Page 27 of Captured By the Cold Duke
Cherie’s heart skipped a beat at the sight of him, and she laughed. Behind her, she heard her friends’ conversation grow quiet, and she knew they were all watching her and the duke.
“Of course not,” she said, a small, coy smile snaking across her lips. “I was merely trying to cool myself by finding any breeze I could.”
“It is rather hot,” the duke conceded. “Are you too hot to exert yourself even more?”
“Wh-what do you mean?” she stuttered, flushing.
Her husband raised an eyebrow. “I meant a dance.”
“Oh, of course! I mean…” she was becoming tongue-tied around this man, which was absolutely ridiculous. “I would be honored, Your Grace,” she said, curtsying. Behind her, she thought she heard Samantha giggle. It only made her flush more.
The duke offered her his arm, and he led her away from her friends and towards the dance floor. Once the music had started, and they began to dance, he gave her an amused grin.
“You know, you don’t have to stand on ceremony with me,” he said, his voice low and teasing. “You can just say,Yes, Thomas, I’d be delighted.”
“A duchess should never call her husband by his given name while in company!” Cherie said, pretending to be scandalized.
“But when we are alone…?”
“Do you really want to negotiate that right now? We might draw a crowd if we start arguing, and we’re already being scandalous enough.” She cocked an eyebrow at him. “Strictly speaking, husbands and wives are not supposed to dance with one another. It is consideredgauche.”
The duke scoffed. “Those rules were made by fussy ladies who hated their husbands and wanted to keep everyone else’s for themselves on the dancefloor. If I want to dance with my wife, then I should be allowed to do so! I’m a duke, after all. There should be some benefits, at least, to having inherited the duchy.”
Cherie laughed. “You’ve spent too long away from London, Your Grace. It has made you far too cutting towards the members of thetonand their fussy rules.”
“Not at all! I adore the members of theton. This—” he gestured at the dance floor “—is why I was so eager to return to England.”
Cherie raised an eyebrow. “To come to balls and dance with ladies? I thought that gentlemen resented having to take ladies to the floor and be pursued by marriage-minded mamas.”
“Perhaps with some ladies,” he said thoughtfully. His face suddenly grew very serious. “But yes, Cherie, this is exactly the reason I returned to England, to attend balls and dance with ladies. Or really, one lady in particular.”
His eyes were fastened on hers, and Cherie felt the breath leave her chest.Was it possible…?
But no, she would have known if he had carried a torch for her all these years. He was just flattering her. Teasing her.
She opened her mouth to make some sort of teasing remark back, but just then, they were interrupted.
“Cherie! Your Grace!” Minerva burst onto the dance floor and grabbed both their arms, pulling them away from the other couples. People around them threw them scandalized looks, and several muttered angrily as Minerva dragged them away from the dancing, a terrified look on her face.
“Minerva! What is it?” Cherie asked, fear seizing her. She had never seen her usually impeccable friend look so frazzled before. “Tell us!”
“It’s Chastity,” Minerva whispered, her face very pale. “She has disappeared—with Lord Dawson!”
Eleven
“What happened?” Thomas asked as the three of them raced towards the exit of the ballroom.
“I don't know exactly,” Minerva said. ‘One minute, Chastity was dancing with Lord Dawson, and the next, they were gone.”
“And did you search the ballroom?” Cherie asked. “You're sure they didn't just go for some lemonade?”
“I'm sure,” Minerva whispered, her voice becoming very faint as she glanced about in all directions. “I checked everywhere: the lemonade table, with all her friends… I even looked out on the terraces to see if she and Lord Dawson might have gone out there to catch a breath of fresh air.”
“It would be highly improper of him to take her out to a terrace!” Thomas said, his anxiety increasing.
“Yes, but it's not unheard of,” Minerva said. “And the terraces are in view of the ballroom, so one can usually claim that they were still being chaperoned...”
“I would expect better of a viscount,” Thomas said.
