Page 4 of His Forbidden Duchess
“How fascinating,” Eloise said sweetly. “Pray tell, what are you reading at the moment?”
“I… er…” Lord Mortcombe floundered, his cheeks reddening. “Actually, I am between books at the moment.”
“Really? But a prolific reader such as yourself must have recently finished one, did you not?”
“Y-yes,” he stammered, clearly on unstable ground. He cleared his throat and straightened himself.
Eloise pressed her lips together to prevent herself from laughing openly at the poor man, yet she could not stop herself from teasing him. “Have you read Lord Byron’s latest?”
“Ah yes,” Lord Mortcombe replied proudly. “A man of great political values. His treatise on government was quite compelling.”
“Government?” Eloise raised her eyebrows while Hannah hid behind her back, stifling her giggles. “I would say it is almost as if the man is in love with the government. One day I would like to hear some of your thoughts on his… er…treatise.”
His face faltered for the briefest of moments before he recovered and flashed her a winning smile. “Yes… perhaps.”
“Lord Mortcombe, if you have a moment,” someone called from behind them.
Another tittering lady was vying for his attention. Lord Mortcombe glanced at her then turned back to Eloise, winked, and disappeared into his crowd of adoring fans.
Hannah snorted with mirth as soon as the Earl had left. “You are terrible! Now that poor man will regale everyone with tales of Byron’s supposed political theories!”
“Serves him right,” Eloise said. She flicked open her fan and watched him leave. “Even my aunt’s poodle knows Byron is a poet. It is not my fault Mortcombe failed to pay attention to his lessons at that fancy school he attended.”
“How often do you think he spends practicing that smirk in the mirror?” Hannah asked.
Eloise laughed quietly, shaking her head then returning her gaze to her friend. “Far too long, I suspect. He is dreadfully pleased with himself, is he not? He is as vain as ever.”
There is no amount of charm or money that could make me endure a man like that.
The two girls continued to exchange pleasantries after which Hannah was asked to dance. Eloise gracefully withdrew to one corner of the ballroom in search of a solitary moment.
Teasing Lord Mortcombe had been a welcome distraction, but now that she was alone, she could not stop thinking about Jeremy, her mother, and their dire family situation. There was nowhere on earth she could hide, nowhere she could be unburdened from the weight of that knowledge.
As the evening continued, the lively atmosphere of the ball was suddenly shattered by a stirring near the edge of the dancing area.
The music faltered briefly as whispers began to ripple throughout the guests and spread like wildfire. Eloise’s curiosity piqued when she saw a group of guests gathering, their eyes wide at the news of the scandal.
“Did you hear?” Hannah whispered, suddenly appearing next to Eloise and leaning close to her. “Lady Charlotte and Lord Marbury… caught in the garden!”
Eloise’s eyes widened. “Caught? You mean?—?”
“Yes, in a verycompromisingposition,” Hannah confirmed, her voice hushed with the thrill of gossip. “But Lord Marbury has already announced their engagement. They were forced to act quickly, of course.”
“Goodness.”
A woman nearby, well-known for her loose tongue, loudly commented, “Well, is that not convenient for Lady Charlotte? She is penniless, after all. An engagement is just the thing to save her from ruin.”
The words rang through Eloise’s ears, resonating with more than just idle gossip. She watched as Lady Charlotte and Lord Marbury accepted the congratulations of their fellow guests, the expressions on their faces carefully composed, though Charlotte’s eyes betrayed a hint of relief behind her forced smile.
The engagement had not just saved her reputation—it had secured her future.
Eloise felt her stomach clench.
A quick engagement.
Secured her future.
A way out.
