Page 68 of A Duchess Disciplined

The door opened, and Catherine peered inside at him. His breath caught in his throat as his eyes traced along the delicate curves of her slender form.

In the yellow gown, Catherinedidlook like a daffodil. She was as delicate and beautiful as any lady of the ton, and he had the passing thought that abandoning the garden party and taking her over his desk might be a far more enjoyable way to pass the evening.

“Are you ready to go?” she asked.

“I have been for some time,” he replied. “I was beginning to wonder if you might have decided to spend the entire day arranging your hair.”

Catherine gently patted her curls. “Rose did splendid work this morning. There is no need to insult her skills as a lady’s maid,” she said. “And she most certainly did not take all day, only the amount of time that was needed. Perhaps, you do not realize how long it takes for a duchess to make herself presentable.”

His lips twitched in amusement. Despite his desire to argue, Catherine did make a compelling point. William had not lived with a duchess for some time, and he had not the faintest idea how long it might take a woman to make herself appear presentable.

“I suppose I cannot argue when the results are so comely,” he said.

William considered asking about the overheard conversation with his sisters, but he could find no way of doing so without admitting that he had been lingering outside the lady’s door and listening in on her personal conversations. He did not wish to do that, for it was a most ungentlemanly thing that he had done. Catherine would bemercilessif she knew.

“I am certain that you could devise an argument if you wished to,” Catherine said. “You clearly delight in being the most contrary of men.”

“You also delight in being contrary, although I have hopes that you will exhibit some restraint today,” William said, rising from his chair. “This garden party will be the first event where I introduce you as my duchess, and I need you to look the part.”

She did look the part, but William could not say the same for her attitude. Still, what was the worst that she might do? He considered the question for a brief moment but quickly decided that the possibilities were too horrifying to contemplate at the moment. This woman had chased after a gaggle of ducks, after all. Who was to know what she might do if she encountered a clustering of song birds in the garden?

Horror surged through him as he imagined Catherine’s lovely yellow gown stained with mud and grass and her curls all askew.

“I will look the part,” she said. “I shall be a perfect duchess in public, as promised. You have no need to doubt me, Your Grace.”

She curtsied elegantly, as if to prove her point. If William was a softer man, he might have been thoroughly convinced by the display of propriety. But he was neither soft nor foolish. A fierce feeling of foreboding overcame him.

Even if Catherine did her best to be the perfect duchess, something was bound to go terribly wrong.

CHAPTER22

Catherine was determined to prove that she could be the duchess William wanted, although she was uncertain that he had given her much of a reason for why she ought to be. If she wasnotthe perfect duchess, he would correct her behavior, but Catherine had grown to find that experience inappropriately pleasant.

As she lighted from the coach, she was aware of William’s eyes on her. Her buttocks still tingled faintly from his attentions the day before, and the sensation made her feel delightfully daring.

Lady Beckingworth’s gardens were large and extravagant, boasting a wide variety of colored flowers and sweeping grasses that partially covered the stone path that wove through the gardens. The lady herself was a woman well into middle age. She was quite plump and clad in a blossom-pink gown that did not quite suit her form, but she seemed happy with herself. Her smiles were infectious, and when Lady Beckingworth’s green eyes landed on Catherine, a warm feeling swept over her.

“Oh! This is the lovely duchess!” Lady Beckingworth exclaimed. “You are so beautiful, Your Grace!”

William nodded curtly. “Yes, she is the Duke of Reeds’s sister.”

“I know him well,” Lady Beckingworth said, “as well as his predecessor. God rest his soul.”

Catherine curtsied politely. “Regrettably, my brother has never spoken of you. I can scarcely believe why he would wish to hide such a delightful lady from me! What was he thinking?”

Lady Beckingworth laughed. “Who knows? I find that men are regrettably forgetful when it comes to introducing ladies to one another. Perhaps, they fear we shall become too powerful if we form alliances.”

Catherine shot a swift look towards William, who watched her with a sharp intensity. He seemed to anticipate her failing this interaction somehow. For the first time, Catherine felt herself soften a little at the sight of his concern. She had spent much of her admittedly short marriage being frustrated with William’s refusal to recognize that she was strong and independent and did not need a man to tell her how to be a proper duchess.

Seeing him look so obviously concerned made her realize that he careddeeplyabout appearances. She was unsure precisely why, but she sensed that it was not merely wanting to meet the usual expectations of the tonthat drove him. There was something more to his motivations. This was important to him, so she would be perfect. For him.

“I am certain that is the case,” Catherine said, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “It will displease His Grace deeply, but I would be honored if you would introduce me to some of your female acquaintances. We might forge more alliances, all the better to vex my dear husband.”

Lady Beckingworth laughed behind her fan. She snapped it closed and looked at Catherine with eyes that glittered with mirth. “Oh, Ilikeyou,” she said. “I think we will get along famously. Your Grace, might I borrow your lovely wife and introduce her to my ladies?”

William chuckled. If one did not know him well, Catherine suspected he would have appeared confident and composed, but she caught the minute twitch of his jaw. He wanted to protest.

“It would be nice to meet some of the ladies in the country,” Catherine said, looking aside at her husband. “Regrettably, we do not have many acquaintances in common, my lord.”

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