Page 56 of Stealing a Duke's Kiss
“Are you enjoying yourself tonight, My Lady?” he asked, hoping to draw her attention to him once again.
Joanna gave him a sheepish smile. Their conversation rarely made it past questions like “how are you?” and other niceties. Henry realized that she seemed to be just as tired of their lack of chemistry as he was.
“Oh, I suppose I am having a good time,” she said, her tone not matching the meaning of her words.
Once again, her gaze darted over to the crowd. Now, Henry was certain that she was looking for someone else.
“If you do not mind me saying, you appear to be quite distracted this evening, My Lady,” he commented, even though he was quite distracted himself.
For a moment, the Duke wondered if she had eyes for someone else. The expected reaction would be one of anger if that were the case. But he found himself relieved at the thought of her choosing another man for a moment. He quickly shook the thought away, though, reminding himself of his duty to marry a pious and well-behaved woman.
“Oh, I do?” Joanna replied, growing flustered as though she had been just caught in a lie. “You must excuse me, Your Grace. Perhaps I am just tired from our excursion to the orchards earlier today.”
Without skipping a beat, she looked behind her shoulder once again. This time, the Duke followed her gaze, but the only person standing there was Nicholas.
How strange.
“There you are.” Modesty’s cheerful voice came up from behind them. “I was hoping to find the two of you together.”
Joanna smiled sheepishly, while the Duke shuffled his feet.
“I hope you are enjoying yourself at the ball tonight, Lady Joanna,” Modesty continued. “It is a family tradition to have one before any wedding. Of course, when you and Henry get married, I plan on throwing an even grander ball.”
Henry watched his mother. She was talking so fondly of her plans for his wedding.
“That is, indeed, quite lovely.” Joanna smiled. “However, you must excuse me for a moment, Your Grace. I need to head over to the ladies’ retiring room and refresh my powder.”
“Of course.” Modesty beamed.
Joanna promptly disappeared into the corridors of the retiring room, leaving mother and son alone.
“Isn’t she just lovely?” Modesty gushed now that Joanna was out of earshot. “Seeing the festivities of Emma’s wedding has me so excited. I cannot wait until the two of you get married.”
“We are not properly engaged as of yet,” Henry reminded her gently.
“And what difference does that make?” she asked. “It is not as though the both of you are going to change your minds about each other. After all, she is the perfect wife for you. I believe she will take my place as the new Duchess quite well.”
“Would Father have thought so?”
The Duke’s relationship with his father had never progressed to a point where the older man had given him relationship advice. He often wondered what his father would have thought of him and the choices he made.
“Your father and I talked about your eventual wedding once. Of course, you were only a little baby then, and it was merely just a conversation we were having about your future.”
Henry’s eyes brightened with curiosity, and he focused all his attention on his mother’s words.
“And what did he say?”
“Well, your father knew the value of the title he would eventually pass onto you, and thus, he only wanted you to pick out a woman who would be suited to it.”
The Duke pondered about what he would have thought about Deborah. Would she be someone who he thought was suited for the role of a duchess?
“I heard the two of you discussing love,” Emma interrupted their conversation before Henry could inquire any further. “So, naturally, I am curious to know what you might be talking about.”
“Oh, I was just talking about how Lady Joanna is the right fit for Henry,” Modesty gushed.
The Duke’s face fell as his mother said the words, and from the corner of his eye, he could see that Emma was observing him with a curious expression.
“I see,” Emma said, pursing her lips. “Well, actually, Mother, I came over here to let you know that our guest from Scotland is here and she is looking for you.”
