Page 21 of The Wrong Duke

David grimaced. “Yes, yes, I’ll admit that Miss Thorn was...” He clicked his tongue.

“A sheep in wolves clothing?”

“Tempestuous?” David offered and then chuckled and shook his head. “Oh, but we were younger back then. What were we? Eighteen? That’s what being eighteen is for.”

“Being taken advantage of?”

“Figuring out the follies and pitfalls of love, Evan. Honestly, man...” He rested a hand on Evan’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “I know that you’re just being careful, but sometimes, you have to take a chance if you’re ever going to find someone or something worth fighting for. Love is hard, there is no denying it. But it’s also the most wonderful experience a man can... well, experience.”

“And you think Miss Baker is worth said experience?”

To this, David grinned. “I don’t know. You tell me.”

Evan frowned, not entirely sure what his friend meant by the comment. Was David already so taken by Miss Baker that he was willing to suffer heartache for a mere chance to see if she was worth it?

A small part of him wanted to admit that he couldn’t entirely blame his friend. Miss Baker... she was different. A flame trapped in ice. Even putting their fiery conversations aside, the kiss that they had shared just a few days ago was one that Evan had thought of more often than he would have liked. The goal had been to break her, but the more he remembered her wet lips... her soft tongue... the way she shuddered under his grip... Was it possible that she had broken him?

He reached for his glass of wine and drank deeply, fretting now because he was beginning to realize that he was going to have to work overtime to nip this in the bud before it had a chance to sprout. Images of his best friend appearing on his doorstep just a year ago, broken and irreparable like a shattered vase, flashed through his mind, hardening his determination to see it through. No matter what the cost.

David opened his mouth to continue, likely to wax lyrical about Miss Baker some more, but then the doors to the dining room flew open, and the other guests finally began to arrive.

There were fifteen of them altogether. Mostly, they were the same who had feasted at Lord Brundel’s estate just a few nights earlier: Lord and Lady Wexley and their son, the Honorable James Knight; Lord and Lady Chalmers and their daughter, Miss Martha Forbes; Lord and Lady Brundel, of course, although they had no child to speak of; and Lord and Lady Winstead, their son, Simon, Earl Basser, and their daughter, Lady Kate Bridges. All from London, all people whom Evan knew well enough, all members of thetonwith children who were searching for a life partner that would see them climb the social ladder.

The others in attendance, Evan wasn’t sure of but guessed them to be from out of London, here for the Season to mingle and introduce their children to lord and lady who might suit their hand. As was proper, Evan rose when the guests began to enter, bowing and introducing himself, doing what he could to stay on the right side of Lord Lindstone whose lip curled obviously whenever one of his guests fawned over Evan.

“Your Grace...” A red-headed woman with a very large nose gasped when she saw him. “I had no idea — Lisa!” She grabbed at her daughter, also red of hair, also with a nose that defied convention. “Come and introduce yourself.”

“Your Grace, it is an honor,” she curtsied.

“Tell him your name,” her mother snapped.

“M — Miss Partridge,” the young girl who couldn’t have been older than twenty stammered as Evan took her hand and gave the back of it a kiss. This had her blushing furiously, and out the corner of his eye, he caught David smirking.

The whole charade took some time, close to fifteen minutes before they were all seated around the table. As David had been the one to suggest the event in the first place, his seat was at the head of the table, to Lord Lindstone’s immediate right, which also happened to be directly across from Miss Baker. Evan saw it coming, however, and was quick to sit himself down beside David so that he’d be in a prime position to intervene and keep an eye on things.

No need to say that Lord Lindstone looked furious with this placing... but was wise enough to say nothing.

“Doesn’t my daughter look striking tonight?” Lord Lindstone asked of David, once the dinner was underway. General chatter flowed down the table as plates were served and wine was poured.

“She does indeed,” David agreed with a charming smile. He looked across the table at Miss Baker and bowed his head. “That dress, it is stunning.”

“Oh, thank you,” she responded with a soft smile, meeting his eyes and then looking away. “It is my favorite color. I don’t know why, but yellow seems to match my complexion best.” She fluttered her eyelashes. “And you too, of course, Lord Malnor. Very handsome...” A sly smile and again she looked away.

“Your daughter is quite the charmer,” David chuckled at Lord Lindstone. “Surely, she doesn’t get that from you.”

“It must skip a generation!” Lord Lindstone cried in jest and slapped David on the arm. “But indeed, she is. Among many things...” A raised eyebrow, his meaning not clear but still very suggestive.

“How is your ankle?” Evan interrupted loudly, focusing the conversation onto himself.

“Excuse me?” Miss Baker frowned.

“Your ankle,” Evan repeated. “You twisted it the other day. Unless you’ve forgotten?”

Her eyes widened. “Oh! Yes, well, as it turns out, it wasn’t as bad as it seemed.”

“That’s lucky — isn’t it, Lord Malnor.” He elbowed his friend. “At the time, the way it tripped her, I might have guessed she’d broken it. Threw herself at you if you remember? But I suppose it can be hard to tell these things.”

Miss Baker was glaring at him but then seemed to realize what she was doing and softened her features. “It must have been the heat. Sometimes, it overwhelms me.”

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