Page 27 of The Jilted Duchess
"You have done a great deal for me," Alexandra said slowly, squeezing his arm to stop him from protesting and interrupting her. "I owe you at least one favor if not quite a few more. I know that you have enough power and money to do most things for yourself but I think that I can give you something that you are unable to get for yourself."
"And what is that?" Hector asked, honestly curious. He could not imagine what his proper wife was about to propose, only that it must be serious and important based on her expression. He hoped one day to make her laugh more than she frowned; she had spent too much of her life frowning as it was.
"Propriety," Alexandra said, her little face solemn but her eyes sparkling just a little.
Hector laughed softly. "Och, and how are ye goin' to tame me beastly image, me wife? I think it might be well out of yer ability to manage."
"Not so, Your Grace," she said quickly. "You have plenty of knowledge about a great many clever and important things but you do not know a great deal about the rules of the ton. I canteach you that. All the ways that you might trip up and increase the rumors being spread about you, for instance. Like in what order people must go into dinner, how quickly to return a visit, even the reason why it is considered impolite to dance with your own wife."
"This one was your idea," he said with a smile.
"I am quite aware," she said, her cheeks pinkening. She was quite easy to fluster, and she wore her thoughts so clearly on her face that it was a true joy to tease her. "However, I can help you navigate such situations in the future without fear of offending or causing gossip. I can also help to keep your image clean from the kind of salacious nonsense that we heard today. I am a very proper lady, and it is hard indeed for people to imply things about your reputation if I am on your arm."
It was a generous offer, and one that appealed to him. As adverse as he was to bowing to public scrutiny, he was enough of a businessman to know that alienating his target market would not work for him in the long run. He might not like to be held to their strange standard, but he could at least learn it so he would know what and how he was breaking the rules before he did so.
"I like the idea, me dear," he said softly. "Ye know that ye daenae owe me this, however, daenae ye?"
"I do, though," she said, the rosiness on her cheeks deepening. "I do not know what I would have done without your aid and this is the very least that I can do to repay you."
"Och, now, let's nae talk of repayment between husband and wife," Hector said, leaning close so that he could whisper in her ear, soft and low and sweet. "And let me tell ye, me darlin' lass, ye should stop blushin' so prettily in front of me. It's a dangerous thing to show so delicate a face in front of a brute."
"Oh," she squeaked softly, drawing back with her face flaming and her eyes large and fixed on his face. He was quite pleased to see her take several large breaths before she could fully compose herself. "My first advice to you, Your Grace, is not to come so close to me when we are in public."
"And how am I supposed to keep distant from me lovely wife?" he retorted.
"I am sure a smart gentleman such as yourself can figure it out," she said pertly. The music had come to an end, and she stepped back from his arms, smoothing her skirt with small, prim movements. "Now, I am quite thirsty after our dancing. Would you escort me to the punch and help me to a cup?"
Hector grinned, enjoying the way she was glancing at him from the corner of her eye. She was a smart one, was his wife. Quick and sassy and full of enough wit to battle the whole of the ton if she had to. Yet she was still flushed by his words. It made him feel like he could take on the whole world.
"Of course, me dear," he said with a little gentlemanly bow, offering his arm. "It will be me pleasure to escort ye to yon tower of tiny glasses with pink lemonade in them."
She covered her mouth with her fan, and he thought she might be laughing at him. "Thank you, Your Grace," she said in such a sweet and polite voice that he almost laughed as well. "That would be most appreciated."
As they moved across the ballroom, he lowered his voice. "Why d'ye think we have to spend so much time talkin' about things in a circle to be polite?"
She swatted him on the arm with her fan and he laughed in delight. This was easily the best event he had ever attended.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Alexandra strode briskly down the hallway. She was a woman on a mission, and she would not be deterred from it. As she made her way towards her husband’s study, she rehearsed what she was going to say.
You must never have danced before and desperately need some lessons… No, that’s far too harsh.
I’m going to teach you how to dance properly before you hurt somebody… No, I can’t accuse him of that. Surely, it will just hurt his feelings.
You didn’t seem too comfortable dancing at the ball. I wondered if you’d like to practice the steps with me? Yes, that’s the one. Perfect.
She hoped that he wouldn’t be offended by the offer, and the less spoken insinuation that he had no idea how to dance correctly and elegantly in such a setting. She truly wasn’t trying to poke athis insecurities or to imply that he did not belong in the world of balls and prim and proper. But his discomfort had been plain for her to see, and she was sure she could help him loosen up and enjoy the next ball more if she could just teach him the correct steps in the correct sequence.
Alexandra hesitated only briefly before knocking on the door to her husband’s study. She waited and, upon receiving no answer, knocked again to cover her bases before pushing the door open. The large, cozy room was empty, and Alexandra felt a strange pang of disappointment as she entered. Of course, Hector wasn’t chained to his desk. But she was so sure that she would find him that his absence felt rather distressing for a brief moment. She shook her head with impatience at herself.
Casting her gaze around the room, Alexandra grimaced at the clutter. Papers were strewn everywhere, chairs were pushed haphazardly back from the ornate writing bureau, andthreetea sets crowded precariously on the edge of the larger desk. The room was stuffed full of furniture, and Alexandra briefly wondered if Hector had really chosen it all, or if it was a mixture of his father’s effects combined with his own belongings. She imagined him bringing his own desk and chairs and books down from Scotland. She could see him organizing them in a space already full of items, unsure if he could remove the valuable hallmarks and trappings of a duke while also desperate to try and make himself feel more at home. Alexandra flinched involuntarily when she noticed the stack of books, several left open with spines cracked, languishing sorrowfully in the corner. She decided there and then that this would not do. This would not do at all.
Alexandra hurried back to the study door. She had been meaning to head down to the servants' quarters to collar Mrs. Hopsted, but as luck would have it, the housekeeper was passing by, trailed by Jenny and Grace. The three women stopped as Alexandra exited the study, dropping polite curtsies.
“Your Grace,” Mrs. Hopsted said, echoed by Jenny and, a half second later, by Grace.
“Mrs. Hopsted, just the person I was looking for. Good morning, Jenny, Gracie. How are you getting along here on the estate?”
