Page 14 of The Truth about the Duke
“I think, Your Grace, you will find that the statement came from my mother.” Lady Lydia sniffed and looked up at him again. “It will only be a few more minutes.”
Henry’s jaw tightened, a little frustrated that Lord and Lady Hampshire had, in their own way, determined to place himself and their daughter together. “I did not think that we would be walking together, Lady Lydia.” He could not quite keep the frustration out of his voice and caught the sharp look she sent him, seeing the hint of red in her cheeks.
“Your Grace, I am well aware that you do not wish to be in my company but be assured that I feel the very same. I have no desire to be in company with you for any longer than I must and am doing this only because my mother and father made it impossible for me to refuse.”
Her clear way of speaking and her somewhat sharp tone made Henry’s eyebrows lift, utterly astonished that a young lady of quality would speak so to him. “Is that so?” Doubt flooded through his tone, his head held high as he inwardly set aside all that she had said, not certain he believed her. Despite her clear disinclination towards his company, surely she still took some pleasure in being seen in his company?
As though she had heard his thoughts, Lady Lydia responded quickly. “No doubt you will wonder why a young lady such as myself is not delighted to be in your company, given that you are a Duke,” she began, the edge of her lip curling. “However, you will find that I am a young lady who isnotinclined to lose her head simply because she is company with a Duke.”
“I can see that.” The words tumbled out of Henry’s mouth before he could prevent them, her sharp tone and blunt remarks injuring him in a way he could not quite understand. “Though mayhap you ought to consider a little more just who it is that you are in company with?”
This did not bring the expected response for Lady Lydia did not glance up at him with worry in her eyes, did not look back at him with any sort of concern. Instead, he heard her make a quiet exclamation, something between a snort and a laugh.
That made his face heat, the blood in his veins beginning to burn.
“You are unlike any young lady I have ever met,” he told her, brusquely. “I think your mother and father ought to be ashamed of your behavior.”
“Oh, they already are, Your Grace,” came the reply, a lightness in her tone that did not speak of any sort of upset. “You may well have ascertained this by now, but I am, completely and utterly, a bluestocking. I love all manner of learning, I find it deeply fascinating to discover new things and I am certainlynotgoing to be bound by what society expects of me. So yes, you may well state that my parents ought to be ashamed of my behavior but the truth is, Your Grace, there is nothing but frustration and upset at my decision to pursue such interests. So I do not think that my dislike of being in a Duke’s company will cause them any great upset, for they have a good deal of that already.”
Henry did not know what to say, finding himself caught between something like shame at how he had spoken and a lingering irritation that nothing he had said had, in any way, affected Lady Lydia. He did not have the opportunity to respond further, however, for the lady drew close to a small group of gentlemen and ladies, and within moments, Henry found himself introduced not only to Lady Ann but to one or two others that he was not acquainted with.
“A pleasant day, is it not, Your Grace?” Lady Ann spoke gently and with a warm smile on her lips but Henry did not find his heart or mind pulled towards her in any way. Instead, he found himself considering Lady Lydia all the more, his thoughts still stirred up over all she had said and revealed to him.
“A fine day, yes.” Managing to stumble over his words, Henry cleared his throat and forced a smile, looking around the small group and trying to push all thoughts of Lady Lydia from himself. “Though it is quite busy, is it not?”
This sent a murmur of acknowledgment around the group and, much to Henry’s relief, pulled the conversation from him. He was able to take a few moments to regain his sense of composure, glancing this way and that to ascertain where Lady Lydia was… only to realize that she was gone.
No sense of relief filled him. Instead, his brows pulled together in a heavy frown as he considered all that she had said to him, struggling to understand why his own thoughts still lingered on the lady.
Remember what Lord Kendall told you,he reminded himself.One or two ladies at a time. That means I do not need to concentrate on anyone other than Lady Ann and Lady Judith for the time being.The edge of his mouth crept upwards.And it is not as though I would ever consider Lady Lydia!With that planted firmly in his mind, Henry lifted his chin, took a breath, and reentered the conversation with a fresh confidence and determination within him, quite certain that, in time, he would be able to fully forget Lady Lydia entirely.
Chapter Six
Ido not want to cry.
Despite her determination not to do so, Lydia felt the press of tears in her eyes as she walked away from the Duke of Melrose. Whether he realized it or not, his words had been harsh and injurious, though she had pretended that they meant nothing to her.
Stopping for a moment, Lydia looked down at the grass at her feet as though she found them peculiarly interesting, all the while taking in long, steadying breaths to calm herself. She had spoken much too freely and with too much of a blunt manner, she realized, and that in itself had been foolish. Though all the same, she did not deserve the Duke’s harshness, surely?
“Lydia?”
Lifting her head, Lydia almost melted with relief at the sight of Lady Melrose. “Sophie. Thank goodness you are here.” Reaching out one hand, she grasped her friend’s arm, a sense of weakness beginning to push through her frame. “I need a few moments to gather myself.”
“Why?” Alarm sounded in Sophie’s voice as she came closer to Lydia. “Whatever has happened?”
Lydia shook her head. “Nothing significant. It is only that I led the Duke to be introduced to Lady Ann – my mother and father’s urging meant I had no other choice – and as we went to find her, the Duke said something that was a little… harsh. Though I said more than I should have done.”
Her friend frowned, her eyes searching Lydia’s. “What did you do?”
A sad smile pulled at Lydia’s lips as she blinked back her tears. “I told him in no uncertain terms that I was not at all inclined to his company. That was spoken to him after he made it very clear indeed that he did not want to be in my company for any longer than was necessary. I spoke a little more bluntly than I ought, I will admit, but there was that arrogance that I found myself responding to.”
“Oh, my dear Lydia.” Sophie squeezed her hand. “I am sorry.”
Lydia shook her head. “He made it plain that he did not believe that I was disinclined towards walking with him, perhaps thinking that any young lady would be glad of the attention it brought her whether or not she was pleased with the company itself, and I made sure to make my thoughts very plain in that regard.”
Sophie winced but said nothing.
“Thereafter, he said that my parents ought to be ashamed of me.” She could not help the tears as they fell, dropping her head so that she might hide her face from as many as she could. “My manner was much too blunt, my expressions too forward for someone such as the Duke of Melrose.”
