Page 38 of The Lady Was Lying
“You requested my help, and after much contemplation, I have reached the same conclusion that you have.”
“Which is?”
“The duke is your ideal match.”
“He is?” Jane replied, her eyes widening.
Belinda’s hands found her hips. “Why do you seem surprised? I thought we were in agreement on this.”
“I’m not surprised. And we are in agreement,” Jane claimed, sounding far less than sure.
Belinda stomped her foot. She did not have the energy to deal with her sister’s sudden flakiness. “Either you are interested, or you are not.”
“I’m interested,” Jane responded with the same level of excitement as before, which is to say very little.
“However…” she prodded. She wanted to believe her sister, but she couldn’t help feeling as if there was something Jane wasn’t telling her.
“However…nothing.” Jane waved her hand in the air. “What has gotten into you? Why do you suddenly care so much whom I’m interested in?” She hesitated and then said in a rush, “I thought you didn’t like the duke.”
“My feelings about him are irrelevant.” Very irrelevant. “I might have judged him before I truly considered whether his qualities made him a worthy candidate for marriage. Now that I have thought about it further, I have concluded that you should encourage him as much as possible.” Her nose wrinkled. The next part was going to be painful. “I will accompany you on as many outings as I can stomach in order to help facilitate your courtship of him.”
“I’m not courting him,” Jane replied, almost upending the tray across her lap.
“Perhaps not formally, but if you are truly interested, you need to pursue him as much as he is pursuing you.”
With uncharacteristic shyness, Jane turned her attention to the ground. “He hasn’t given me any indication that he’s truly interested. Last night, he was polite, but nothing more.”
“Whether he has declared his intentions or not, the scandal sheets have taken notice.”
Jane’s hand covered her mouth. “They have?”
“Is that bad?” Belinda asked.
Jane shook her head as she reached out and picked up her chocolate. She blew on it carefully, even though it couldn’t possibly be hot any longer. “Gossip sheets do not always print the truth.”
“But they are rarely entirely untrue. The seed has been planted. We must water it.”
“I’d hardly call it a seed. We’ve danced once and conversed twice. It isn’t quite time to call the banns yet.”
“What has gotten into you?” Belinda asked. “What happened to twirling in circles and rhapsodizing about becoming a duchess?”
“I already told you, I’m not sure I’ve caught his interest,” Jane snapped with uncharacteristic bite.
Belinda blinked.
“The duke and I spoke again last night,” Jane said, “but he doesn’t fawn over me like the other gentlemen do.”
Belinda rolled her eyes. “Because he isn’t a blunderbuss. If you make your interest known, I’m confident he will return it.” He would be a fool not to.
“I don’t want to have to pursue a man to secure his interest,” Jane confessed softly. “I want to be pursued.”
“You cannot rely on a gentleman to do all the work. Not if you’ve decided you want him.”
“I haven’t made any decisions,” Jane claimed.
“But you like the duke. And you think he’d make an estimable husband.”
“That does not mean we will marry.”
