Page 26 of Stolen By the Duke of Ice
“Dahlia, my dear girl, it has finally happened!”
“Let’s see your young man!”
“A duke, are you?”
Peter groaned inwardly.
Chapter Six
Dahlia could not help it. Seeing Peter fawned over by scheming mamas and hopeful debuntants during society balls was one thing, but seeing him fawned over by his female elders, members of the nobility whom he could not give the cut direct, was the most amusing thing that she had ever witnessed. The look on his face as he had caught her eye was an appeal for rescue. An appeal she decided to ignore, at least for the meantime.
“Dahlia, my dear, I must take you away from the Duke and from your dear aunts, just for a moment,” her mother said. “I shall bring her back very soon, You Grace.”
She followed her mother to Lady Susan’s chambers where her aunt presented her with a pair of earrings given to her on her own wedding day by her mother—Dahlia’s paternal grandmother. Lady Susan had borne no girls and thought it best to gift the pieces to Dahlia, keeping them in the female line.
Touched at the gesture, she hugged her aunt. Dahlia’s spirits were lifted even higher after the encounter. When she returned, she mischievously decided not to join Peter and was at once pulled into her cousins’ group.
“Dahlia, I think the Duke is trying to get your attention,” Anthony, her younger cousin, said.
“Oh, no, he’s just trying to say hello.” She hid a giggle. She knew there would be hell to pay later on, but she also knew that it would be well worth it.
“I really think that he’s calling you, look.”
She looked over and saw Peter motioning to her, his mouth forming her name.
“Oh, no, indeed, I think he is telling our great aunts about his trip to Italy—Italia.” Trying very hard not to laugh, she sounded out the word, “I-ta-lia, you see?”
By now, Peter was shooting her dark looks. She gave him a dazzling smile and waved.
He can handle a few more minutes, I think. The dinner bell will be sounded in a little while anyway.
Dahlia was still watching Peter as he attended to her great aunts again. Wanting more entertainment, she excused herself and joined another circle of relatives who stood beside Peter and thegreat aunts. With her back to them, she strained to hear their conversation.
“…thought she would never marry! Why, we even thought…”
“…should have chosen one of them, but you know Dahlia…”
“…the only one in the family to have reached that age…”
Dahlia frowned. This was not the conversation she had wanted to hear. She knew sooner or later someone would make similar comments, but she had hoped it would be later. She was considering taking away Peter from her great aunts when the turn in the conversation stopped her.
Better!
“…you must remember that. It is extremely unlucky. Especially if it grows near your house…”
“…makes a ticking noise, especially during a long dark winter, that is a sure omen of…”
“…why, when the countess bore the child, she enlisted a new midwife when instead she should have…”
Dahlia could not help it. She laughed aloud and before her relatives could say anything, excused herself. She turned and collided against a solid wall—Peter’s chest.
“I’m glad to see that you are entertained, Lady Dahlia.”
Discreetly, he clamped his hands around her wrists as he felt her move away from him.
“Oh no, you are staying here, if you please.”
Dahlia bit her lip, ready to burst with laughter.
