Page 38 of Nothing Compares to the Duke
Bella tugged a blanket from her bed, pulled a chair next to Louisa’s, and spread the blanket between them. “What’s keeping you awake?”
Louisa glanced at her and then shifted her gaze down, running her fingers over the crisscross design of the blanket as if its knitted pattern fascinated her. “You first,” she finally said. “I’d think chasing Lord Hammersley away would put your mind at ease.”
“Lord Wentworth is still here.” Bella had her suspicions about the man and Louisa’s interest in him, but the way she shifted uncomfortably on her chair told Bella her speculations weren’t unfounded. “You like him.”
“He likes me,” Louisa said defensively. Then, less certain, “I think he does anyway.”
“I’m sure he does. He’s been very attentive to you.”
“And you.” Toying with the braid at her shoulder, Louisa shrugged. “He’s said nothing certain, but he is rather quiet in general.”
“Very quiet. Perhaps he’s simply thoughtful and isn’t one to bluster.” Bella didn’t dislike the man, and if he had an interest in Louisa, she could at least concede that he had good taste.
“You have no wish to marry him, then?” Louisa lifted one sandy blond brow, but the teasing twinkle in her eyes indicated she knew what Bella’s answer would be.
“None at all.” Bella stood and pressed her hands to the small of her back, stretching and wishing the sun had risen enough for her to take a walk across the fields. “I’ve no interest in any of them.”
“What about the Duke of Claremont?” Louisa asked in a mock-serious tone.
Bella choked midway through a deep breath and coughed. She assessed her cousin with a narrowed gaze. Louisa was up to something. She was familiar enough with Rhys to call him by his given name, and she knew one other crucial fact too.
“I could never marry him.”
“Why not?” Louisa’s brows tented as if she was truly perplexed. “He’s a duke. The finest catch in the county. And you did want to once, didn’t you?”
Bella willed her cheeks not to redden but she couldn’t find her tongue fast enough to reply before Louisa spoke again.
“Isn’t it funny how time has turned everything around?”
Bella crossed her arms over her chest. “What mischief are you concocting, cousin?”
“Me?” She did that thing, eyes wide, shoulders back as if she was offended by the very notion that she’d ever put her clever mind to any sort of plotting. Bella knew the girl liked strategy almost as much as she did.
“I recall that you were once infatuated with him. And now it’s clear that he quite fancies you.”
“That’s absurd.” Laughter built so quickly that Bella chortled and cupped a hand over her mouth to keep from more unladylike sounds erupting. “He came to Hillcrest to apologize.”
Louisa’s smile was irritatingly knowing. “That would explain the first visit.”
“He came last evening as a favor.”
“To make up for the falling-out you had years ago?”
“Not exactly.” Bella rubbed at her temple. “We made an agreement. An exchange. He asked for my assistance with Lady Margaret’s coming out and some other matters at Edgecombe. I asked him to visit Hillcrest in the hope of putting off Hammersley and the others.”
Louisa had been plucking at the knitted blanket over her knees and stopped to stare at Bella, her mouth agape. “But that’s a terrible agreement.”
“Why? It worked.”
“He’s expecting a great deal of you and all you asked was for him to come to a fine meal and dance with you in the drawing room? Hardly onerous.”
Bella crossed her arms. Louisa possibly had a point.
The idea of inviting Rhys to Hillcrest had been impulsive, and she’d known that even if every gentleman visitor departed, her one main dilemma still remained. Her parents wanted her to marry and sooner rather than later.
Wedlock was beginning to feel like a pursuer she could neither refuse nor avoid.
“There must be a great many ways your acquaintance with a duke could be helpful,” Louisa said thoughtfully.
