Page 25 of A Virgin for the Cruel Duke

Her eyes were drooping and she felt a little anxious at the thought of the hours and hours of party left, the supper, the table manners, the revelries and dancing and music. Her head was throbbing and the whole of her felt tired and pleasantly exhausted but being here for so much longer sounded quite impossible.

However what else could she do? Unless -

She glanced at Stephen, who was listening to Selina and smiling a little, the corners of his lips tilted up in that way they did when he was secretly amused and trying not to show it.

Maybe Celia was right. Maybe she should try telling him what she wanted.

“Your Grace,” she said carefully. “I find I am getting quite tired. Would it be possible for me to excuse myself and return home in a little while?”

He glanced at her, a crease forming on his brow and Selina peered at her as well before standing and walking away with her usual purposeful strides.

“What is she…?”

“She is fetching Herbert and Diana,” Stephen said, standing up and waving over one of the servants. “Please ask the Marquess or Marchioness to join me.”

The servant bowed and disappeared across the room as Elizabeth tried to bring enough focus together to understand what he was saying.

Celia joined the quickly, a frown of concern on her face that eased a little when Stephen bowed slightly.

“We must return home early,” he said formally. “I am sorry to disrupt the party but my wife is not feeling well.”

“Oh no,” Celia glanced at Elizabeth and nodded. “I see. Of course you must do what is right for her. We will hold another event soon and you must come and visit next week for supper.”

“We will be delighted,” Stephen said as Celia turned to arrange the collection of their coats and his siblings hurried up. Diana’s sweet face was twisted with concern and even Herbert, who had certainly been the slowest to warm to her had a tiny crease on his forehead.

“You do look pale,” Diana whispered. “Oh Elizabeth, are you well? We must go home immediately and you must to bed.”

“I shall have cook put together a small tray of broth and tea,” Selina said firmly. “You mustn't exert yourself.”

“I’ve called the footman and the driver,” Herbert added. “We can leave immediately.”

Elizabeth flushed. “Everyone does not need to leave with me,” she protested. “I shall be well enough for a little while yet and then one of you could drive home with me and return for the last of the party if you absolutely had to.”

All of them looked at her in confusion, so strikingly similar in that moment that Elizabeth could see the family resemblance even with Diana, who was smaller and curvier than her angular, dark-haired siblings.

“Elizabeth,” Selina said. “What you need matters to us.”

“Indeed,” Stephen said. “However, if Elizabeth feels the matter is not urgent, I can take her home and the rest of you may stay here until the morning and make your way back then. There is no need for you to miss the party as long as it is not an emergency.”

“Oh you are all going to convince everyone that I am pregnant indeed if you continue like this,” Elizabeth said drolly, and they laughed. “No, I assure you. I am but tired.”

The others needed a little more reassurance, but once they were certain that she was not ill they agreed to stay and enjoy the party, and Elizabeth was allowed to lean on Stephen’s strong steady arm on the way out to the carriage. She wondered what it would be like to have that arm wrapped around her shoulders, keeping her warm on the way home.

It was a lovely thought and one that she let herself sink into as they traveled on, the carriage rocking soothingly and the night outside magical and wonderful at once. They were traveling through a small wooded area and she was gazing out of the carriage window so that Stephen would not have a chance to see how flushed she had become when she saw something move in the road ahead, a fluttering frightened movement that she recognized from her days exploring the Rosenberg Estate.

“Stop the carriage!” she said, so loudly and sharply that the driver pulled to a halt at once and she leapt down, barely noticing the mud staining the bottom of her dress and ran towards what she had seen.

CHAPTER 12

The night had been far less of a disaster than Stephen had initially feared. For the whole hour he had waited for Elizabeth to ready herself for the outing he had been pacing and trying not to think about what would happen if she were stubborn enough to go to a socially prestigious event wearing one of her appallingly plain outfits.

However she had surprised him, coming into the room a vision in pink, her cleverly set curls glossy and her skin glowing and radiant. She was a vision, and he was a little surprised to find himself looking forwards to turning up to the party with the most beautiful woman in England.

While he was pleased that Celia and Elizabeth had clearly hit it off, the fact that his wife did not know the most basic things about approaching something so essential as an evening party left him uneasy and angry with her entire family.

No wonder she often stayed quiet or looked uneasy when matters of proper behavior came up. After seeing her very nearlycurtsey to Perceval he was half inclined to believe that no one had taught her anything on how to be a lady and they were all extraordinarily lucky that they had gotten as far as they had without any serious mishaps.

One day Albert Barnes was going to reap the fruits of his many cruelties and Stephen was increasingly certain that there were many small evils he had done to his illegitimate daughter.

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