Page 20 of What's a Duke Got to Do With It
Leaning forward, planting his elbows on his knees, he said, “Very well, I shall tell you. But I’m certain Lord Cartmel would wish me to impart this to you in the strictest confidence.”
“Of course. I am the soul of discretion.” He must have looked dubious, however, for she laughed. “I know well and good when to keep my mouth shut. Which, I assume, has been a main component in my longevity. If I spoke of the majority of the things I have heard in confidence, I would not now be of this earth.” Again a chuckle.
Despite himself, Sebastian found himself smiling. The dowager viscountess was one of a kind, that was a certainty.
Before he could think better of it, he lowered his voice and said, “As you have noted, Mr. Bridling has gone and fallen in love with the actress Miss Mirabel Hutton. And you are right in that Lord Cartmel does not approve of her. The baron was of the opinion that some time away from the woman would do the boy some good.”
The dowager rolled her eyes, waving a hand dismissively in the air. “Cartmel is a stick in the mud. To go to such lengths due to the woman’s profession?” She made a rude sound.
Sebastian choked on a laugh. “You do not see anything wrong with the match then?”
“Of course not,” she returned. “Why, I have known my fair share of actresses in my day and they were a jolly bunch to a one. But there is no accounting for taste, especially from someone as stodgy as Cartmel. But I assume your presence here has a purpose, and you are toassistthe boy into forgetting his actress?” At his reluctant nod she continued. “As I suspected. And, knowing Lord Cartmel as long as I have, no doubt he is also holding something over your head to ensure your help. Considering I am all too aware of what your father did to the dukedom before his untimely passing, and considering it has been mentioned that you are expected to make a match of it with Lord Cartmel’s daughter, I am going to guess that the girl’s dowry is a large one… and you have desperate need of it. Do I have the right of it?”
Truly, the woman was the most frightening person he had ever known. “Are you a mind reader, then?” he muttered with reluctant admiration.
“I shall take that as a yes,” she remarked dryly. “Well, if that is the case, what are your plans for the boy?”
Which was a question he had not been prepared for. He shrugged. “I did not have any specific plans, to be honest,” he replied. “As Lord Cartmel was of the mind that Bridling would quickly tire of his actress with time and distance, I did not think it necessary to plan anything.”
“Then you are as big a fool as he is,” she scoffed. “And, of course, this means I shall have to get involved.”
She heaved a heavy sigh, as if she could not think of anything she wished to do less. But Sebastian saw the glint of excitement in her eyes as she pursed her lips in thought.
Without warning she thumped her cane on the ground, as if punctuating what she had said.
“But I do think we are done here, at least for the time being. Why don’t you take over for Bridling, Your Grace, and send the boy here so I may get a sense of what might work best to turn his head.”
Bemused, confused, and all manner of-usedes, Sebastian did as he was bid, standing and making his way toward the pianoforte. It was only when Bridling was on his way to Lady Tesh’s side, however, and Sebastian looked down on Miss Denby’s sweet face that he realized what a fatal mistake this had been. For he suddenly felt himself transported to those long-ago days when his future had been bright and his dreams centered around a smile from those large blue eyes.
Katrina’s fingers slipped on the keys as she gazed up at the duke. No surprise, as her heart was frolicking about in her chest like a gamboling puppy at his closeness. The discordant sound clanged through the room, making her wince. Mouse, whose head had been pressed against the instrument as he liked to do when she played, pulled away and whined.
“Miss Denby,” Lady Tesh called out, “is there a problem?”
Heat suffused her cheeks as she patted Mouse’s head in reassurance and looked back to the music sheet. “Not at all, my lady.”
With incredible willpower—truly, it took no less than her entire focus, considering the very warm, very male figure now stationed at her side—Katrina once more found her place in the song and began to play. The cheerful tune filled the air, mingling with the low murmur of voices coming from Lady Tesh and Mr. Bridling’s direction. She could do this, she told herself bracingly as her fingers moved over the keys. The duke was just an old friend. There was no reason to be nervous around him.
Just then he reached past her, turning the page—and nearly turning her head as well as those strong fingers came into view. The smell of pine reached her, so reminiscent of those times he used to station himself at her side for just this reason that she nearly melted right into the bench.
Perhaps, she thought with no little panic, if they were to fall into conversation, she wouldn’t be quite so physically aware of his presence. His personality was so altered, after all, that conversing with him should remind her that she was not the popular debutante flirting with London’s premiere rake any longer. Clearing her throat, she said, “You appeared a bit distressed, Your Grace, while talking to Lady Tesh. I do hope the dowager wasn’t too forward in her words to you. She can be… blunt at times.”
“At times, eh?”
Despite herself, she laughed, though it was a nervous thing, considering the effect he was having on her. “She does take some getting used to. But she is kind, in her own way. I daresay I could not have survived the past years in her employ if she were not. She tends to terrify those of a weaker constitution, of which I am regrettably one. Of course, not everyone can be so strong-willed. And I am glad Lady Tesh is so fierce. At least, when it is not being directed toward me.”
“And you are happy here?”
The question, so quietly said, so gentle, took her completely off guard. Blessedly the song ended just then, and though the notes fell away a bit too abruptly, it was not so jarring that anyone would notice. She looked up into the duke’s face, trying to understand where such a question had come from. The worry there, buried deep in his eyes but there regardless, made her heart lurch in her chest.
“I am,” she rasped. Then, unable to help herself, she added, “As happy as I can be.”
Which did nothing to alleviate his worry if the deepening divot between his brows was any indication. She should not have been so honest. He had enough to worry about, after all. He did not need to concern himself with her as well.
But they had remained silently staring at one another too long. Though it was not Lady Tesh’s strident voice shattering the tension between them; rather it was Mouse, who was apparently not quite through with listening to music. He was suddenly there beside her, rearing up, huge paws coming down on the keys, creating a discordant explosion of sound that had Katrina wincing.
“Miss Denby,” Lady Tesh called out, “do play something else so that beast of yours behaves.”
“Yes, Lady Tesh,” Katrina replied, even as she pushed her pet away from the instrument. “Very well, you naughty thing,” she hissed before blindly grabbing the next music sheet in the pile beside her and beginning to play. Anything to settle her pet and the dowager. Too late, however, she realized the song was all too familiar, a sweet love ballad she had played once before with the duke—then Lord Marsten—standing at her elbow. He had flirted with her, distracting her mind from her nerves at playing before a crowd. Did he recall that night? Surely not, she comforted herself. The man had much more important things to concern himself with.
