Page 21 of His Ruined Duchess

“Goodbye, Your Grace.” Selina curtsied gently and then spun on her heel, exiting the study in a hurry.

Dammit.

“Must I attend this ridiculous party?” Hugh stood in front of his mirror, eyeing the frivolous clothing he’d been draped in, glaring over his shoulder at his butler. “Certainly, there are far more important things that I should be doing.”

“A party is more than a social affair, Your Grace.” The man, who called himself Lionel, continued to busy himself with the variouspieces of Hugh’s attire. “You informed me to be your guide to this new lifestyle, and I assure you that a party is quite essential for any duke or member of the upper class.”

“I find it exceedingly difficult to believe that when the invitation expressly stated that this would be in celebration of the Duke and Duchess of Blackford’s final outing before the birth of their child.”

Hugh pulled at his collar once more, despising the way his attire for the ball pinched at his throat.

“They have insisted strongly that the entire family, all of our estate, attend. The Dowager and her sisters and mother, all of them, will be in attendance. They are all quite familiar with each other. The Duchess is a very good friend of the Dowager, Your Grace. Think of this as an opportunity to get into her good graces. Perhaps she will be more receptive to marriage afterward.”

Turning away from the mirror and eyeing Lionel, Hugh scowled slightly, clearing his throat as he stepped toward his dresser and retrieved his pocket watch.

“That was quite the move, Lionel. I will give you that. See that the carriage remains close by the Blackford estate. I will not be staying late into the evening.”

“Of course, Your Grace.”

Lionel bowed with a pleased grin, and with a heavy sigh, Hugh descended the stairs. The entire household. Yes, they would all be attending the ball, and no matter what opportunity might present itself, Hugh wasnotlooking forward to it.

Still, he would instill a singular point of focus within Selina to ensure something came of this evening. As he passed by her in a hurry toward the coach waiting outside, he met her eyes, lowering his voice.

“Do not forget your duty, Selina. This party, while it may be held by your friends, is the perfect opportunity to inquire about your prospects. Don’t waste this chance to hurry on with finding a husband.”

She gaped at him slightly, but Hugh did not wait for a response, heading straight out the door and into the carriage.

Chapter Nine

Earlier that day…

Selina sat at the desk in her room. Dread clung to her, her mind a turbulent mess, and as she had taken to doing, she pulled out a fresh piece of parchment and her ink so that she might write a letter to Ethel. She had not heard back from her friend in quite a long time, and she ached to hear her voice again.

For now, the letters were all that she had, so Selina would continue to write them, even if they did go unanswered.

Dearest Ethel,

Why have you not responded to a single one of my letters? I am beginning to think that you have lost your ability to read, and I know quite well how that would affect you.

In truth, I miss your company. I have become much closer to Charlotte since we last spoke, but I am in need of my oldestfriend. I have written to you about the new Duke who has now made his appearance. So many of my greatest fears have become a reality since he arrived. It is being demanded that I find a husband, which you are aware I do not wish to do, and the man himself is?—

Selina hesitated to find the perfect word.

—incorrigible. He is rude and completely uneducated in the ways of high society and the ton. The Duke insists on calling me Selina, though I have not given him permission to do so, and I refuse to call him “Hugh” in return. I fear for my family if I do not make the Duke happy, but I also fear that he is pushing my sisters out of the estate too quickly.

He is giving them a single season to find husbands once they debut. That is monstrously short. For myself, I only have a month, less by the time you read this. I do not wish tobemarried. I am quite happy on my own, and though I cannot profess to being as much of a bluestocking as yourself, you know better than everyone else in my life that so much of my outward expression is but a show.

I tire of all this. So very much so. I wish to be back in Amelia’s parlor with you, chatting about everything and nothing, hearing you go on about your latest read and pretending not to be wildly interested.

I have finished with all the books in the estate now. An estate that feels less and less like home with each moment. The Dukeis using Easton’s study as his own, hiding letters from my husband in the tomes that used to belong to him.

Apparently, Easton wished for me to remarry. That was the Duke’s motive, at least in part, it seems. I cannot be sure what else drives the man, but there is undoubtedly more. When I insisted that Easton would understand if Ichosenot to remarry, the Duke was still unmoved. He is blind to the world around him, and you will not believe what I have heard about his past.

I would not tarnish the paper with recounting it.

Please return this letter, dear Ethel. I miss you terribly, and I am going out of my mind without your advice.

Your Friend,

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