Page 72 of Her Wolf of a Duke

He seemed to accept that, thundering away from her. Emma reached her and took her arm, taking her away.

“What was that?” she asked, and Sarah sighed.

“He seems to think that I want to dance with him, even though I have not given even the faintest suggestion that I ever would. Father’s doing, I imagine. Thank goodness you came, so I have some protection.”

“Indeed. Did Father not mention anything about it?”

“No, he didn’t say a word. I did not even know that the Viscount remained interested after what happened. I thought that I was free from it, and that I could continue my courtship with Lord Rosendale without issue.”

“You will, I will make sure of that. Have you seen him thus far?”

Sarah shook her head, glancing around the room.

“I do not believe he has arrived yet, but he should be here soon. He told me that he was invited.”

“Then stay with me for a while. Nobody will accost you when you are in the presence of a duchess.”

Sarah gave her a smile, and the two of them left to find the others. This was easy to achieve, as a gentleman had made the fatal error of asking Cecilia to dance with him. Emm knew this, even though she had not witnessed him asking, as Cecilia was speaking to him with her chin lifted and eyes flashing, he was positively scarlet, and Dorothy and Beatrice were trying not to laugh.

“At last,” Sarah whispered, “some real entertainment!”

They made their way to them just as Cecilia had truly begun to take control. Emma almost pitied the young man. Had no one warned him about Cecelia?

“Am I dressed like a prize pig?” Cecilia asked. “Am I wearing a large sign that says ‘tell me to dance with you, for asking is too kind’? If I wanted to spend time with a demanding gentleman, I would have decided to work for one. At least then, I may find some financial gain in it. I shall not gain much from dancing with you, will I? After all, you are not particularly skilled in conversation, or dancing from what I know, and you cannot tell me a single reason why I should go with you beyond the fact that you are a man and you have told me to. Frankly, you will have to find a better reason than that.”

The gentleman was clearly frustrated with the exchange, his face contorted into a scowl and his hands balled into fists, and he stormed away without another word. Cecilia rolled her eyes at him, at last noticing Emma and Sarah and smiling, waving them over.

“Can you believe it?” she asked, incredulously. “I was simply standing with Dorothy and Beatrice, and then this gentleman appeared from nowhere and insisted that I dance with him. He did not even ask me, heinstructedme to join him.”

“A terrible mistake on his part,” Emma grinned. “And not one he will soon repeat.”

“I do hope not, for the sake of the other poor ladies he may come across.”

Emma wondered if he was simply too young to know any better. He had, after all, seemed very young to her, hardly a man at all. She would have told her friend as much, and that perhaps next time it might be better for her to lead with kindness, but it would not have gotten her anywhere. Besides, she thought, it was a rude awakening for the young man, but it might prove effective in time, which was better than him believing that he could do anything he wanted.

“Where is the Duke?” Dorothy asked. “He did accompany you here tonight, did he not?”

‘He did, indeed. We are here with his mother, and so I assume that he is with her.”

“Oh! I did not know that his mother was still alive.”

“Nor did I,” Beatrice nodded carefully. “I wondered if she had passed away, but it would have been made known to the ton if that were the case.”

“In any case,” Cecilia said, “it is nice that he is trying. We all know that she was not the best mother, and he did not have to show her any kindness in response.”

Emma nodded, not wanting to think about what Levi had been through when he was a boy. Suddenly, she saw him nearby, his mother nowhere to be found. What was around him, however, was a group of young ladies that had flocked to him like birds. Emma’s brow furrowed as she looked at them all, wondering why Levi did not simply tell them to leave him be rather than letting it continue, smiling at them as though he were enjoying it.

He likely was, she thought, which only made it worse.

“Emma?” Sarah asked. “What is it?”

“It is nothing, Sister. I simply need to speak with my husband for a moment. I shall not be long.”

As she took a step away, however, Sarah took her arm. Emma turned to look at her, and saw that she was pleading with her.

Looking behind Sarah, she saw the Viscount approaching, as though he had been waiting for her to be left alone so thathe could approach her again. Emma steeled her gaze, but he continued coming toward them.

“At last,” he said brightly, “I have found someone capable of using sense. Your Grace, I would like to dance with your sister.”

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