Page 35 of A Virgin for the Ruthless Duke

Did he perhaps want to repeat it?

“Have a good night, My Lady. I will see you at breakfast tomorrow,” a masculine voice said.

“Good night, My Lord.”

Diana’s giggle calmed her anxious heart even though disappointment welled up inside her. She pushed down the feeling and smiled inquisitively at her sister, who was startled to see her.

“Selina, I… I didn’t expect to find you awake,” Diana stuttered. “You retired early, and I… It’s not what you think. He just escorted me, and we were not unchaperoned… Do not think anything improper.”

Diana only rambled when she had been caught doing something she shouldn’t have, and it was a welcome pleasure to see how uncomfortable she was now. It wasn’t often that Selina got to see her sister’s perfect feathers ruffled, and now that the opportunity had presented itself, there was no way she would let it slide.

“I didn’t do any such thing, Diana, but now that you’ve pointed it out, I have no choice but to ask. Who was the gentleman who so kindly walked you to our chambers, unchaperoned, so late at night? Is he a new beau?”

“He is not a beau, and he is no one you need concern yourself with,” Diana answered, folding her arms. “If there’s anyone who should be answering that question, Selina, it is you. I have noticed that you and the Duke of Seymour have been spending time together. Are you two courting?”

“No, we are not,” Selina answered firmly. “We only talk because of his recent acquaintance with Stephen. It would be rude to ignore him.”

“It doesn’t look that way, Selina. I have seen him laugh with you several times, and from what I have observed, he looks at you even when you’re apart. You look at him in the same way. Are you in love with him?”

The Duke looks at me?

A hot blush rose to her face at the thought that he had been watching her the same way she had been watching him. Did that mean he liked her the way she liked him?

Why, then, would he be helping her look for a spouse?

Realizing she hadn’t yet answered Diana’s question, she looked up to see the girl smiling widely.

“I am right, aren’t I?” Diana squealed, jumping onto the bed. “I am so ecstatic for you, Sister. A duke! Aunt Martha will be so pleased, and you won’t have to marry her friend!”

Selina didn’t want to dampen her sister’s excitement, but it had to be done, seeing as she had gotten such a strange thought in her mind.

“You’re reading into things that aren’t there, Diana,” she told her, pushing down the grief that the words stirred. “There is nothing between the Duke and me. We have similar interests, and if he does laugh, it is because he enjoys my sense of humor.”

“Sense of humor or not, Sister, the man never smiles, much less talks to anyone. He is the same as Stephen—or, at least, Stephen before he married Elizabeth.” Diana wrinkled her nose.

It was not hard to see why the girl had hope. Selina had warned the Duke that their frequent interactions and his near snubbingof all other unmarried ladies would spark rumors, but the odious man didn’t seem to care.

“That he is, but we are not courting. I do not want the duties that come with being a duchess, and you know that, Sister. I detest the attention and unending conversations. It is just not for me.”

“But if the Duke were to propose, would not you accept?”

“I would not.”

Lies,her subconscious screamed.

Even as the words left her mouth, Selina knew them to be a severe untruth. Even though she hated to admit it, there was no one else, aside from her siblings and Elizabeth, with whom she had enjoyed conversation as much as she had with Richard.

“I am surprised because I thought I had accurately read the situation between you two. He is always by your side, and I was thoroughly surprised that you hadn’t chased him off with your sharp tongue or begged off the conversation.”

“How would you know, when you have disappeared over the last few days?” Selina said with a pointed look at her sister, who turned red and hid her face in her hair. “Are you keeping secrets now, Diana? Who is the gentleman that escorted you to your chambers? Unchaperoned might I add.”

Diana giggled and shook her head. “I can tell you’re changing the subject to distract me, but I can answer your question,” she said with a scolding look. “I might have made a new friend, but I cannot tell you just yet who he is.”

“Oh?” Selina asked with a raised eyebrow. “And why is that?”

“Because there is nothing to it,” Diana answered with a smile. “Besides, he has helped me escape the suitors that Aunt Martha has been foisting on me. That woman is relentless.”

“If Mother were still here, I fear she would have been much the same.”

---