Page 8 of A Duke for Hire

“Yes, that is kind, but I am not officially a lady. Miss Seraphina will do just fine,” she corrected him.

“Miss Seraphina,” he stated, still giving her that same confused frown, “I believe you have me mistaken for someone else. My name is Hugo Fenwick, Duke of Merrivale.”

“Of course,of courseyou are,” Seraphina agreed, smiling wide. “Goodness, there is that talent Theo spoke of. I see you have already stepped into your role, which is very wise.”

From beyond, she heard the faint voices, and knew that their time had run out.

“I am so thankful that you are helping me with this,” she told him, reaching out to squeeze his hand. Immediately she felt him somehow grow even more still, but the touch was brief, and she quickly let go as she took a quick look around.

“I should depart. The others are starting to arrive,” Seraphina whispered, moving toward the steps. “Allow me to go first, if youdo not mind. Just do not dawdle here too long, all right? It would not do to have you “arrive” too late. You need to be seen, yes, but gossip about any bad habits will only deter our plan.”

“Miss Seraphina, are you sure that you-” He began to say, but Seraphina was already on the path toward the front door.

“Do not worry,” she whispered, feeling her confidence grow, “We can do this!”

“Hugo! There you are,” Tristan greeted as he stepped out of the library. “You weren’t hiding in there, were you?”

“I was just gathering myself for a moment,” Hugo retorted with a frown. “Pulling myself out of isolation is harder than I expected.”

Tristan’s smile faltered for a moment, and he nodded.

“I suppose it would be,” his friend admonished. “But never fear. You’ll find your feet as soon as you start talking with the others.”

“Actually, I did just talk to someone,” Hugo replied, an amused smile tugging at his lips.

“Oh, really? Whom?” Tristan asked.

“A most curious young woman,” Hugo said, glancing back at the library. “It was odd. She spoke to me as if she knew me. As if she knew she would find me out there.”

To his surprise, he felt the urge to smile.

“She was quite insistent on knowing me, actually.”

“You are sure it wasn’t an… ‘old friend?’ Tristan asked.

The way his friend looked at him, Hugo knew he was worried about his reputation being brought up; the one thing that would make him leave the party. And if such a woman was there, there was sure to be talk.

“No,” Hugo laughed, “It has been quite a while since I had any ‘old friends’. It was before…” His voice trailed off as flashes of blood and splitting flesh marred his mind.

“Anyway,” he forced on, refusing to dip back into the past, “She was, in fact, quite kind. Refreshingly forthright.”

Tristan looked at him with both amusement and relief.

“And, pray tell, who is this woman you speak of?” He asked.

Before Hugo could answer, the two of them heard Theodosia’s voice at the end of the hall, calling for her brother.

“Ah, duty calls,” Tristan sighed, clinking his glass against Hugo’s. “You will tell me about it later, yes? ”

Hugo nodded as his friend turned and hurried toward his sister. Behind his back, he shook out the hand that Seraphina had squeezed. Her touch did not trigger the fear that he was used to, but still, it was strange.

“My, my, a new face,” a gentleman said, drawing Hugo from his thoughts.

He turned and saw a slightly younger gentleman approaching his left.

“We rarely have those among theton,”the man went on. “Tell me, mysterious stranger, who might you be?”

Hugo felt his insecurities suddenly tuck themselves deep within his mind, and he drew in a breath as he stood taller and reached for the man’s hand with confidence.

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