Page 36 of A Fake Courtship with the Duke
“I do hope you intend to attend the upcoming Season balls,” she said, batting her eyes flirtatiously at him. “I should think that an escort as charming and prestigious as a duke would do a young lady’s reputation a world of good. Especially a young lady as sweet and delicate as my dear Eleanor.”
Richard stiffened. It wasn’t out of character for Lady Victoria to be bold with her thoughts and desires. But he wasn’t going to take the bait. He had been laying the workings to show all of London that he was courting Miss Huxley. He could hardly announce such news at a dinner that was clearly so important to his mother. But nor was he going to humor Lady Victoria by affirming her request.
Susan, ever diligent, came to his rescue. She reached over, patting his hand gently and giving Lady Eleanor a pointed look, carefully avoiding the gaze of both their mothers.
“I meant to tell you that Anne said she had a wonderful time today,” she said. Her voice was sweet, and her eyes were innocent as she smiled at Richard. But beneath the innocence shone a sparkle of impish glee. She was not having any more of their host’s pressure than Richard was. He gave her a smirk and nodded.
“As did I, Sister,” she said. “I dare say that I enjoyed our stroll today more than I’ve enjoyed the park in some time.”
Lady Eleanor blanched, wrinkling her nose at the mention of Miss Huxley’s name. But her mother would not be deterred. She widened her smile, her eyes dark with intensity and determination.
“Promenade hour at the park is an event, indeed,” she said. “My Eleanor loves taking a stroll along Rotten Row. It’s given her skin the lovely glow it has now, finding her customary dose of sunshine there.”
Richard nodded, smiling politely, but silently, at Lady Eleanor. He didn’t notice any glow, except the shine of sheer eagerness in the young lady’s blue eyes. In fact, she appeared to be a bit too pale, bordering on looking like an artist had colored her in with solid white paint. To him, she was not traditionally pretty. But then, his judgment was affected by her temperament and attitude. Perhaps, she was quite lovely. But she made Richard’s stomach churn.
Richard realized they had been there for nearly an hour and no dinner announcement had been made. He looked at the clock, noting that it was nearly seven o’clock. He glanced questioningly at his mother, who refused to meet his gaze as she engaged in conversation with Lady Victoria. But then, their hostess turned to the musicians in the room, motioning forthem to start playing. They warmed up their instruments, and Richard’s heart dropped when he heard the first strains of a waltz playing. Surely, Lady Victoria didn’t intend for her small handful of guests to dance.
His suspicions were confirmed when Lady Victoria gave him an expectant look.
“Eleanor loves dancing,” she said, not bothering to conceal her intent as she spoke. “And the waltz happens to be her favourite. I thought tonight might be a good chance for her to get to practice it a little.”
Richard sighed heavily, also not bothering to hide his resentment for the situation. Naturally, Lady Victoria didn’t seem fazed by his irritation. Everyone in the room, apart from Susan, was staring at him intently. He didn’t need to guess what was expected of him. He was going to have to ask Lady Eleanor to dance.
Stiffly, he rose, glowering at his mother who pretended not to notice. He offered a tense arm to Lady Eleanor, leaving his gesture as the only invitation he intended to offer. She didn’t need words, and she had grabbed onto his arm before he had finished lifting it. She beamed at him as though he had just offered her courtship right then and let him lead her to the center of the large drawing room which, he noticed then, had been cleared of all furniture and tables. He had never been inside the Westbrook’s home, but there were dents in the carpet where furniture legs and stumps had long rested, and everything was in a suspiciously perfect circle around the area where he now stood with Lady Eleanor.
Silently, he began leading the young woman in the dance. He noticed right away that she was far less graceful than Miss Huxley in the dance. The expression on her face, however, told him that she thought she was as dainty on her feet as an angel. He just managed to not roll his eyes as he went through themotions of the dance. He didn’t enjoy the dance at all. All he could think about was how magical his dance with Miss Huxley had been.
