Page 44 of Duke of Destruction
“Imp,” Catherine chastised, swatting at her sister, who skittered away with impressive agility for someone wearing a full ball gown. “Though if you are feeling comfortable enough to sass me, you cannot be feelingtoonervous.”
Ariadne smiled at her, then sat next to Catherine on the vanity bench.
“If you’re really not feeling well enough, I will be just fine without you, Kitty,” she said with such maturity and courage that Catherine felt herself going damp around the eyes.
“No,” she said, caressing her sister’s arm warmly. “I’ll come with you. Of course I will.”
It was why she was here, after all.
She’d be sick after Ariadne was married.
If she was ill at all and not just…
No, there was no thinking about him. It. Anything.
They had made the right decision. She wasn’tsad. That would be absurdly indulgent.
Ariadne’s smile was bright.
“Thank you, Kitty. We’ll have fun; I know we will.”
Not even an hour into the ball, Catherine felt it very,veryunlikely that Ariadne’s prediction would come true.
She could see it in the confident, determined smile of that dratted Earl of Crompton.
“Lady Ariadne!” he cried jovially.
“Blast,” Ariadne muttered.
This was so deserved that Catherine didn’t even have it in her to reprimand her sister for swearing.
Instead, she channeled interfering, shameless spinsters everywhere and stepped bodily between Ariadne and the earl.
“My lord,” she said with as much cheer as she could muster. “Good evening! Are you enjoying the festivities?”
He looked at her with barely disguised disdain.
“Good evening, Lady Catherine,” he said tersely. “I was hoping to speak with Lady?—”
“Yes,” she said, smoothly interrupting him. “My sister. Of course! I just wanted to first speak with you a bit. You know how it is to be an elder sibling—” She actually did not know this, as she had no interest in ever learning anything about this man, aside from how to get him to leave her sister’s presence forever. “—and Idoworry. And since I am here as Ariadne’s chaperone, I would be terribly derelict in my duties if I did not satisfy my curiosity.”
She said all this without letting her smile waver even a touch.
The earl’s sneer was faint but unmistakable, but he fell for her ruse, as she’d known he would. He was self-important, clearly confident that no woman could ever be as clever, as grand, as wonderful as he. He knew, in his bones, that every woman found him to be attractive, appealing, the ideal man. Why wouldn’t they? It was so obvious.
So she didn’tneedto ask Ariadne any questions about herself. Why would he ask a merewomanher opinion when he clearly knew so much better?
It was therefore only natural, to a man like this earl, that Catherine be curious about him. She might be an odious obstacle to getting what he wanted, but it wasn’t her fault that herweak little female mind was so staggeringly impressed by his magnificence.
“What do you want to know, my lady?” he asked magnanimously.
She batted her eyelashes, which might have been going abitfar, but she doubted he would detect any sarcasm in here even if she was much more obvious about it.
“Well,” she said brightly, “what are your intentions with my sister?”
The sneer intensified. She wondered if he was even trying to hide it any longer.
“I’m certain that is quite obvious, my lady,” he said. “Your sister is a demure girl of good breeding. She will make a fine wife and mother.”
