Page 14 of The Duke's Inconvenient Bride
When Mr. Mayhew finished, he bowed jauntily. She clapped, wishing there was more she could do to show her admiration. His gaze landed on her, and he winked.
She melted inside. Surely that reading must have been meant for her.
Another gentleman took Mr. Mayhew’s place and read from a book. He spoke well, but he didn’t have the same depth of feeling that Mr. Mayhew did, nor had he memorized the words. Still, Emma enjoyed the remainder of the reading. It ended too soon for her liking.
She stood, hoping to get to Mr. Mayhew before any of his other admirers did, only to be intercepted by an acquaintance.While she made small talk, she noticed that Violet had joined Mr. Mayhew, and they were conversing animatedly.
Emma relaxed a little, confident that no other debutantes would try to compete with Violet for his attention. Even at this very second, Violet might be telling him what a good match he and Emma would make.
As soon as they’d finished conversing, she forged her way through the guests toward Violet and Mr. Mayhew. When she drew near, Mr. Mayhew’s pleasing voice reached her ears.
“I was thinking of you,” he said.
Emma looked up, expecting to find him gazing at her, but he was focused on Violet.
“Whatever do you mean?” Violet asked.
He angled himself toward her. “While I read the poem, I was imagining that she was you. You are the perfect muse.”
What?
No. It couldn’t be. Emma must have misheard. Mr. Mayhew wasn’t interested in Violet; he was interested in her. He’d extended the invitation to her.
“A muse?” Violet sounded intrigued. How could that be? She wasn’t any more interested in Mr. Mayhew than he was in her.
“A source of inspiration,” Mr. Mayhew said, clearly assuming that Violet did not know what a muse was. “Beautiful. Charming.” He lowered his voice, his tone becoming far too familiar. “Captivating.”
Emma froze. Someone bumped into her from behind and cursed her clumsiness, but she hardly noticed, too preoccupied with the fact that Mr. Mayhew was flirting with Violet.
The back of her throat burned, and she quickly turned away so he wouldn’t see her staring. She waited for Violet to dismiss his remark or redirect his attention to Emma, but instead she just giggled.
“You find me captivating?” she asked breathlessly.
“You are captivating,” Mr. Mayhew said. “It is an empirical fact.”
“Oh, my.”
Something cracked inside Emma. Mr. Mayhew was supposed to be hers. She’d told Violet she was interested in him. She’d found him first. All she wanted was one man who’d see something in her that exceeded what they saw in Violet.
Just one.
Surely that wasn’t asking for too much?
Tears pricked in her eyes, and she swiped at them furiously. She would not cry. Not here.
She skirted a group of women speaking with one of the men who’d done a reading and darted through the door leading intothe corridor. Glancing around, she spotted a door just across the hall that was ajar and hurried through it, gulping mouthfuls of air.
She just needed a moment of privacy to get her emotions under control. But how could she face Violet after this?
“Mr. Mayhew read well,”Vaughan said to Lord Mayhew, with whom he’d been speaking in the rear of the room while he waited for Violet to notice his presence.
He hadn’t told her he’d be in attendance, but when he’d heard she’d be present, it had seemed a good opportunity to solidify their connection. Assuming she even realized he was there. She seemed quite preoccupied with another man.
“He did,” Mayhew agreed. “He’s always been more interested in the arts than business.” Mayhew was an astute businessman, and his older son took after him, while his younger son clearly didn’t.
Vaughan bared his teeth in an approximation of a smile. It was difficult to summon anything more genuine when he had a first-row seat to watch the woman he intended to marry flirt with another man.
“At least you have James,” he said.
