Page 10 of A Game with the Rakish Duke
I still do not quite believe it. Perhaps he merely promised marriage in order to secure that kiss… which seems an extreme measure. But then the gentleman is a known rake.
She shuddered. It was entirely possible. She might still be forced to figure out a way to pay off the rest of the debt. Another evening disguised as a boy playing whist, perhaps. Or something else. She would figure it out if she must.
She tried not to notice the small kernel of disappointment she felt at the thought that the Duke might not call tomorrow, and she would never see him again. If that was what happened, it wasno loss. It wasn’t as if she wasin lovewith the gentleman, even if he made her feel like no man had ever made her feel before.
Catherine scoffed at the very thought. She had vowed a very long time ago that she wouldneversuccumb to such foolishness. She knew what men were like. She had caught her own father with one of his mistresses when she had been only a girl, after all.
“You should have inherited the title,” Oliver said suddenly, looking shamefaced. “You are so much stronger and cleverer than me, Sister. Father always said that you should have been a boy.”
Catherine laughed ruefully, gazing at her brother, her eyes soft with love. “Do not be silly,” she said briskly. “You are the Viscount Whitley, and now that this matter is behind us, it will be as if you are beginning anew.” She hesitated. “Do not be so hard on yourself, Oliver. You made a mistake. It is fixed. Forget it ever happened.”
Oliver sighed heavily. He didn’t look convinced. Catherine prayed she was telling the truth. She didn’t want to be bailing out her brother for the rest of her life, no matter how much she adored him.
Her thoughts drifted to the Duke again. Somehow, she knew she would never have to bailhimout of anything. She knew he was her equal. Or at least it felt like it.
Hopefully, he would prove that to her by showing up at her door the next day.
Chapter Five
“You look different, Cathy,” Lady Beatrice Wickes declared, tilting her head to the side as she gazed at her friend in a speculative way. “You have a glow about you.”
Catherine smiled weakly as she sipped her tea, not knowing how to reply to her dearest friend in the world.
Beatrice and her older brother Patrick Wickes, the Earl of Afferton, had unexpectedly called for morning tea which was a delightful surprise. The Wickes family was like her own as they had grown up together on neighboring estates in Kent.
“I do not know about that,” Catherine replied eventually, feeling her cheeks redden. “It is probably just the heat of the day. We have reached high summer, after all.”
Beatrice didn’t look convinced. She turned to her brother, who was sipping his tea in his usual absent-minded way as he gazed around the drawing room.
“Can you not see it, Patrick?” she asked. “Do you not think that Cathy has a glow about her today?”
Patrick smiled, gazing at Catherine in a friendly way.
Catherine couldn’t help but smile back at him. Patrick was like another older brother to her, and he had always been so genial and kind to her.
“Cathy always looks like she is glowing,” he said in a quiet voice as he studied her intently. “She possesses an aura that exudes brilliance. I have often thought so.”
Catherine burst into laughter. “That is very poetic of you, Patrick! Anaura, indeed! It is far more likely that it is a sheen of sweat from the heat of the day.” She shook her head. “You aresucha card!”
Patrick shrugged, laughing with her. “My aim is always to amuse.”
“Tell me, where is your dear wife today?” she asked, gazing at him fondly. “Why does she never accompany you when you and Beatrice call?”
Patrick shrugged again. “I am not certain what Edith is doing this morning,” he said in an offhand way. “Probably shopping for fripperies on Bond Street, as always.” He took a sip of his tea. “She does not like socializing, Cathy. She prefers her own company. That is all.”
Catherine frowned slightly. She didn’t think that Patrick was telling her the entire truth—Lady Affertonnevercalled, always remaining oddly aloof, even though Catherine had tried to make friends with her. Shewantedto be friends with the wife of one of her oldest acquaintances, but it seemed that it was not meant to be.
She bit her lip. Patrick was not telling the entire truth—she knew that Lady Afferton had a few friends and seemed to enjoy socializing as much as anyone. She was hardly a timid mouse.
“Does your wife not like me overly much, Patrick?” she asked, deciding to address the issue once and for all.
It was getting awkward now—they had been married for over six months after all.
Patrick burst into laughter. “It is not like you to be so fanciful, Cathy!”
“Well, she never calls, and she avoids me when we are in company,” Catherine pointed out. “I think it is a valid question.”
“I am sure Edith likes you very much,” Beatrice said, smiling warmly. “How could she not like you? You are one of a kind, dearest.”
