That was, also, why he had been so persistent.”

Cecilia only laughed.

“Then he made a fatal error, as I have very little interest in a man that is not yet twenty. He could hardly have been called a man at all, if you ask me, more a boy.”

They agreed completely with that, especially given that his actions had only proven Cecilia’s beliefs.

“But,” Dorothy continued, “the man that danced with me had taken a different approach. He said that the round one in the bright orange would be the one that was truly desperate for the attention of a gentleman, evena lowly commoner. A lady had heard those words exactly.”

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