Page 4 of The Lady Who Said No to the Duke
‘From home?’Hal enquired politely, remembering Lady Holme’s instruction on tact.
‘Oh, no, nothing so unoriginal.’She flashed him a smile, presumably for his careful lack of censure.‘From my utterly impossible Cousin Elizabeth.I am in disgrace, exiled to the penal colony of Harrogate with my cousin—a veritable gorgon, I assure you—as my gaoler.’
‘And what—’ Hal fell silent as Fenwick entered, supervising a footman with a laden tea tray and a maid bearing a platter of tiny cakes.
‘Thank you, Fenwick.You pour, dear,’ Lady Holme said, sitting back.
However hoydenish Lady Thea’s behaviour might be in running off—although he had some sympathy with anyone wishing to avoid the stuffy gentility of a spa town out of season—she certainly had the training of a young lady,judging by the assured manner with which she established his requirements, dispensed tea and urged him to sample a cake.
But what had the daughter of an earl—this particular daughter—done to justify being sent to a northern spa town in disgrace when the Season was about to start?
‘Tell me, if you are willing to confide, Lady Thea, what prompted your enforced exile to Harrogate?’he asked when they all were all served.
‘Oh, I refused to marry a duke,’ she said cheerfully.
Hal, who had followed his question with a mouthful of tea, almost choked.
Chapter Two
‘You refused to marry a duke?’Hal asked when he could speak again.‘Er…which one?’He had to ask.
‘The Duke of Leamington,’ Lady Thea said.‘I believe that at present he is the only one of marriageable age who is unattached, under the age of sixty and in his right mind.’
‘Thea, dear,’ her godmother chided.
‘Well, to my certain knowledge, the Duke of Farringdon shares his dinner table with a goat and keeps a troupe of monkeys in his drawing room,’ she said unrepentantly.
‘Perhaps influenced by the Princess of Wales,’ Hal said, fascinated as much by her plain speaking as his mental picture of Farringdon’s home life.
‘My point exactly—you cannot say that is normal behaviour, given that it is regarded as bizarre even in the wife of the heir to the throne.And the Duke of Perivale attacked his valet with a chamber…that is, an article of bedroom porcelain, and the Duke of Hampton has just divorced his wife, and from what one hears of her side of the story one can only assume—’
‘Quite,’ their godmother interrupted hastily.‘As you say, Leamington is really the only eligible duke available at present.’
‘Available,’ Hal echoed faintly, and reached for another cake.
‘Well, it is a marriage mart, after all,’ Lady Thea said, helping herself to a piece of shortbread.‘And if one is in the market for a duke, one must admit that the merchandise on the shelves is somewhat lacking in variety.More tea, Mr Forrest?’
‘Thank you, yes.’He passed over his cup with, he was relieved to see, a steady hand.‘But apparently you arenotin the market for such a husband, Lady Thea,’
‘I have no objection to a husband as such, sir, it is simply that I do not like that one and I greatly objected to being informed that my fate has been decided since birth.It was a considerable shock, believe me.’She took a ladylike bite from the shortbread biscuit.
‘Might I ask what is so objectionable about Leamington?’he asked.‘I do not believe I have heard any stories about goats, or misused wives.Or items of chinaware, come to that.’
‘I met him once.’Lady Thea demolished the crumbly slice with a snap of her teeth.‘He was arrogant, loud, rude and his feet and ears were too big.’
‘Thea,dear,’Godmama said with a faint moan.‘How old was he at the time?’
Lady Thea wrinkled her nose as she thought and Hal decided that made her look just a little like a squirrel, with her dark red hair.A very refined squirrel though: tall, willowy, with high cheekbones, a shapely but mobile mouth and expressive hazel eyes.Her height and her colouring should have made her unfashionable—petite, curvaceous blondes were all the rage—but she had style and presence.
‘Fourteen?Sixteen?’she hazarded.‘I was ten or eleven.’
‘Allboys are revolting at that age,’ Lady Holme said with authority.‘I have five godsons and they all went through a phase of being noisy young hooligans needing to grow intotheir bodies.Mostly they managed to develop into quite civilised gentlemen.’She sent Hal a sweet smile.‘You did, didn’t you, Hal dear?’
‘I do hope so, Godmama,’ he said.‘The Duke may be perfectly acceptable by now, you know, Lady Thea.I gather that you have not met him recently.’
‘I have not.Having apparently dealt with the troublesome business of finding a wife at an early age—something I had always believed was a family joke until I was disabused of the notion by my parents four days ago—he then completely ignored me.Other than that one meeting, during which he comprehensively insulted me, I have never set eyes on him again.
‘I understand that he has been amusing himself at the Congress, where I imagine Lord Castlereagh found his assistance invaluable,’ she ended sarcastically.