His distraction became apparent when he accidentally stepped on Lady Eleanor's toes. To her credit, she didn’t yelp, but she gave him an annoyed glance. He halted the dance to give her a brief, sheepish smile.
“Apologies,” he mumbled, straightening himself to begin dancing again.
Lady Eleanor’s expression changed immediately, back to the empty beaming look she’d had when she’d accepted the offer to dance.
“It’s quite all right,” she said with a giggle. “Perhaps, I will get plenty of chances to help you practice your dancing technique.”
Richard uttered an awkward chuckle, but he said nothing. He remained silent throughout the rest of the dance, breathing a sigh of relief when it was over.
At last, the dinner announcement was made, and everyone filed to the dining room. Lady Eleanor was gushing to her mother about the dance, clearly not ruined for her by him stepping on her. Her mother was practically crowing with pride, smiling brightly at her daughter. The dowager duchess even gave Richard a nod of approval. Did she really not notice his displeasure?
He knew she didn’t care about his recent association with Miss Huxley, or how she might feel about him dancing with another lady if their budding relationship had been real. But was she so focused on her plan to marry him off to Lady Eleanor that she truly cared so little about his happiness?
He was far from surprised to find that he was seated beside Lady Eleanor at the dinner table. Fortunately, Susan was on his other side, which offered him a marginal amount of solace.His mother immediately engaged Lady Victoria in conversation, making it a point to ignore any glances Richard shot her way. Susan gave him a brilliant smile and opened her mouth to speak. But Lady Eleanor positioned herself in close proximity to him, approaching the border of impropriety, and batted her eyelashes at him.
“I’ve heard that Lord and Lady Benson are to host a grand ball this Season,” she said. “And of course, you know that they are very well-renowned in the ton. A ball at their estate is sure to be the event of the season. I think we will make quite a stir by attending together.”
Richard stared at her blankly. Even for her, that was especially forward. It was terribly rude and untoward for a lady to presume an invitation to anything from a gentleman until he had made mention of it himself. And he certainly had no intention of asking her to any ball, least of all one that was alleged to be such a huge event. But he didn’t get the chance to answer because she began speaking again.
“And I would love to take a walk along the Thames River next week,” she said. “I think that would make a lovely outing, don’t you?”
Richard shook his head, fed up with Lady Eleanor’s conversation, domination and her bold behavior. But she continued chattering, not allowing him or Susan to get a word in edgewise.
Suddenly, amidst the noise of clinking silverware and incessant babble from Lady Eleanor, a familiar melody drifted from the pianoforte in the corner of the room. It was the tune he'd heard Miss Huxley playing the day he had gone to her home to invite her to Promenade Hour. He was instantly transported back to that day, her disheveled appearance, the magic that had flowed from her fingers as she played like an angel and the blushin her cheeks as he'd paid her compliments. It offered him a much needed, albeit temporary, reprieve from the tension.
When his mother, his sister and he returned home, he waited for his mother to retire. Then, he slipped back out, making his way to White’s. His mother had been unexpectedly placid on the way home. But his nerves were completely raw, and he couldn’t stand the thought of being confined to the walls of his family’s home.
A broad smile broke out onto his face when he entered the club. There, at their favorite table, sat Thomas, looking toward the door as though he had been expecting Richard. Richard made his way to his friend, placing his drink order and exchanging greetings with his friend. As he waited for his drink, he couldn’t help thinking about how drastically different his genuine, delightful interactions with Miss Huxley were compared to the societal norm exemplification displayed by the Westbrook’s.
He had been raised to behave properly and with perfect decorum his entire life. And yet, he found it so tedious and painful that he wanted nothing more than to escape it. Unfortunately, as duke, he would never have such luck. But Miss Huxley provided refreshing relief from those pressures. He truly enjoyed her company and her unorthodox mannerisms and spirited nature. He wished that he could be more like her.
