Page 3 of The Truth about the Duke
“Miss Halethorpe, youmustgrant me the dance card thereafter. And you both also, Lady Annette, Lady Beatrice. Only if you wish to oblige us, however.” With a grin, Lord Kendall not only helped Henry remember the titles of the three young ladies but also gained fawning looks and delightful smiles for himself. Still a trifle irritated that he would have no other choice but to dance with them all, even though he had very little desire to do so, Henry took one card after the other and chose three that came one after the other. That way, he could make quite certain that the dances were over and done with as quickly as possible, leaving him free to do as he pleased for the rest of the evening.
“There now.” Taking the third card from him, Lord Kendall quickly signed his name and then returned it to Lady Beatrice. “We shall all have the pleasure of being in each other’s company again very soon.”
“Thank you, Lord Kendall. And you also, Your Grace.” The one that Henry now knew to be Lady Annette, turned her gaze back towards him rather quickly, a flash in her blue eyes. “One must wonder which young lady the Duke of Melrose shall dance the waltz with this evening. It is to be none of us, I see.”
Henry blinked, then tried to laugh the comment aside, for it was, to his mind, much too bold for a young lady to say and he had no intention of answering it.
“It shall remain a mystery, I think!” Seemingly ever the rescuer, Lord Kendall spoke up again and then inclined his head. “Alas, we must take our leave for I can see three gentlemenapproaching with the clear intention of coming near to you three ladies. Until later this evening.”
Henry turned away without so much as a nod to the ladies, relief in his veins as he walked alongside Lord Kendall. “Thank you, my friend.”
Lord Kendall chuckled, leading Henry to the door which led to the refreshment room. “I could see that you were already looking a little overwhelmed by their presence. I do hope you noticed the several other ladies who were slowly pressing towards us. That is,beforeI took you to the refreshment room and away from them!”
Henry scowled, making his way to the table that was set with an array of liquor, though he quickly turned away from the watered-down ratafia and picked up a glass of punch instead. “I did not expect to be so… sought out so quickly.”
“Did you not?” Lord Kendall’s eyebrows lifted. “I did warn you only a few nights ago that society would be delighted – nay,overcome– by your presence here, did I not? You are a Duke! You hold the highest title in all of England aside from the King, and with great wealth too with your standing, is it any wonder that the young ladies of society seek you out?”
“I wish they would not,” Henry grumbled, his jaw jutting forward. “I should like to be able to find a young lady without so manypresentingthemselves to me.”
Lord Kendall snorted at this, rolling his eyes as Henry’s grimace deepened. “You are utterly ridiculous, my friend. You cannot expect to walk into a ballroom and be ignored by the young ladies of societyandtheir mothers, I might add. Though, I might wonder if you have a specific young lady in mind?”
Henry took a sip of his punch, then shook his head. “If you are asking me whether I have found a young lady to interest me already, then the answer is no.”
“But you have an understanding of what it is precisely you are searching for when it comes to making a match.” Lord Kendall tipped his head just a little, his dark eyes questioning. “After all, that is why you are here, is it not? To make a match?”
“Yes.” Having already explained himself to his friend at their first meeting, Henry shrugged. “I must marry. The heir must be produced and that is the only way for such a thing to come about. However, the young lady that I choose for my bride must be a good many things, which is why I dislike being pressed so by so many.”
“Because you cannot distinguish one from the other.”
“In part, yes.” Henry took another sip of the punch, gesturing to the door that led back to the ballroom. “The young ladies of London are demanding in their attentions, I find. One of them this evening – Lady Annette, mayhap? – wasmuchtoo forward in some of her speech and her manner! That, I suppose, would make me unwilling to proceed with even calling upon her to take tea, but the other two I might consider. Though I suspect that I shall find them both sorely lacking when it comes to my requirements.”
Lord Kendall spread out his hands on either side. “Which are… ?”
“Just as every gentleman might want,” Henry answered with a shrug. “She is to be of a high standing, of course. There must be an amiability about her, though she ought to be gentle in her manner and her speech. I should not like to have a wife who speaks her mind without even a thought!” He waved one hand in his friend’s direction. “You know the sort of thing I mean.”
“Genteel without being brash or demanding, yes.”
Henry nodded, a sense of satisfaction in his heart that his friend understood him so well. “I should like her to be respectful, to understand her situation and her standing without having even ahintof arrogance and pride. She must be able to managea household, though with a quietness of nature in doing so for I should not want a wife screeching and screaming at the housekeeper and the maids!” Warming to his subject now, he continued with even greater feeling. “I should prefer that she be able to play the pianoforte very well, though I would settle for the harp. Painting, needlework, and the like are of no interest to me though I do want her to have some hobbies of her own that do not require my presence or my involvement in any way. She must not have any desire to press me when it comes to my time and should have no expectation that we should always sit for dinner together and the like. It is important to me that my duties come first and a Duchess must understand that.” Finishing, he drained his cup of punch and then went to pick up another, a little surprised to see that Lord Kendall’s jaw had gone a little slack. “Is there something wrong?”
His friend blinked once, twice, then ran one hand over his jaw. “You have quite astonished me, Melrose.”
Henry frowned. The expression did not come from his friend’s lack of ‘Your Grace’, for their friendship had been since boyhood and Henry considered Lord Kendall to be almost a brother in that regard. Rather, it came from the confusion over why his friend shouldbeso astonished, especially when there was nothing to be surprised about.
“You do not understand why I am so.” Evidently seeing Henry’s confusion, Lord Kendall shook his head and then offered a wry smile. “I shall explain. Your list of requirements for the lady who shall be your bride is not only ridiculously long but has so many high standards fixed in place that I fear you shall not find a lady who can secure them all!”
“Nonsense.” Henry looked away, ignoring the twist of unease in his stomach. “I am sure there will be many young ladies who will be able to do all that I ask and fulfill all that I require.”
“I shall be greatly surprised if it is so,” came the reply. “I do not think that any young lady in all of England would be able to answer everything you have set out! Indeed, I think such an idea is nothing more than an imagination.”
Henry shook his head firmly. “I am quite sure you are wrong.”
“You truly believe that you will find a young lady able to meet all your requirements and standards without even a modicum of failure?”
Trying to build his confidence despite his friend’s remarks, Henry stood as tall as he could. “I am quite certain of it.”
Lord Kendall chuckled, his eyes dancing. “If I were a betting man – and if we were in Whites – then I would place a wager that you, despite all your determinations, will end up falling in love with either a bluestocking or a wallflower!”
At this, Henry shuddered, making Lord Kendall laugh all the more loudly. He scowled, suddenly a little irritated at his friend’s response. “I do not know what you find so funny about that statement. That would be the most dreadful circumstance imaginable!”
