Page 61 of Saved By the Rakish Duke

It simply read.

Duncan chuckled to himself—his hunch had been right after all, Harlington had only given Lady Penelope the note as part of a ploy to get her to speak to him again.

As he settled back into his seat, Duncan had no doubts that Harlington likely had several other similar schemes ready to draw the truth out of Lady Penelope.

For a brief moment, he once again considered warning her about them. But upon stealing yet another glance at her delicate features in the bluish, low light—eyes wide with anticipation and a smile tugging at the corners of her lips, Duncan held back.

Heneededto know what had pushed her away from him so suddenly. And if this was the only way to do so, then guilt be damned, he was going to find out.

* * *

Duncan welcomed the intermission with open arms and practically leaped at the opportunity to stretch his legs.

Ordinarily, the prospect of making mundane conversation about an opera he had already seen a few times this year would be the last thing he would want to do in the world.

But he didn’t know how much more of the awkward tension he could take. Although Lady Penelope appeared completely indifferent—possibly even forgetting that Duncan existed at all—he found his breath hitching every time she let out an impressed gasp or adjusted in her seat.

It had been agony.

Finally!he sighed to himself as he accepted a glass of brandy from one of the servers before they carried on attending to the other attendees that were pouring back into the entrance hall.

The way he had practically dashed out on Mother and Penelope was a far cry from what could be considered ‘good form’ or ‘gentlemanly’. But he did not chastise himself for it too much as he watched Harlington take care of them—Mother on one arm with Lady Penelope on the other.

Duncan ducked into the crowd to avoid catching their eyes, he knew that the best thing he could do for now was to give Harlington ample opportunity to learn as much as he could.

In the meantime, Lady Madalene must be wondering why Harlington’s attentions have wavered. I should probably distract her in the meantime.

He found their family with ease, remembering how her father—the Earl of Delmar—was always keen to discuss the murals that lined the opera house’s West Gallery in particular as it focused on Ancient Egypt.

Sliding next to Lady Madalene, he flashed the debutante a polite smile as he listened to Lord Delmar once again explain to the small group of peers the intricate details about the bust before them.

“At this rate, I hope the impresario is compensating your father handsomely for his zeal and dependability,” Duncan joked in a soft whisper.

“On the contrary, I believe he would pay the impresario for the opportunity to stay here full-time,” came Lady Madalene’s dry reply, but she continued to watch her father’s enthusiasm with softened eyes.

“Or perhaps the impresario should be compensatingyoufor your patience.” Duncan smiled, his voice coming out slightly sultrier than he had intended. “I’m certain that you have memorized every detail about every piece in here by now.”

The longer their conversation carried on, the more Duncan gradually eased them towards the edge of the crowd. It was an old trick he employed whenever he wanted to ensure a lady's undivided attention—taking small, almost imperceptible steps backward every few minutes.

In this case, however, he employed it more for the sake of ensuring that their lighthearted and inconsequential discussion did not interrupt Lord Delmar’s more informative one.

As the intermission neared its end, all of the guests—including Duncan and Lord Delmar’s family—began slowly pouring out of the West gallery and into the entrance hall.

A hand landed on Duncan’s shoulder, the suddenness startled him, but the sensation was a familiar one.

“Harls.” Duncan acknowledged with a nod as the hand slid off his shoulder. “How did your quest go?”

“She was quite wary of me at first, but the conversation eased up eventually,” Harlington recounted under his breath. “She did not get the opportunity to state outright why she suddenly wants nothing to do with you. However...” his voice trailed off.

“However?” Duncan prompted impatiently.

“In our search for the answer, it appears that it has found us first.” His friend directed his eyes to a group at the far end of the room.

Duncan followed his line of sight until his eyes landed on Lady Penelope along with whatever Viscount Gloushire was saying.

“It would appear that Lady Penelope has cast you aside in favor of allowing Lord Gloushire to occupy her time,” remarked Harlington.

“Be that as it may.” Duncan pushed out a breath as he felt the fire of protectiveness stir within him, “I still don’t see why she would deem it necessary to push me away. It isn’t as though she is replacing one lover with another. We were... friends. You can still remain friends with someone.”

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