Page 37 of The Duke's Last Dance
His father’s plan to make him marry Miss Alexia would work if he could not gain any favor with Lady Catherine, and soon. She had not allowed him to escort her back to the refreshments table, as he should have. For a woman to ignore the protocol like that, she had to be incredibly mad at the man that she had just danced with.
It was a slight of honor to the man.
Now, Nicolas wished he had told Lady Catherine of Lord Burton’s philandering ways. However, if she wanted to court other men and was to court Lord Burton, then she may have done so even after he revealed this flaw of the Duke’s.
He walked off to the side, and then leaned against the wall. Courting was too difficult sometimes. He longed for the quality of life that he had had in the Navy, where he only had to follow his orders and as long as he did that, others did not worry too much about what he was doing in his time away.
Besides, Lady Catherine had confirmed to him that the brooch tonight had not been her idea. If she wanted to put her feelings for him in the past, why did she still have the brooch? He should have asked that. Perhaps she had kept it as a reminder of why she did not want him.
He had made her a promise, and he intended to fulfill that promise if he could.
Regardless, he had other women he was to dance with, mainly so that he was not dancing the entire night with Miss Alexia. His father only said he had to court and marry her; he had given no time frame for beginning that relationship.
Nicolas had resolved that he was going to enjoy the debut ball at Almack House and the Countess of Camberton’s tea party tomorrow.
Tomorrow…
Nicolas suddenly had a brilliant idea. He would be at Camberton tomorrow, and so would Lady Catherine. He was pretty sure that Lord Burton would be there too, but he knew that Lady Catherine would slip away from the party for a few minutes at some point. She loved the gardens too much to not sneak away and find some fresh air during the party.
That was when he could give Lady Catherine the information she deserved. He would tell her about the letter he had tried to mail her, that he had no idea where it was… and more. For now, with that buoying his heart, he decided it was time to find another woman to dance with.
He found an elegantly dressed woman standing to the side, her light pink dress complimenting her dark brown hair. He asked her to dance, and she almost squealed with glee.
Nicolas wondered if he had been the first to ask her to dance. She looked older than some of the other women here, and she had been sulking. If that was the case, he felt sorry for her.
Chapter Sixteen
The next day, Catherine could not believe what she was seeing. Her mother had decorated the manor for the tea party, and it looked splendid.
“You have outdone yourself, Mother,” she said as she walked over to her. “I have not seen the manor so intently decorated for any tea party before. What has inspired this?”
“I want your Season in Town to be as memorable as it can be, Catherine,” her mother responded with a smile. “It seems as though this will be your only Season in Town where you are an eligible woman for marriage.”
“What do you mean, Mother?” Catherine frowned, her eyebrows meeting in the middle of her forehead. “I am not courting anyone… if I were, you and Father would have been the first to find out about his request.”
“You and Lord Lockhart seemed to have enjoyed your dance last night,” her mother said.
“Mother, there is nothing romantic between Lord Lockhart and I,” she replied with a shrug. “He asked me to dance for old times’ sake, I believe, and that was all there was to it.” She did not know what else to say to her mother.
She had enjoyed her dance with Nicolas, it was true, but she had not felt the same butterflies and tingles that she had while she danced with the Duke of Hestina. With the duke, she had felt as though she was in a fairy-tale. He made interesting conversation, and he had not focused on the past. Though, she had a feeling that was more because they did not have a past like she did with Nicolas.
“Are you sure, Catherine?” Her mother’s eyes widened as she spoke. “If I had known I would not have said anything, but I believe there is no denying that Lord Lockhart is madly in love with you.”
It was Catherine’s turn to have wide eyes.
“Mother, I…I…” She tried to say something, but her words had failed her. This was the first time since they had arrived in Town that Catherine could truly say had made her speechless.
If Nicolas was in love with her, then why had he been with Lady Alexia Balfour last night too?
“I cannot tell you what to do when it comes to love, Catherine, but I pray you heed the advice that I give now. You must follow your heart.” Her mother walked towards a vase of flowers on the other side of the room and began to rearrange them.
“I find the Duke of Hestina much more charming than I do Lord Lockhart, Mother.” Catherine finally managed to say something, but it felt half-forced to her. “I have not seen him in three years, and I do not believe anything from our childhood has carried over as far as feelings for him go.”
“Yes, the Duke of Hestina is rather charming, but after having seen you with Lord Lockhart, I feel that I must tell you that I have doubts about the duke.” Her mother turned to look at her. “Catherine, this is a very serious subject. If you do not believe that you have any feelings for Lord Lockhart, then you cannot lead him on like that.”
“I am not leading him on, Mother. I danced with him to be polite, as would have been expected regardless of how well I knew him. I suppose that is all I can say about why I danced with him.” She pursed her lips, and then she continued, “Besides, he was dancing with Miss Alexia all night. I enquired after her identity and found out that she is the woman he has been seeing. I do not believe they are courting,yet, but from how they interacted last night, I believe they will be courting soon.”
“There is a difference between real, solid love, and a fleeting infatuation, Catherine,” her mother responded. “I only want you to be happy. Ultimately, you should marry for love and for nothing else.”
