Page 14 of A Bride for the Forbidden Duke
“Your Grace,” Lady Sheridan, Henry’s aunt, curtsied. “How fine of you it is to show your face! Thetonhas been abuzz with talk of your return.”
Henry Banfield, Duke of Westley, thoroughly abhorred theton’s events and had, so far, suffered through several seasons of them. However, there had been a meeting with a lady several nights ago, and it had not left his mind since.
He was not often ruffled by anybody. Yet the woman—Robert Hartley’s sister, Lady Veronica—had been bold. Her fear had been palpable even as she met his challenges head-on.
He pretended not to notice her deep, brown eyes—deer eyes, as if caught at the end of a pistol,he thought—following him as he descended the staircase, and entered the social lion’s den. The last private thought he got before feathers promptly filled his vision was:I regret this decision already.
The music grated on his ears, the whispers wrapped around him like a vice, and although he rather loved his tailoring, the jacket was fitted, and he felt as though his cravat choked him. Like he had been shoved into the outfit to pretend to be a gentleman and endure the whims of theton.
A navy-blue feather, and a green one, accosted him as soon as he left the staircase.
His aunt, Lady Sheridan, and her friend, Lady Lindbury, were both dressed in beautiful gowns of velvet matching their feathers. It was Lady Sheridan who had called out to him, beckoning him into their gathering.
He gave her an uneasy smile. “You know me, Lady Sheridan,” he said. “I always do aim to surprise.”
“And that you do,” Lady Lindbury cut in. “Your aunt and I were discussing which young ladies might catch your eye this evening. Is there anybody who already has, I wonder?”
Lady Veronica’s flashed through his mind. “No.”
“Then you must look!” Lady Sheridan told him, grinning happily. “It is a pleasure to see you, dearest nephew.”
“Likewise,” he answered, nodding curtly.
“I was telling Lady Lindbury how I wish your name might appear on at leastfiveladies’ dance cards tonight. My dream would be for my nephew to never leave the floor.”
“I am not here to dance, Lady Sheridan. You very well know my stance on?—”
“Hush now,” Lady Lindbury said. “Do not take yourself out of the game before you had begun to play.”
She gave him a sly wink, and he tensed.
Henry cleared his throat, trying to sidestep them, aware of the watchful gazes around him. They all whispered, and he was well aware of what the gossip sheet had said.
Fine, he thought.They wish for a duke of ice then I shall be exactly what they expect in the hopes it keeps them all away from me. Especially the fawning women and their fussy mamas.
He could not bear the spectacle of it all. He found it rather embarrassing for them, if anything, and he was not in the mood to hold back.
The crowd parted for a moment, and through the paired-off dancers, he spotted Robert Hartley’s sister, Lady Veronica, clad in a silver gown that glimmered beneath the chandelier lights. Ire flared in him, and he did not know why it was accompanied with a flush of heat, but he turned away from her sharply.
She was insolent,he thought. And far too loose tongued for her own good. These mamas taught their daughters how to behave properly, did they not?
And yet… she had not been a simpering fool, either. Which did he prefer? A woman who did not know how to be obedient and follow simple etiquette rules, or a fool who tripped over her own feet in an attempt to impress him?
Before he could move further into the ballroom and escape the two meddlesome women, they began to pepper him with questions.
“How long are you staying, Your Grace?” Lady Sheridan asked.
Before he could answer, Lady Lindbury was there. “How was your journey from Westley Manor, Your Grace?”
He grimaced, fighting the urge to loosen his collar in a show of annoyance. “Will you let me answer one question before throwing another at me?”
Lady Sheridan paid him no mind. “Your jacket is astounding! Where did you have it made? Is it from your own tailor? Do you wish for a recommendation from right here in the city?”
“No,” he answered, not bothering to answer the first question. He did not want recommendations; he wanted them to hush.
“Do you wish to attend tea with Lady Sheridan and I next week?” Lady Lindbury asked.
He gave a cool look. “No.”
