Page 45 of A Duke to Undo her
She shook her head. There was only one man who might answer her troubling questions and ease her unhappy mind, and this could be her last chance to see him. Still, until the Duke of Ashbourne appeared, Benedict Emerton’s company was always easy and warm-hearted.
“Dancing with a good friend is quite help enough,” she told him and he settled for that in his usual undemanding manner without further complicated questions.
On the dance-floor, Benedict Emerton was as agile and energetic as ever and Josephine enjoyed being his partner as much as she enjoyed horse-riding or playing pall mall with him on the lawns. How different it felt to be in the blond man’s arms, as opposed to those of his dark-haired brother in certain other situations. She could never imagine Benedict kissing her, or wishing him to do so…
Josephine returned to Vera in order to rest after the first two dances, entreating the light-footed Mr. Emerton to dance with Lady Rose next, since her partner in the earlier measures had proved embarrassingly inept. All other potential dance partners were rejected and she could barely drink the champagne that her sister pressed into her hand, nor show any interest in Madeline’s conversation about other guests.
At last, as the quadrille was ending, Josephine saw a slight stir in the entrance to the ballroom, and felt her heart skip a beat when she observed the dark hair and deep blue eyes of the Duke of Ashbourne, escorting his fair-haired mother into the ballroom.
Cassius looked somber tonight, and as sad as Josephine felt, but this only drew her to him even more. The longer he had avoided her, the more it felt vitally important that they talk to one another. Tonight, she would not allow him to run away again, no matter the cost.
“…my sister is resting, sir. Perhaps Josephine will dance later…Josephine?”
Vera broke off from declining an unwanted dance proposal for her sister, as Josephine began to pull at her arm.
“Let us go and greet Duchess Nerissa,” Josephine urged. “Look, she has arrived with the duke.”
“Why, yes, certainly,” agreed Lady Elmridge, baffled but unable argue with this forceful display of good manners towards their hosts.
Her eyes fixed on Cassius Emerton, Josephine saw immediately the moment when he spotted them coming towards him. A flash of something like pain crossed his darkly handsome features before he composed his face into an expression of polite blankness to briefly acknowledge another guest.
“There is no hurry, Josephine,” her older sister reminded her as Josephine steered through the crowd towards her targets with steely resolve. “The ball has only just begun and I don’t think the dowager duchess is planning to go anywhere.”
Josephine was barely listening, her entire attention now on the tall dark man in evening dress beside Duchess Nerissa. She saw that one button on Cassius’ waistcoat was fastened wrongly and his stock already slightly askew. As they drew closer, he pulled at his collar unconsciously, as though he was already feeling the heat of the ballroom, his eyes drinking in Josephine with an almost tangible intensity.
How she wanted to touch him! Josephine’s hands itched to pull open all those buttons, rip off the duke’s collar and stock entirely and cover his chest with her kisses. The secret places between her thighs ached with the very thought of it, and longed for his caresses.
The longing in the Duke of Ashbourne’s own dark-ocean eyes was blatant by the time they came to a halt in front of him. Josephine saw him take a deep breath, and then another and was only glad that he too was struggling with the pull between them. Did he know the dress was only for his eyes?
Her determination not to be ignored seemed to be having its intended effect. One way or another, Josephine knew she must get to the bottom of her strange relationship with Cassius Emerton tonight. She could not leave Ashbourne Castle without understanding what had happened between them.
Cassius Emerton bowed, his eyes remaining locked with Josephine’s as Dowager Duchess Nerissa and Lady Elmridge greeted one another and traded compliments.
“How well your dress tonight becomes you, Lady Josephine,” remarked Duchess Nerissa with a warm smile. “Those emeralds are exceptionally well chosen too. I don’t believe I’ve seen a prettier young lady here tonight, for all the diamonds and finery on display. Don’t you agree, Cassius?”
Josephine blushed and the duke’s jaw worked for a moment before he found the words to reply to his mother.
“I am sure there are many elegant young ladies here tonight but none can match Lady Josephine,” he said with somewhat forced gallantry and another bow, this time looking down, as though he could not both gaze on her and speak. “Lady Josephine’s beauty is unique.”
“Thank you,” Josephine said to both of them, seeking and finding the duke’s gaze once more as soon as he raised his eyes. “I am glad you like my gown. I chose it particularly.”
Again Josephine saw that flash of pain in his eyes and reveled in knowing that Cassius felt something so strong in her presence, even if it hurt her too to inflict suffering on him.
“The emeralds in Josephine’s hair belonged to our mother,” Vera began to tell their hostess, conscious that there was something odd about the present conversation but unsure what, and hoping to steer it back to normality. “There is a matching necklace, but it is little too much for someone so young…”
Duchess Nerissa’s ears seemed to prick up as the orchestra again began to tune and prepare for the next measure. None of them were really listening to Lady Elmridge as she talked of the family emeralds.
“Cassius, why don’t you take Lady Josephine to the dance floor?” proposed Nerissa Emerton. “I should like to have a proper conversation with Lady Elmridge and I’m sure you will find us dull.”
Both the duke and Josephine were speechless at this suggestion, which seemed to surprise them both even more than her placing them together for the musical performance earlier in the week. Josephine looked at him with hopeful eyes and felt the corners of her mouth beginning to turn up. Surely, he could not refuse a request from his mother?
“There you are!” called out Benedict Emerton’s cheerful voice as he pulled alongside them. “The next dance is to be a waltz and I need the perfect partner to show the room how it is danced properly in Vienna.”
For once, Josephine felt only dismay at Mr. Emerton’s arrival, not wishing to hurt her friend’s feelings but entirely unwilling to be torn away from the Duke of Ashbourne, especially at this crucial moment.
“Dear Benedict,” remarked his mother with an affectionate smile crinkling her blue eyes. “Do you know, I have never danced a waltz and I should like to very much. Will you teach me?”
The blond man looked startled for a moment, seeking and finding no clarity in any of the faces in the group. His older brother’s expression was smoldering in a way only Josephine could understand, Lady Elmridge was bemused, his mother surprisingly enthusiastic and Josephine herself unusually uncommunicative.
