Page 79 of A Duchess Mistaken
“A warning?” Mary echoed in confusion. “You do not seem to know what you are even warning him about. And I do think that if the duke does not wish to honor an agreement between him and the earl, that is not any of your concern.”
“Oh?” Solomon abandoned his perusal of the ballroom to look at his wife with a raised brow of surprise. “Since when have you ever cared about limiting your meddling?”
“It is notmymeddling, but yours.”
“Ah.” Solomon’s lips twitched. “A sound distinction, if any.”
“I would think so,” Mary said, sounding rather pleased with herself. “And at any rate, I believe that—Goodness, Caroline, are you all right?”
Agnes looked sharply at Caroline to see that her face was as white as a sheet, her eyes round as saucers.
“Caroline?” Agnes asked gently.
Caroline blinked rapidly and forced a smile onto her face with considerable effort. “Did my uncle say anything else?” she asked Solomon, ignoring Agnes who had taken her by the hand.
Solomon looked worried. Mary even more so. But he said, “He would not say any more, but it was clear that he is rather irritated. Even more so than I have seen him before, which is why I thought to inform the duke about it.”
“What of my aunt?” Caroline looked around for a brief moment, eyes shadowed with fear. “Has she said anything?”
“What is there to say?” Mary pressed. Agnes knew that there was little hope of her letting Caroline out of her sight now. “Caroline, is something wrong? What is the matter?”
“It’s nothing,” Caroline said quickly. She shook her head, averting her gaze, but if she wanted to seem fine she failed miserably. “I only need some fresh air.”
She disappeared before Mary could get the chance to say anything else, moving swiftly through the crowd. Agnes watched her go with a dull ache in her chest. She hated to see Caroline despairing.
Her attention remained so focused on Caroline that it took her a while to realize that her parents were staring at her. Agnes looked between Solomon and Mary, raising her brows.
“What is it?”
“Has something happened?” Solomon demanded to know.
“Why is Caroline so upset?”
“She is feeling a little tired, that’s all,” Agnes lied smoothly. “I’m sure she will be fine after she gets the fresh air she seeks.”
They didn’t believe her. That much was obvious from the dubious looks on their faces. But before they could say anything else, Johnathan appeared. And suddenly, little else mattered.
CHAPTER 28
Johnathan noticed Agnes’ arrival from the moment she walked through the doors. He would have gone straight to her side had it not been for the village vicar’s incessant talking. To fill the guest list at such short notice, Lady Sutton had suggested they invite a few persons from the village and Johnathan had happily agreed. He would not have done so had he known he would be subjected to such a fate.
“Of course, it would be nice to see you this Sunday, Your Grace,” the vicar went on. His cheeks were tinged pink and his words ran straight into the other enough times for Johnathan to wonder if he had already overindulged. An odd thing to assume about a man of God and yet…
“Perhaps I shall be in attendance in the near future.”
“Oh, I truly do hope so!” the vicar exclaimed. “This upcoming sermon will be a wonderful one, I assure you. Many attend my sermons and leave feeling invigorated so I am most confident that it would be the same in your case, Your Grace. Of course,I do understand if you are not able to attend as you must be a rather busy man but to think that?—”
“I shall attend,” Johnathan cut in. He tore his eyes away from where Agnes stood next to her parents, after Miss Caroline had just hastily taken her leave, to look at the vicar. “Pardon me, sir.”
He didn’t wait for the vicar to respond. With quick steps, Johnathan made his way over to the love of his life, his heart swelling with happiness the nearer he came.
It was alarming to see how quickly he’d changed in such little time. How easily a smile came to his lips, how excited he became at the notion of speaking to one particular person. As he approached, Johnathan had to fight the urge to slip his arm around her waist and pull her to his chest, planting a kiss on her cheek. Or her lips. Wherever his own lips might find themselves.
As if Agnes sensed his wayward thoughts, she took a discreet step away from him as if to warn him not to give in to them. Johnathan shook his head in disappointment. How could she have so little faith? She only smiled.
“Your Grace,” said Lord Sutton, reminding Johnathan that they were indeed not alone. “I have been looking for you.”
“Here I am, my lord,” Johnathan responded. He bowed respectfully to Lady Sutton who returned it with a curtsy and a smile. “Is there something you wished to speak with me about?”
