Page 16 of Ne'er Duke Well
But Iris’s disinclination toward false politeness had offended some preening blockheads, and her mother’s insistence on jamming Iris’s generous figure into a torture device of a corset had not helped matters either. The combination of it all had led one of the crueler lordlings to nickname her Miss Puggleby in her first Season. Even her father’s viscountcy hadn’t been quite enough to overcomethatfor most of theton’s eligible young idiots.
But Iris had survived. In fact, Selina would not have thought she knew about the nickname, so little did she seem to attend to society’s taunts. But then she’d bought herself a charming little pug and started to walk the thing up and down the Serpentine, a half smile on her face.
Beneath that distracted scholar’s exterior, Iris was all steel. Selina thought Iris might make an excellent ninth Duchess of Stanhope.
“I’ll add her,” Selina said. “But I’m not taking you off.” And in between ink splotches, she jotted down Lydia’s name, and then Iris’s.
“How about Lady Westcott?” asked Lydia.
“Goodness, Lydia, she’sold.”
“She can’t be more than thirty.”
“She’s a widow!”
Lydia’s flame-colored brows drew together. “So? Remarriage is perfectly legal.”
“She has alover,” Selina hissed.
“Is that right?” Lydia sat back, impressed. “How do you know that? Even I did not know that. She must be quite discreet.”
Belvoir’s. Selina knew because Lady Westcott was a member of Belvoir’s, and so was her lover. And Belvoir’s did seem to strikeits more reckless members as quite the ideal location for a tryst, as much as the staff tried to discourage it.
But Lydia didn’t know about Selina’s connection to Belvoir’s, and so Selina said, “I do hear things occasionally, you know. From other friends.”
Lydia pursed her lips and looked skeptical, but said, “Fine, strike Lady Westcott. Too scandalous, it seems. Hannah Harvey?”
“Too sweet by half. Stanhope will trample her.”
“Oh for goodness’ sake. Lady Victoria Eyles-Styles?”
“You must be joking,” Selina said. “Stanhope isn’t a horse. He’ll never attract her attention.”
“You are rejecting Lady Victoria because she is too fond of horses?”
“I’m rejecting Lady Victoria because unless Stanhope rolls about in hay and dresses in nothing but leather, she won’t even notice him.”
Lydia blinked and said nothing.
“Like a saddle,” Selina said quickly. “I meant leather like a… like a saddle. And bridle. Like what a horse wears.” It just seemed to be getting worse and worse the more she spoke. Good God, Belvoir’s had completely ruined her.
“Indeed,” said Lydia drily. “How about Elizabeth Yardsley? Oh, or Elizabeth Swinburn? Or even Lady Elizabeth Maye?”
“No. And no, anddefinitelyno. I reject all of the Elizabeths.”
“Selina, I think you have rejected every eligible woman of theton.”
“Not all of them,” Selina protested. “I put Iris on the list.”
“You know,” said Lydia thoughtfully. “There is someone we haven’t considered who fits all of your requirements. Clever and sensible, sterling reputation, and unparalleled English lineage.”
Selina took up her pen. “I knew you would crack this for us. Who is it?”
“You.”
Selina dropped the pen. “Absolutely not.”
“Why not?” said Lydia. “You want me to be on the list, do you not? Obviously you can’t think Stanhope such a terrible prospect as a husband.”
