Page 18 of A Duchess Mistaken
“He is kind, my lady,” Caroline said at last.
“And you find him handsome, I’m sure?”
This time, Agnes did hit the wrong key. She glanced up to see that Prudence had noticed and was giving her a rather dirty look. She resisted the urge to return it.
“Yes, my lady,” Caroline said, her cheeks coloring. “But you are right. I do not know him well.”
“You will in time, my dear,” Mary said nicely, patting Caroline on the knee. “You should take your time and follow your heart.”
“Yes, my lady.”
“Such careless advice,” Prudence grumbled.
Mary shifted slightly to face the countess. “Lady Reeds, did you hear of Lady Henderson’s two month mourning period?”
Just like that, Prudence forgot about the conversation surrounding the duke, grabbing at the chance to gossip. “I did! Can you believe her?”
Agnes’ lip twitched. Her mother was as admirable as ever at diverting one’s attention from one thing to another. She released the breath she had been holding, letting herself fall into the music now that the conversation had strayed away from talk of dukes and marriage.
She was so focused on her playing that she didn’t realize when the men arrived. It was only when she heard her father’s hearty laughter did she look up from the pianoforte keys. Her heart skipped a beat when her eyes fell on the duke.
The duke was talking with Solomon. Whatever the conversation was must interest her father greatly because he carried the brunt of it, going on and on in an animated manner. He was so deep in the conversation that he seemingly did not notice the duke’s eyes wandering to her every few seconds.
Boldly, going against everything she’d been telling herself, she raised her brows at him and then jutted her chin to the pianoforte she was playing, a silent invitation.
She expected him to respond in kind. Even if he didn’t make his way over, which might give off the wrong impression, she thought he might pick up on their silent method of conversing.
But he only gave her an apologetic look before he turned his attention to her father.
It surprised Agnes so much that she hit the wrong key. The sharp note rang through the room and many heads turned towards her.
“Oh for goodness’ sake,” Lady Reeds complained. “Caroline, why don’t you play for us? Perhaps your music will help to settle our stomachs.” Then she twisted to look at the duke. “She is quite skilled, you see.”
“Of that, I have no doubt,” His Grace stated and then turned to face the pianoforte.
Agnes held back her scowl, getting to her feet. Caroline gave her an apologetic look as she walked by but Agnes only smiled at her. It was not her fault her aunt was so pressuring.
“Lovely playing, sister,” Paul teased with a grin.
“Hush or I will tell Christopher that you do not know how to shoot a shotgun very well,” Agnes shot back without hesitation. When her brother paled, she gave him a wan smile. “Or would you like your new role model to remain unaware of how little you know?”
Paul grumbled something under his breath, but she paid him no mind. It was easy to see that he looked up to Christopher. During their conversation at dinner, the admiration in his eyes had been thinly veiled. Agnes didn’t mind poking fun at her brother because of it.
Her mirth quickly died when she looked at the duke again. This time his attention was on Caroline. But the way he looked at her…it was stricken with unending remorse. But what for? Agnes had assumed that he’d given her that look as a way of denying her invitation to come over to her but why would he look at Caroline the same way?
As she studied him, she began to realize that he was not so much looking at her as he was looking through her. His mind seemed miles away. What was he thinking about?
Her curiosity nagged at her, so much so that she hardly realized when Caroline’s song ended.
“Play another, Caroline,” Lady Reeds urged just as Caroline came to a stand. The countess looked eagerly at the duke. “Did I mention how skilled she was? You should listen, Your Grace.”
The duke thinned his lips and nodded slightly. Lady Reeds did not seem very pleased with that response. She looked at Caroline and gestured for her to continue.
“Is something on your mind, Agnes?”
Agnes shook her head, forcing a smile on her face as she looked at her mother. She hadn’t noticed when she approached. “I am just a bit tired.”
Mary raised a brow. “You do not look tired. You look as if you came across a confounding equation that you simply must get to the bottom of.”
