Page 38 of The Duke's Reluctant Muse
It is because I am in love with the Duke.Her sobs grew all the harder as she recognized that the pain that tore at her every single day was not merely because of the Duke’s absence, it was because the very gentleman that her heart yearned for had seemingly stepped away… and might never return to her again.
***
“Good evening, Miss Jeffries. Are you not to dance this evening?”
“Good evening, Lord Dalton.” Elizabeth managed a smile as Lord Dalton nodded to her brother. “I shall dance, so long as the dance is fairly soon for I do not intend to stay too long.”
Lord Dalton nodded, his eyes searching hers as though to seek out some sort of understanding. His hand reached out for her dance card and Elizabeth gave it, hoping that one dance would satisfy her requirements for the evening.
“I hear that you are now courting Miss Glendale.” Lord Dennington interrupted Elizabeth’s conversation with Lord Dalton. “I do hope all is going well.”
“Indeed, it is.” Lord Dalton winced, his expression rather surprising given what he had just said. “I fear that I may have been a little hasty in some of my determinations earlier this Season – some of which I shared with the Duke also. Miss Glendale has shown me that I was quite wrong in my thoughts and considerations.”
Elizabeth’s eyebrows lifted slightly. “Might I ask what it was that you said?” She recalled that the Duke had written in one or two of his letters about such a thing but could not recall the specifics. “I do hope it was nothing too terrible!”
Lord Dalton chuckled ruefully. “I think I stated that all young ladies were just as untrustworthy as the particular younglady that I had, at the time, most recently been drawn to. I told the Duke that he ought to be careful, that every young lady he met was hiding something of her character from him. Now, however, I have learned that a young lady can be just as she seems to be, that she can have no secrets whatsoever and be just as trustworthy as I might wish her to be. Miss Glendale has shown me that and I now feel myself a little embarrassed that I ever thought or said such a thing to anyone!”
“Yes, I remember now.” Elizabeth closed her eyes, missing the heavy frown that pulled at Lord Dalton’s expression. “But you are quite right, Lord Dalton, there are many young ladies who can be utterly trustworthy.” Opening her eyes, she gave him a smile while at the same time, feeling a wrenching of her soul. “I am glad that Miss Glendale has shown that to you.”
“Elizabeth? Thank goodness I have found you!”
She turned, just as Lady Annette grasped her arm, pulling her away from Lord Dalton who, with a nod of seeming understanding, handed Elizabeth her dance card and then stepped away.
“Dennington?” Lady Annette grabbed his arm, her face white. “You must help! I have heard the most dreadful rumour about the Duke and it must be stopped!”
Fear clutched at Elizabeth’s heart. “Rumour?”
“I know that I am meant to be staying far from gossip and believe me, I am not speaking of what I have heard on any occasion to anyone – aside from you, of course – but this is something that could do the Duke a great deal of damage! And… and you also.” She swallowed hard, her eyes fixing to Elizabeth.
“To me?” Elizabeth’s stomach dropped as her eyes then turned to her brother. “What is it? Have you heard of anything, Dennington?”
Her brother shook his head. “No, I have not. What is it, Annette?”
Lady Annette took in a breath, her fingers still gripping Elizabeth’s arm tightly. “It is said – and I have heard it said here this evening – that the Duke of Nottingham is nothing but a rogue and a scoundrel. That instead of being the chaperone as he ought to have been, he has been seeking to…encouragethe affections of particular young ladies in the hope of a dalliance. That he has no intention whatsoever of matrimony or the like but seeks only his own pleasure.”
Going cold all over, Elizabeth shuddered violently. Her entire future was suddenly shaken, her standing ruined by a rumor that, it seemed, was now quickly spreading around London.
“Your name has not been mentioned,” Lady Annette added, though the doubt in her voice made Elizabeth shake her head, aware that even though her name had not been said specifically, thetonwould soon be able to recognize it.
“It does not need to be,” she whispered, opening her eyes to look to her brother. Lord Dennington was frowning, his cheeks flushed with a heat of anger but his mouth in a thin, tight line. He had said nothing but was, instead, simply gazing straight ahead of him as though somehow, amongst the crowded ballroom, he might find an answer.
Elizabeth’s heart quailed, dread seizing her as she tried to think about what they might do to counter the rumor. Her mind sought for an answer, tried desperately to find a solution but none came to her. Instead, there was only darkness and a growing sense of emptiness and fear – fear that her standing would be knocked to the ground and that she would be left with nothing.
And what would that mean for her brother and Lady Annette? If Elizabeth’s reputation was to be ruined, then that would touch upon her brother’s good name also, would it not? Which meant that Lady Annette’s brother, even with hiscomplete lack of consideration for his sister, might be unwilling to let the match go ahead for fear of what it would do to his own family’s reputation!
She warned me that I would be caught up in these difficulties,Elizabeth thought to herself, her head dropping low, her eyes squeezing closed.And I did not let her threats frighten me. But now, now that I am in this darkness, I tremble.
“My hearty congratulations to you!”
Still reeling from what Lady Annette had told her, Elizabeth turned just as a large group of ladies rushed towards her, with one gentleman reaching out to shake Lord Dennington’s hand.
“An excellent match, my friend, anexcellentmatch.”
“Match?” Bewildered, Elizabeth glanced from Lady Annette to her brother. “Dennington, did you...?”
He shook his head no, just as the ladies descended upon Elizabeth.
“You are to be a Duchess?” one exclaimed, as Elizabeth reached out to grasp Lady Annette’s hand, seeking strength and support. “Goodness, how wonderful!”
