Page 5 of The Uncouth Duke of Longford
“Which is watching rather than taking part,” Lord Wrexham interjected, firmly. “Why do you not come and join me and the group of both gentlemen and ladies just over there? I am sure there would be many present who would be glad to see you.”
Andrew shook his head.
“You are truly quite contented here?”
“For my first ball, yes,” Andrew replied, quickly. “Do you not recall that I am a Duke? A Duke who has not been seen in some time?”
“Ah.” Lord Wrexham tapped the side of his nose. “You are afraid that there will be those present who will immediately come to seek you out.”
Andrew nodded. “I do. And I do not want company.”
Lord Wrexham lifted his shoulders and then let them fall. “I am afraid that is going to be inevitable, Your Grace, regardless of when you should choose to make your presence known. In fact, I should say that the sooner you do such a thing, the better it will be.”
“And yet, I am not convinced,” Andrew replied, firmly. “Besides which, I have already heard two young ladies speaking in private conversation and, if that is the sort of creature which surrounds me here this evening, then I am all the lesser inclined towards doing what you suggest.” His friend scoffed at this but Andrew kept his gaze steady and steadfast, refusing to be moved.
“You are still too much in darkness, my friend,” Lord Wrexham said, sighing heavily. “Society is full of welcome and joy but yet, you persist in hiding yourself away. Tell me, have you not had enough of the shadows for a time?”
The question was spoken quietly but it made Andrew’s skin prickle, anger beginning to flicker in his heart. “Be very careful, Wrexham.”
“I do not mean to upset youorinsult you,” came the swift reply. “But you know very well what I am speaking of. This isnot a time to carry those shadows forward. This is a time to release yourself from them, to fill your mind and your heart with strength which comes from friendship, from entertainment and the like.”
Understanding what his friend was saying, seeing the kindness meant in his friend’s words, Andrew took in a deep breath and then let it out very slowly indeed. “Forgive me. I did not mean to sound – ”
“You have no need to apologise,” Lord Wrexham interrupted, smiling. “I understand that this must be very difficult for you but that does not mean that I will not continue to encourage you. You will gain a very dark reputation if you do not.”
“I do not know if I mind that particularly,” Andrew replied, a little heavily. “Run along back to your friends and the curious young ladies who send me such inquisitive looks.” He offered Lord Wrexham a wry smile as the gentleman looked over his shoulder and then back again to Andrew. “For the moment, I shall remain here.”
Lord Wrexham let out a small sigh and then shrugged his shoulders, perhaps giving up in his attempts to help Andrew – for which Andrew was relieved. “Very well,” he said, with another prolonged sigh which did nothing whatsoever to encourage Andrew to alter his present stance. “But you will come to Whites after the ball, will you not?”
Andrew shook his head and seeing the frustration on his friend’s face, let out a small huff of irritation. Mayhap he was being overly harsh, mayhap he was being too quick to refuse Lord Wrexham but he could not bring himself to step out into the light, to join the ballroom, to smile at the young ladies and have them present their dance cards to him. Not yet, at least. It was too soon. He was not yet ready, not yet prepared for such a thing as that.
“The fashionable hour tomorrow, then?”
Hearing the hopeful tone in Lord Wrexham’s voice, Andrew nodded slowly. “Very well. I will join you for the fashionable hour.”
His friend grinned, though narrowed his eyes just a little. “I do not know if I can trust your word, Your Grace,” he said, with a quiet chuckle. “Therefore, I shall come to call for you, I think. You may ride with me in my carriage and that way, I can make certain that you shall truly do as you have said.”
Andrew opened his mouth to protest, opened his mouth to state that he had no need for his friend to chaperone him, only to close it again. Lord Wrexham was quite right. If he did not do such a thing, then there was every chance that he would change his mind, that he wouldnotjoin him after all.
“Tomorrow, then.” Lord Wrexham nodded and before Andrew could make even a single word of protest, turned around and made his way back to where the ladies and gentlemen were standing. Andrew scowled hard, disliking the fact that his friend had practically forced that situation upon him but finding that he could not make any real protest. This was why he had come to London, was it not? He had come so that he might find a little more enjoyment, that he might be free of all that weighed him down.
But the heaviness had not lessened. Indeed, to Andrew’s mind, it seemed to have grown a little. It grew because of the realization that he could not be as so many other gentlemen were. He could not laugh and dance and smile as though everything were well with him, as though nothing else was of any concern. He could not eventhinkof marrying, could not even imagine what it would be like to tell a young lady about the difficulties of his past. So what was left for him? Darkness? Lingering in the shadows in the hope of seeing even a flicker of light?
With a sigh, Andrew shook his head and stepped back so that the shadows wrapped around him a little more.Perhaps I ought never to have come to London at all.
Chapter Three
“Rachel?”
Rachel blinked, then pulled the sheet a little further up over her head. It was much too early for her to hear her sister’s voice.
“Rachel!” The door cracked back against the wall and Rachel let out a groan, hearing her sister’s footsteps bringing Bettina closer to her bed. “Get out of bed at once!”
“Why should I?” Rachel asked, keeping her eyes closed and the sheet over her head.
“Because I demand it.”
Rachel let out a snort. “I do not give into demands, Bettina.”
