Page 15 of Loving a Noble Gentleman
Chapter 7
An orangey glow clung to the air as the candles flickered in the light breeze that raced through the ball hall. Men in their finest suits danced with ladies in their fanciest dresses to the music being played by the band situated in the corner of the room. The entire room had a magical feel to it, and there was a sense that anything could happen. It was an atmosphere that everyone was getting swept up in.
Well, almost everyone.
Duke Edmund Smith felt stiff and uncomfortable as he stood in the corner of the room, hiding out of sight as much as he could. His back was so straight it was almost as if he had a rod implanted into it. He knew that he should not have come to this silly event; he knew that it would not go as his mother hoped and could not quite believe that he had been tricked into this. It was like a meat market; everyone was on display. How could anyone enjoy such a thing?
“There are some incredibly beautiful women here,” the much older gentleman commented to Edmund. “I suppose it might be time to find myself a wife.”
Edmund’s eyes opened wider in shock. “You do not already have a wife?” He struggled to believe that a man who had at least a decade on him did not have a young wife at home.
“I was betrothed once, but I did not like the girl.” The man shrugged in a blasé manner. “I did not see there would be any issue. I have always been terribly busy with my business anyway, so I have hardly had time to notice my lack of wife. It is only my mother’s passing that has made me consider this more seriously.”
Edmund scanned his eyes over the crowd, wondering just how lonely he would become if he were to lose his mother. He adored his mother; she was the closest person to him. How lonely would he be when she was no longer around? He could not be so naïve as to believe that she would be around forever, however much he wanted that to be the case. Plus, his mother had made it very clear that she wanted him to find a wife. He did not want to be a disappointment to her.
Lady Mary Roberts had never had her mother; she must have beenverylonely ...
Not that he was thinking about Mary. He shook his head to rid his brain of any thoughts of her. Edmund was quite sure what it was, but the more he tried to stop thinking about Lady Mary Roberts, the more she crept up into his brain when he was unaware. He did not know why; as far as he was concerned, he was done with her. He did not ever have to think of her again. Once he sent off his letter, cutting all ties, he could move forward with his life in whatever way he desired.
“What about you?” The gentleman interrupted his thoughts. “Do you have anyone in particular that you wish to be your wife?”
As Edmund looked over the crowd, he hoped that someone would stand out and catch his eye, but all he could see was an ocean of nameless faces. He did not know what any of these people were like, so why would he be interested in any of them?
“I do not know,” he replied glumly with his eyes on the ground now.
The gentleman chuckled loudly. “Then I suggest you get out on the dance floor and spend time with some of them.” He nudged Edmund as if they were old friends rather than two people who had only just met. “They all seem to have a lot of interest in you at any rate.”
Edmund had noticed the eyes upon him; he was acutely aware of the whispers that surrounded the ballroom about him, but they only served to make him even more uncomfortable. “Me, or my title? Me or my wealth?”
The gentleman looked at him with blank eyes. “Is there any difference?”
There was not. Not really. Marriages set up were often of convenience. Lords picked Ladies based on their dowry offers and titles, and Ladies picked the men who could give them the best life. It was a hollow, empty way of finding a life partner.
“I think I shall get another drink before thinking about dancing,” Edmund said while moving away from his new friend. “I shall speak with you later.”
Edmund had not danced for a very long time. He had been given lessons when he was a young boy, just as everyone else, but he did not enjoy them so did not care to remember the steps. He did not want to be humiliated now if he was the only person who did not know how to move properly.
He got so wrapped up in his worries that he was not really concentrating on where he was going. Edmund’s eyes were on the ground rather than his destination, which caused him to walk right into someone else.
“Oh no, I am terribly sorry,” he said immediately as his eyes drank in the slip of a girl before him. “I hope I did not hurt you.”
She did not look hurt at all. If anything, her eyes had lit up in glee as if she liked the look of the Duke. “Oh no,” she purred. “I think I am fine; thank you very much.” She fluttered her eyelashes, hoping that he would be blindsided by her. “My name is Lady Victoria Hartmon. How about you?”
The Duke took Victoria’s hand, and he pressed a kiss against it, just as he knew he was expected to do. “You look beautiful,” he told her kindly. She did have a pretty face, even if it was a little understated compared to the rest of the women in the room. “The blue of your dress brings out your eyes.”
Victoria giggled and blushed in a coy manner. At twenty-one years of age, Victoria could not wait to get her hands on a husband. This was her third season, and she was growing increasingly desperate. The last thing she wanted was to end up an old, unmarried maid like her aunt. She wanted to be a wife, to be a mother, and the sooner that happened, the better.
As Victoria ran her eyes up and down Duke Edmund, glee filled her chest entirely. What a stroke of luck that the most eligible bachelor in the entire room had been the one to bump into her. It had to be fate telling her that this was the one.
She could feel her claws sinking into him, and she did not want to let him go.
Edmund could almost see Victoria turning on the charm, which only sent him back into his previous stiffened stance. This was the moment he was supposed to ask her to dance; he just knew it. Maybe he was not experienced at this sort of thing, but he was aware of that much.
Edmund was not sure why, but he did not really want to. There was something about Victoria that made him uneasy.
Stop being silly,he scolded himself silently.I am here to dance. Here is a Lady to dance with; it will only be one song.
“Would you like to dance?” he asked rapidly. At first, he thought he might have said the words too quickly for her to understand them, but she nodded eagerly. “Right, yes.”
