Page 29 of What's a Duke Got to Do With It
Impressed and, if truth be told, almost frightened by her quick competence, Sebastian made to rise and do as he had been bid. Before he could, however, the dowager viscountess’s voice halted him.
“One more thing before you go, Your Grace.”
Pausing, Sebastian glanced at the dowager. But she did not smile or look crafty now. No, her expression was almost solemn in nature. The anxiety he’d felt upon entering the room returned then tenfold.
His fingers tightened on the arms of his chair as he settled back into the plush cushions. “Yes, my lady?”
“Are you infatuated with my companion?”
If she had swung her cane at him and punched a hole in his chest, he would not have been more stunned. He fought to draw breath. “Pardon?”
If anything, the dowager’s expression became more serious. “You have both been open with the fact, of course, that you were friends back in London. But after watching you the last few days, I get the feeling there may have been something more between you. And after last night…” Here her voice trailed off, and she shrugged.
Of course I’m not infatuated with her. The words were simple enough, shouting through his mind. He willed them to cross the barrier of his lips. But no matter how he tried, they would not come. Swallowing hard, he finally managed, “Miss Denby is my friend and nothing more.”
It would have satisfied most people. Not Lady Tesh. Her gaze became almost sad. “And what of your upcoming engagement with Mr. Bridling’s sister?”
It did not escape his notice that Lady Tesh did not ask him what his feelings were for Miss Bridling. Swallowing down the lump of sadness that had settled in his throat, he said, “It will happen. So long as we are successful with her brother, that is.”
“I see,” she said. And he saw from the mournful way she considered him that she did indeed understand, only too well.
But Sebastian could not take a moment more of this interrogation. Rising abruptly, he bowed and strode from the room. But he could not leave behind the empty sense of loss Lady Tesh’s questions had created.
Katrina had not been prepared for anything out of the ordinary when the Seacliff party made a sojourn to the beach that abutted the busy Promenade two days following the disaster of an evening at the Assembly Rooms. Granted, she had not expected such a trip at all. Lady Tesh was not keen to traverse over sand, considering her need for a cane. But Mr. Bridling was youthful and exuberant, and so she supposed her employer wished to show him all the places where the younger people tended to congregate to make his time on Synne more to his liking.
But this, she thought as she looked out over the group of busily chattering young people all bunched within what was obviously an elegant, boisterous picnic of sorts, was shocking to say the least.
Lady Tesh must have seen the stunned look on her face. As the phaeton slowed she leaned in and said, “I thought Mr. Bridling could do with a bit of lighthearted fun.”
Katrina blinked as she looked at her employer. Lady Tesh had been the one to put this all together? Which should not have surprised her, she supposed. Lady Tesh was brilliant at knowing just what was needed for her guests.
Yet looking on the motley group of young people spread out over luxurious blankets and rugs, under large white tents that resembled billowing triangular clouds, all of them talking and laughing, she couldn’t help but be highly impressed. Mr. Bridling was a spirited man straight from London, and this was just the kind of outing to appeal to someone of his personality.
But along with that awe was a healthy dose of fear. Since the ball, she had felt decidedly bruised and battered. True, the fact that the duke and Mr. Bridling had danced with her had helped some with how others had treated her. Even so, she had been sadly devoid of dance partners the rest of the evening.
She scanned the crowd anxiously as she descended from the phaeton and accepted Freya from Lady Tesh. Blessedly it seemed all of the people present today had not been at that cursed ball. In fact, it appeared as if a good portion of today’s guests did not live on Synne at all; rather they lived nearby on the mainland and visited Lady Tesh on occasion, and so perhaps they might not know about her unfortunate reputation. They had always been kind to her in the past. She bit her lip, sending up a prayer that they would continue to be kind to her today as well.
The duke, who had arrived on horseback alongside Mr. Bridling, approached then and held out his arm to Lady Tesh. “Do you require assistance, my lady?”
In answer, the dowager viscountess batted her lashes coquettishly at him and placed her hand on his sleeve. Katrina, bemused, could only stare after them.
Suddenly Mr. Bridling was at her side. “Miss Denby,” he said with a wide smile, holding out his arm, “it would be my honor.”
“Oh! Er, thank you,” she said, shifting Freya’s slight weight and taking the man’s proffered arm. They made their way down the path that had been cut into the stone, soon reaching the sandy expanse of beach and the group of revelers.
Honoria, who had been lounging on a blanket with her sister, Miss Emmeline Gadfeld, and her two cousins, the Misses Felicity and Coralie Gadfeld, rose to her feet and hurried to Katrina’s side. “Well, isn’t this jolly?” she said, taking Katrina’s arm once Freya was placed in Lady Tesh’s lap. “Lady Tesh, I cannot thank you enough for your kind invitation. This is the perfect occasion to prepare us for the upcoming summer season.”
Lady Tesh, seated now in a massive plush chair beneath the shade of one of the tents, tilted her head as she observed Honoria. “And did you have any trouble with your esteemed father?” she asked quietly.
The smile that had been spread across Honoria’s full cheeks faltered. “I daresay we would have had trouble—if I had told him where we were heading off to. Not that I lied outright to him. Even I with my outrageous ways would not do something so sinful as to lie to a vicar.” Here she laughed, though it held a strained quality to it. “But I thought it would be better for everyone if I simply left our destination unsaid.”
“You are a smart woman, Miss Gadfeld,” Lady Tesh said, lifting one silver eyebrow, her eyes twinkling. “I always knew I liked you.”
“The feeling is mutual, my lady,” Honoria replied, this time with a full grin before she returned her attention to Katrina. “Well then, come along. There’s fun to be had.”
Katrina blinked. “I cannot leave Lady Tesh, Honoria.”
“Nonsense,” Lady Tesh barked from her seat. “I have given Miss Gadfeld here orders that she is to keep you away from me. You are a young person as well, after all, and should enjoy the day as much as anyone else. And besides, I have brought Violet for any need I may have.”
