Page 53 of Saved By the Rakish Duke

She fidgeted with her thumbs as she patiently waited for His Grace. He had promised to introduce her to the fourth and fifth names from her practice list: the Marquess of Wayshell and the Duke of Montguard respectively. But it had been over an hour since they had arrived at the ball, and she still hadn’t been introduced to either of them.

With Jerry’s words still gnawing at her—in addition to her own worries—Penelope decided she needed to be more active in seeking out new prospects.

With so many guests present, it would be practically impossible to catch the attention of someone on the other side of the room, so she would have to aim closer.

Stealing a discreet glance to her left, she spotted a trio of gentlemen several yards away. Two of the men seemed deeply engrossed in whatever the discussion was about while the third appeared to only be listening half-heartedly.

He looks to be about my age and with an unassuming air despite being tall.

True, Penelope knew absolutely nothing about him. But she needed the practice so she decided to push forward.

With these many guests present, it would take more than an exaggerated movement with a fan to draw her target’s eye—even though the technique had served her well at the garden party.

Instead, she carefully scanned her surroundings so that no one was watching her just yet. On the chair to her right, the dowager duchess was making pleasant conversation with another chaperone.

As discreetly as she could, Penelope tossed her fan under the table next to her, where the draped tablecloth proceeded to hide it. She then slowly rose from her chair under the guise of wanting to stretch her legs.

Pacing back and forth near her chair, she knew this alone still wouldn’t be enough movement to get her target’s attention.

So, she walked around the table’s circumference—putting as much distance between her and the dowager duchess as she could—before pretending to frantically search for her fan.

She made sure to lower herself to the floor as swiftly as possible, hoping that the movement she had created would have been just enough to capture even the peripheral vision of her target.

Lifting the tablecloth, Penelope made sure to heave her shoulders up and down to indicate clear relief as she reached for her fan and rose to her feet once more.

Now to see if all of that effort worked.

Resuming her guise of wanting to stretch her legs, Penelope paced back and forth once more. But when she faced the trio’s direction this time, she caught her unassuming target watching her.

Before she celebrated inwardly, Penelope made sure to flash him a sheepish smile, as though she were embarrassed that he had happened to see her mishap with the fan.

He smiled back.

Yes!she squealed inwardly.Now it’s simply a matter of stealing glances at him until he decides to make a move.

But her plan was foiled almost at once—albeit for a happy reason—as Rebecca and William approached with a chestnut-haired gentleman in tow.

Penelope was so pleased to see her childhood friend again that she set aside all other plans. The dowager duchess evidently already knew all of them.

So it was only to Penelope that the chestnut-haired gentleman was introduced as the Viscount Gloushire.

“Oh!” Penelope snuck a glance at Rebecca realizing thatthiswas the gentleman she wanted to introduce Penelope to that fateful night at the Duke of Ashfordshire’s ball. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lord Gloushire.”

This match appeared to be a good ten years or so older than Penelope, but based on his stance and kind smile, she already felt at ease with him.

“The pleasure is all mine, Lady Penelope,” he answered. “The Duke and Duchess of Danton have had nothing but lovely things to say about you.”

“Oh, Rebecca tends to exaggerate,” Penelope replied sheepishly, “so it would be wise to take anything she says about me with a grain of salt.”

“Now, Pen!” tutted her friend, “If anyone’s exaggerating, it’syouwith regards to how harshly you put yourself down. Fortunately, I warned the viscount you would try to do this.”

“It’s true,” chuckled Lord Gloushire. “I'm glad that we have finally been introduced so that I can ascertain the truth myself.”

Penelope felt her spirits lift—perhaps tonight wouldn’t be fruitless after all. With her chaperone’s permission, Penelope spent the next dance with Lord Gloushire and had a perfectly pleasant time.

She somehow felt even more at ease with him than she had with Lord Steepwharf despite having known the latter for longer. He wasn’t as excitable or spirited as any of the other gentlemen Penelope had encountered since beginning her quest, but she didn’t mind. His more laidback yet sensible demeanor felt more natural to her.

After the dance, Lord Gloushire escorted her back to her seat where they found the dowager duchess conversing with His Grace and two other gentlemen.

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