Page 6 of The Duke's Indecent Match
She knew about attraction.Desire.
What she did not know was how to react to feeling such things firsthand.
Focusing on Lady Astrid, who was making introductions, helped.
“Kalina, this is Lady Nichole Dallas, Lady Karina Chipwith?—”
“Please call me Kari, or else this will become too confusing,” quipped the smiling young lady, brushing an auburn curl out of her chocolate brown eyes, and making the rest of the company laugh.
“—and Lady Johanna Ashmore, and her companion Miss Rose Belle.”
“So lovely to meet you all,” Kalina said, smiling and making sure to include Lady Johanna’s companion in her greeting.Miss Belle stood half a pace back from the rest of them, her hands folded in front of her, resting on the skirts of the plain burgundy gown she was wearing.She appeared to be of age as the rest of them, young for her position, and possibly determined to prove herself worthy of it.Her skin was darker than Kalina’s, her features and hair denoting her African descent, and Kalina could only imagine that she, too, felt different in this drawing room.
And they were the only two misses in the group.
Lady Johanna was Miss Belle’s complete opposite in every way.Her skin was so pale, it seemed nearly translucent, her white-blonde hair was piled in curls that looked so heavy, it was a wonder her slim neck could hold her head upright, and her wide, shockingly violet eyes were otherworldly.She was the definition of delicate.
“Do you see all the dukes?Have you met them?”Lady Kari asked, fluttering her fan and peeking over at the three surrounding the fireplace.That’s where the Duke of Hereford was.Kalina deliberately did not look back there.
Lady Astrid laughed.
“I did promise you all dukes.There are some other gentlemen who will be in attendance as well for you to meet.And a matchmaker will be joining us tomorrow.”She smiled at all of them, but she winked at Kalina, who felt her chest tighten.
There was no shame in using a matchmaker.That’s what she told herself.Lady Astrid had previously promised to contact her friend, whose grandmother was a renowned matchmaker for theton.According to Lady Astrid, her friend had taken over much of her grandmother’s work, though she did so in her grandmother’s name to continue the mystique.
“Did someone say matchmaker?”a deep voice asked in tones of disbelief, making all of them turn.
Tiffany’s brother, the darkly handsome and often serious Duke of Bolton, was standing there with his sister and her husband.The Duke of Clarence smiled widely.The two dukes were both tall, broad-shouldered, handsome, and dark of hair and eye, but their temperaments were very different.
If anything, the Duke of Bolton’s demeanor seemed to have become more serious since his sister’s marriage and his mother’s departure to the country for her health.The Duke of Clarence, by contrast, was entirely jovial by his wife’s side.Marriage suited him.
“Yes, a matchmaker.Why, did you want some assistance with finding your bride?”Lady Astrid asked archly, narrowing her eyes at him.
The Duke of Bolton snorted inelegantly, causing Lady Kari and Lady Nichole to giggle and fan themselves.He slanted a look at them, raising his eyebrows as he did so.
“Do you think I need a matchmaker, ladies?”he asked, causing both of them to fall into more fits of giggles.
Beside them, Lady Johanna stared silently, pressing her lips together.Behind her, Miss Belle glanced at the other two giggling ladies and sighed inaudibly.Kalina felt rather in kinship with Lady Johanna, who was apparently shyer and quieter than the other young ladies they’d been speaking with.Perhaps she was as delicate as she appeared.
“I doubt it, Your Grace,” Lady Kari replied, batting her eyelashes coquettishly up at him.
He smiled and gave Lady Astrid a sardonic look.
“See?No matchmaker required.I am a duke after all.”The declaration caused another fit of giggling from the other two ladies while Lady Astrid rolled her eyes.
“Sebastian is certain the right lady will fall into his lap, eventually,” the Duke of Clarence said.“Perhaps even this weekend.”He winked at the whole group of young ladies, chuckling when his wife elbowed him.Tiffany sighed at her husband’s lack of tact, shooting a look at Kalina, who smiled back at her.The Duke of Clarence was too charming to be disliked.
“Well, Mei and her grandmother, Lady Hu, will be here to meet with anyone who would like to speak with them.They have connections all over thetonand have already successfully arranged two earls and a baron’s marriage this Season.”Lady Astrid looked at the Duke of Bolton rather challengingly, as if daring him to say something derogatory.
He simply smiled.
“I am sure the earls and the baron are grateful for their help.”He looked around.“Now, Lady Astrid, before the matchmaker arrives, I do not believe I have met all the young ladies already here.”
Before introductions could be rendered, the arrival of three more dukes set the group to titters, rapidly expanding their numbers.Lady Astrid did her duty of introducing everyone, then somehow, the group settled into two separate parts again, though the Duke of Montagu had wandered away to look out the window.That there were two lovely married ladies who were attending the house party without their husbands likely had no impact on his decision.
Kalina found herself between Lady Astrid and the Duke of Bolton.Opposite her were Lady Johanna, Miss Belle, and the Lord of Luck himself, the Duke of St.Albans.Rumor had it he would only marry a woman if a flip of his coin indicated he should.Kalina wondered if he’d flipped for her already or if her fate was yet to be decided.
He seemed an amiable enough sort.Easy to get along with.Not as high in the instep as the Duke of Bolton.But also…
