Page 9 of Good Duke Gone Cold

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It had been three days of not seeing Gregory. Oh, Mary had glimpsed him walking around the house. She thought she had even seen him lingering outside the ballroom one day while the two best friends ran through some lines of the play, but there had been no talking, no eye contact. It had been three days of not seeing him. Three whole days. And Mary was fine with it. She was perfectly content. Absolutely one hundred percent unbothered by it.

Tonight they were all sitting at the formal dining table with guests. In attendance were the dowager duchess, the Earl of Winchester, Countess of Winchester, their son Lord Bainsbury, and their two daughters Lady Bainsbury and Miss Katherine.

The dowager duchess and Countess of Wessex, Mary’s mother, had planned for this family in particular as Lord Bainsbury grew up with Lady Campbell, Margaret, and there were some notions that the two could end up in a convenient marriage, considering the family ties and bordering land.

It was more than fortuitous that the Bainsbury’s had two daughters of age to be put in Gregory’s line of sight this season as well. Not as fortuitous was the fact that the plump Miss Katherine had quite the tongue and proclivity for impropriety. This made for strained dinner chatter and otherwise untenable parlor games.

There was also in attendance a few other people, including a young and striking Colonel Hastford, somewhat disheveled Viscount Ingleby, his two docile sisters Lady Foxworth and Miss Elisa, the engaging Lady Cross and her sister Miss Agatha, and a Mr. Fairfax, courtesy–assumedly–of the duke, since no one else seemed to know him or anything about him other than that he looked somewhat older and somewhat colder than the two women expected to be matched with.

Mary was seated next to Miss Agatha.

“Have you heard the latest on dit?” Miss Agatha whispered.

Mary turned with a smile, “Pray do tell, Miss Agatha.”

“The duke has his sights set on Miss Lansdowne.”

“To marry?”

Miss Agatha didn’t miss a beat, “Yes, to marry. She would make the perfect duchess.” The last two words were spoken rather more loudly than either Mary or Miss Agatha would like, and were picked up by Miss Katherine.

“Who would make the perfect duchess?” She inquired nosily.

Miss Agatha was torn. She didn’t want to appear rude by not answering the question, but she also didn’t want to appear improper by spreading gossip. It was acceptable for the ladies to whisper the current on dit through their conversations, but it was not meant to be more publicly discussed.

“Miss Lansdowne.” Miss Agatha whispered.

“Yes, Miss Lansdowne,” Miss Katherine’s voice reverberated down the table and Gregory’s head turned gracefully to the tone.

“I had heard some news.” Miss Katherine ventured an inquiry to Gregory. “Your grace?” Had Miss Katherine just winked at Gregory? It couldn’t be possible. How was this lady out in polite society?

Mary shifted imperceptibly in her seat.

“It is no secret I have danced with the lady.”

To make some new kind of conversation, Miss Agatha asked her how long she was staying with Margaret and her family and when she would be returning home.

It was the perfect redirect for Mary. The wordhomeled her mind to wander. Without a doubt, she spent more time at Chatsworth House than her own house, it was easier, less lonely. Summers were brighter and winters were warmer when staying at Chatsworth. There was always Margaret, Gregory, and Jonathan. Until there wasn’t. When Gregory and Margaret’s father died, Gregory began pulling away from the group in small ways.

She remembered the summer before his father passed away. Gregory and Jonathan were eighteen and girls were twelve. The boys were getting older, but the girls still spent some time tagging along. One such afternoon, the boys were trekking across the estate surveying an old folly. Margaret and Jonathan had scampered off to see who could climb it the fastest.

Mary hung back observing the decrepit structure. It was in the form of a tower, boasting one hundred steps, eighty seven of which did not appear in pristine condition.

Gregory started toward the entrance. “We won’t be first, but at least we’ll still see the incomparable view.” He turned back when he noticed Mary wasn’t following him.

“You aren’t coming up?”

“I’ll wait down here while you three explore.”

Gregory shook his head. “Ever reticent.”

Mary cocked her head to the side.

“Don’t you want to see the view from the top? It’s claimed to be like none other.”

“I don’t… trust the structure.” She said lamely.

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