Page 33 of Duke of Destruction
“Let us just see how things go over the next few days, shall we?” she offered brightly. Then, before he could answer, she added, “And I do think we’re being called in for supper. Good evening, my lord.”
And she whisked Ariadne away in a trice.
“Thank you, Kitty,” Ariadne whispered as she followed Catherine—not toward the dining room, as they hadn’t actually been called, not that Catherine much cared. She wanted the earl to feel the snub, wanted him to realize that she was chasing him off, not regrettably putting off their conversation until a much-anticipated later date.
“I don’t like that man at all,” Ariadne confided. “He keptlookingover at me while we were in the village today.”
Catherine felt a pang of guilt. She’d been off sparring with the dreadful Duke of Seaton when she should have been looking after her sister.
“I hope he will finally understand now that I’m not interested,” Ariadne went on, oblivious to her sister’s self-recrimination.
“Let us hope,” Catherine murmured, though she was not at all convinced.
No, she felt rather certain that they would be seeing more of the Earl of Crompton.
By the time they assembled for some sort of (very likely painful and complicated) entertainment that David had booked for them the next morning, Percy was in a piss-poor mood.
He had seen it in Catherine’s face, the moment he had gone too far with his teasing. He’d regretted it at once, but she’d been too quick, had bolted out of the tavern like the place was on fire.
He hadn’t been able to speak to her for the rest of the evening.
The worst part of it was that he hadn’t beentryingto insult her for once. He’d been trying to point out that she was clearly still a vibrant and attractive woman, no matter what Society said about her age—and no matter how much he hated it that he found her so utterly beguiling.
But he hadn’t meant to shame her for having sexual desires or for giving in to them, however briefly, with him. She might be a Lightholder and a personal infernal nuisance, but the idea of shaming her forthatmade him feel disgusting.
As if he’d taken something from her—some sense of respectability or worth—instead of her giving him a gift.
Not that he planned tosayany of that. He would figure out some way to put things right between them. He was considering striking up a nice argument. Teasing her about her too-perfect bonnet strings would do nicely.
But she’d been absent all afternoon and remote all evening.
And now he had to play some godforsaken party game.
“Good morning, everyone!” David called cheerfully, like he was the ringleader at the fucking circus. Why was his friend always in such a good mood when Percy was at his most irritable? If David produced a bear on a leash or any other cursed animal doing tricks, Percy was going to punch him; he really was.
“Since the weather is so lovely again today?—”
It was gray, because it was England in autumn, for Christ’s sake; Percy admitted that he might be swearing a bit too much, even in the confines of his own mind. But still. Where the hell was Catherine?
“—I thought we might indulge in a little activity that will let us best enjoy the grounds.”
David paused dramatically, and Percy considered punching him even without the bear appearing. Some of the other gentlemenlooked inclined to do so, as well, though at least three of the young ladies—and a few more of the older ones—were looking at David like he had hung the moon.
The door to the verandah opened, and Catherine and her younger sister slipped through. Percy immediately stopped listening to David’s grandstanding.
She was wearing blue that morning. She looked pretty in blue.
As soon as he caught himself thinking this, he made himself start listening to David again.
What waswrongwith him recently? There was perhaps not a single woman in the entire world with whom it would be foolish for him to entangle himself than aLightholder.
Even if Catherinehadbeen rather decent when he’d mentioned his family’s humble beginnings. She’d been faintly surprised, but had not seemed inclined to judge.
Still. She was one of them.
“—thus,” David went on, though he was giving some faint clues that he might be coming to his point, “I have arranged ascavenger huntfor you all today.”
He said this with such a flourish that Percy wasn’t sure if the ladies who clapped did so out of a genuine enthusiasm forscavenger hunts or merely because David had spoken as though being applauded was only his due.
