Page 18 of What's a Duke Got to Do With It
With each question put to him, the duke’s expression grew more horrified until, by the end, his jaw had dropped open a considerable degree. She swallowed hard. Well, she certainly had her answer, didn’t she? But now she felt vaguely ill. Here was quite possibly the only man in England who did not know about her scandalous past, and she had gone and told him the whole of it.
Well, not the whole. Nausea made her stomach pitch and roll like the deck of a ship. There was still the whole debacle with Lord Landon returning and then proceeding to tryagainto climb into her window, but instead falling to his death. But that was neither here nor there.
The duke, however, seemed no better off than she was. He blinked several times—it must be catching, this eye malady that made one flutter one’s lashes like a debutante—before clearing his throat and shifting from foot to foot. “Ah. Er, yes. That is, no, I had no idea. After my father’s death, I’m afraid I was quite consumed with everything that needed to be done. Between that and Ramsleigh Castle’s isolation, I did not learn any of the goings-on in society until my return just months ago.”
“And you did not ask after me on purpose,” she finished lamely.
He managed a smile, but it was a sickly thing. “Quite.”
But, much to her shock, he was not through, not by far.
“As you have told me your scandal, it’s only fair that I tell you mine. If you are as unaware of it as I was of yours, of course.”
“Your scandal,” she repeated blankly. “You were involved in a scandal?”
“Yes.” He cleared his throat. “Or, rather, my father was. Which, of course, means I am as well. As you were not apprised of it, it would appear as if you are every bit as isolated from news here as I was at Ramsleigh Castle. I assure you, it was the talk of the town for some time, and I am still recovering. You see, after losing the majority of his fortune to creditors, my father tried to recoup his losses by creating a false investment scheme. He bilked numerous people out of their money, then promptly lost everything. I have spent a good portion of the past four years making reparations, paying it all back, with interest.”
He smiled again, though this time there was a spark of humor in his eyes. Well, perhaps not humor, but there was something there, a recognition of just how ridiculous this whole thing was.
“And so,” he continued, “we are two peas in a pod, us scandalous creatures.”
Katrina did not think it possible she could laugh just then. But she found her lips quirking in humor, then a chuckle escaping, which she hastily held back with tightly pressed lips.
He cocked one eyebrow, his eyes shining with reluctant mirth. “Don’t stop yourself on my account,” he murmured.
Which succeeded in loosening the last bit of control she had on her inappropriate bout of humor. A laugh broke free that she could not contain no matter how hard she tried. In the next instant she found herself doubled over, giggles pouring from her.
She feared the duke might find offense in her reaction. He certainly never meant for her to be so overtaken with amusement as this. But his deep chuckles joined her own, rough and tumbling from his lips in a jumble, like a bunch of rocks in the neck of a river that was finally worked free. Soon they were both roaring with laughter, the freeing sound of it joining with the distant sound of the waves crashing against the cliffs and the lowing of the wind through the trees.
Their laughter trailed off, reduced to the occasional chuckle. But their smiles remained. They gazed at each other, and for the first time since his arrival, Katrina felt she saw something of that man he had once been. For perhaps the first time in four years, the band about her chest loosened, a band she had not even realized was there.
In the next moment, however, it was back in place, tighter than ever.
“I say,” Mr. Bridling said as he emerged from the house and made his way toward them, “you two are awfully jolly. Mind letting me in on the joke?”
Those words, as innocuous as they were, had all the power of a wall going up between her and the duke. A quick glance at that man as she surreptitiously stepped back—she had not even realized she had stepped closer to him—and she saw the serious, austere duke had returned. His eyes, cool once more, passed over her before coming to rest on Mr. Bridling.
“I thought you would be resting in your room, preparing for dinner,” he remarked to the younger man.
“No doubt,” Mr. Bridling murmured, looking back and forth between Katrina and the duke with narrowed eyes.
Katrina involuntarily flinched. She had erred, and greatly. She had a very specific place in this world now, one that did not include falling back into the old friendliness she used to share with the duke. She was not a diamond of the first water any longer, was not society’s darling. No, she was a companion, who desperately needed her position. At least until she saw her plan through and found some poor man willing to take her on as a wife.
The duke had a need to marry, as well. But whereas Katrina would be content to find anyone respectable, the duke was set to marry Miss Bridling, Mr. Bridling’s sister. She saw it clearly now that he had given her the full story: his father’s scandal; how he’d needed to make reparations to those his father had wronged; his isolation from society followed by his sudden reappearance just months ago; his swift near-engagement to Miss Bridling, a wealthy heiress. Heneededthis marriage to save the dukedom.
Yes, she had erred in falling into such friendliness with the duke. But it was not only for her. She watched with increasing unease while Mr. Bridling continued to eye them both with suspicion. She would not ruin the duke’s chances with Miss Bridling. But what could she say to diffuse this increasingly tense situation?
Blessedly, Mouse appeared just then, bounding up to them. Managing a bright smile even as she drew upon her old talents for conversing—something she had not had to use since her time in London—she took hold of the dog’s collar, preventing him from going to his new favorite person, and turned to the young man.
“Oh, we were just laughing at this silly beast. But it is getting late, and Lady Tesh must be expecting me. Mr. Bridling, perhaps you might accompany me inside, for I wish to hear more of your Miss Hutton. It has been years since I was in London and I do not recall hearing her name. Would I have seen her in anything, I wonder? I do hope you shall tell me everything.”
As she’d hoped, the man’s suspicious look melted away, to be replaced by bright-eyed pleasure. “I would like nothing better, Miss Denby,” he said, holding out an arm to her.
Placing her fingers on his sleeve, she let him lead her inside, nodding briefly the duke’s way—making certain not to look at him, for if she did, she feared she might cry.
Chapter 6
Miss Denby,” Lady Tesh said later that evening as they lounged in the drawing room after dinner, “I find myself needing entertainment. Play us something.”
