Page 17 of The Unwanted Duchess

“What do you want, Miss Norton?”

Miss Norton was standing nearby, giggling at her.

“Nothing in particular, Lady Samantha. Believe me, I was not actively seeking you out, for you are not the typical company that I like to keep.”

“Likewise.”

“You know that is not true. A lady of your background would give anything to be in my circles, and you know it.”

“I would rather be known to nobody at all than run in your circles, especially if they are all as self-serving as yourself.”

“Those are some rather horrible words from someone that should feel privileged to be here.”

“I do not owe you gratitude of any kind. You did not invite me here, and therefore are not my hostess, and so I do not see why I should be grateful to you.”

“Perhaps I did not invite you, but you should be grateful for the fact that I have been avoiding you. If the two of us were together, there is no chance that any of the men here would want to marry you.”

“I do not wish to marry any of them!” Samantha snapped. “Why is it that you all expect that of me? I do not care about becoming a wife, be it a wife of a prince or of a commoner. There is no man that I love, and so there is no man that I wish to marry. Truly, where is the difficulty in understanding that?”

“Well, if being unmarried is what you wish, then you shall be quite fortunate indeed.”

“And what is that supposed to mean?”

“It means that your father is not being realistic. You know as well as I do that a woman such as yourself should never aspire to a good match, no matter what frivolities you are being fed by your father.”

“He does not — Miss Norton, I do not know what you believe you heard, but you are wrong.”

It was quite clear to her that Miss Norton had heard her discussion with her father somehow, but she had misunderstood it completely. Her father was not like Miss Norton’s parents had been described to her. He did not say anything to her out of kindness or to make things easier. It had only ever been out of malice, but Samantha did not want Miss Norton to know that.

“I am never wrong, Lady Samantha,” she smirked. “Especially not about ladies such as yourself. I am good to that awful Penelope out of respect for Lord Drowshire as he is a true gentleman that knows how one should carry themselves, buteven then, it would be far better for all of us if she simply remembered her place.”

“And what might that place be?”

“As a good little wife to whatever man dares to take her. It is quite simple, really, but I cannot expect much by way of intelligence from you.”

“Are you like this with everyone or only ladies?”

“If you mean my disdain, then you must know it has nothing to do with ladies, and everything to do with how some of you act.”

“And how might I act?”

Miss Norton scoffed at her, shaking her head as if in utter disbelief.

“You think that you are worthy of a good match, Lady Samantha, and whilst you may not like it, you need to hear this. You are not.”

“And why not?”

“Look at you. Your father may be an earl, but he is a drunk and a scoundrel. You have no mother to speak of at all nor a decent father. I remember you from your last London season, as do many of us, and we could not believe that you were grantedinvitations to those events either. As I heard your father tell you, he has already found a match for you, and so it would be better if you simply accepted his offer of mediocrity and returned home. You are not wanted here, so you should stay away from both Lord Nicholas and the Duke.”

“You do not know anything about me.”

“I know enough about you to be sure that you are not welcome here.”

“What were you saying about the Duke?” A man’s voice came suddenly, and for a few seconds, Miss Norton seemed to lose her composure.

“It was nothing, Your Grace,” she replied meekly as the Duke of Gloryfield appeared behind Samantha, startling her slightly.

“Are you quite sure? Because I felt as though my ears were very much burning. I thought I was able to see smoke, but I may have been mistaken.”

---