Page 32 of A Duchess Bound
Gerard did not wait to receive an answer. Instead, he turned on his heels and walked back to the street. Frustration rose within him, his loins aching with need.
Sometimes, he wondered why this was his game. A proper rake would find a cure readily enough; he would find a willing actress or a lightskirt and find a remedy to his ailments. That was not a game that Gerard particularly enjoyed, though. He preferred long, singular pursuits of proper ladies. The longer the chase, the sweeter the prize.
No, he would be forced to endure until Lady Dorothy gave him her decision. Gerard clenched his jaw as he walked away. He considered the possibility that she might refuse him. Even if Lady Dorothy was determined to be a spinster, that did not mean she would not wish to keep her reputation unsullied.
He resumed his walk through Mayfair, his mind working quickly. Gerard’s body burned with energy that he had norelease for. He sighed deeply and continued walking. After some time, his walk brought him to Lady Everleigh’s townhouse.
She was a wealthy widow with whom he had once had an affair. Unlike many of his affairs, which ended with broken hearts, this one had concluded amicably. He and Lady Everleigh had grown bored with the chase and thought it best to pursue other interests.
They had not spoken since parting ways six months prior. Gerard set his shoulders and approached the townhouse. He rapped his knuckles against the door and produced his card for the butler. Gerard rocked back on his heels, anticipation humming through him while waiting to hear if Lady Everleigh would be willing to see him.
At last, the butler returned with the answer, and Gerard was led into the drawing room. Lady Everleigh was there. She was a plain woman with dark hair and brown eyes. Her life had been difficult, and wrinkles spread like cracks over her porcelain skin. She was only forty, but she looked at least a decade older.
Gerard had been drawn to her because of her laughter and her wit. She made the most charming jests and was so full of life that it took his breath away.
“My lord,” she greeted, standing.
He bowed. “It has been some time, my lady. I hope I am not intruding.”
“No,” Lady Everleigh replied, gesturing to her embroidery. “Elizabeth, bring my guest some tea.”
Gerard sat across from her, and she took up her embroidery once more. She had already created a charming row of purple and white flowers on the edge of a handkerchief.
“How have you been?” Gerard asked. “I have not seen you at any of the events this Season.”
“I did not feel the need to attend,” she replied. “Instead, I have been engaged in other pursuits. One of the many benefits of being a widow is that you are no longer expected to attend social obligations.”
“I see.”
Gerard, admittedly, delighted in his social obligations. Each Season, he tried to attend as many balls and soirees as possible. He enjoyedpeople, everything about them. Gerard delighted in their conversations and dances, in the ways that they sought to adorn themselves and in all the little expressions that they made.
He enjoyed the way that ladies spoke with their fans and how gentlemen might sometimes indicate their moods with how they held their glasses of brandy or cognac.
Elizabeth placed the tea before him. “I added the sugar,” she said, “as I know you like.”
He grinned. “Thank you.”
The parlor maid curtsied and retreated across the room, offering them the semblance of privacy. Gerard suspected that Elizabeth was much like Halls—turning a tactful eye away from all her mistress’s less proper acts.
“If you are here to rekindle our affair, I regret to inform you that I am uninterested,” Lady Everleigh said. “I have found another, and he is quite uninterested in sharing.”
“Anyone I know?”
“No.”
Gerard hummed. “I shall offer my congratulations. You deserve to have companionship.”
“Everyone deserves companionship,” she said dismissively. “If you are not here for an amorous encounter, whathasbrought you to my door? I would imagine that the Duke of Greenway has more pressing matters to attend to than visiting widows and old lovers.”
He did not really have an answer for that. “I suppose that I was simply looking for something to occupy my attention,” Gerard said.
“Oh? It is the start of a Season, andyoucan find nothing with which to occupy your attention? Are none of the unwed young misses worthy of you?”
“It is not that. I have already found a…” he trailed off, considering the best way in which to describe Lady Dorothy.
“A conquest,” Lady Everleigh said.
“A young miss. She is interesting. Kind.”
