Page 24 of Dancing with an Enigmatic Duke
“I think that I can help you with your problem, actually,” Lord Torrington said.
Emmeline narrowed her eyes. He was only slightly taller than her, so she had little difficulty looking into his brown eyes. She could see no deceit in them, but that hardly meant anything. She did not know him well enough to gauge him properly.
“What problem would that be, Your Grace?” She grasped her shawl with one hand, using the other to push her hair from her face.
Lord Torrington’s ponytail blew over his shoulder in the increasing wind. He put his hand up on to his hat to prevent it from coming loose. “This might not be the best place to talk.”
“Francesca is due to come and collect me soon. If you are to talk, then you should do so.” Emmeline did not wish to wait to hear what the man had to say. She had never done well with waiting.
He laughed lightly. “I want to propose a plan between the two of us. It will allow you to pick your husband and take away the threat of your brother choosing without your permission.”
“How will this plan work?” Emmeline was not going to agree to anything unless she heard the full details of it. She eyed the duke warily. He had always seemed a forthright man, but she knew that people in society were often full of dark secrets.
Lord Torrington leaned forward so that she could hear him. “If I were to acquire an engagement, an informal one, then my mother would be forced to stop trying to push young ladies upon me. In turn, the lady in question would gain status and admirers.”
“But if I am engaged, it would be hard to find a husband, would it not?” Emmeline tried not to blush at the thought of such a thing. This was business, and she would treat it as such. She waited for the duke’s reply.
“It would not be a formal engagement. We could set a time to announce our engagement, but something will come up, and we may go our separate ways.”
“I see,” Emmeline said with a frown. “This is most out of the ordinary.”
Lord Torrington laughed and assured her, “Do not put any duplicity past society. They all manipulate things. We would merely be carrying on that tradition. However, our families would need to believe in the match for it to work.”
“I shall have to think on it.” Emmeline was not about to be pressured into making a quick decision.
He did not look terribly pleased with that, but he conceded with a nod. “Very well. I shall try to speak with you again soon.”
“I think you should be going. Francesca has just come out of the house.” Emmeline looked over at the house and the duke’s eyes followed hers.
He muttered, “Indeed. Please, keep this between us.”
“I would be a fool not to, Your Grace,” Emmeline said with a sigh.
He grinned and nodded. “And a fool you are not.” With his words, he turned on his heel and left.
He was halfway to the stable by the time Francesca made it to Emmeline. “Was that Lord Torrington?”
“Yes. Apparently, he got lost,” Emmeline replied. “Men are strange creatures. Are we ready to go and get our dresses?”
Francesca frowned as she looked toward the duke’s retreating form. “Yes.”
***
Later that evening Emmeline sat in her room looking at herself in the mirror. The duke’s words still rang in her head. She ran a brush through her hair and bit her lip.
“What have you got to lose?” Emmeline asked her reflection. If she did not take the duke up on his unorthodox offer, then she would likely end up married off quickly for her brother’s convenience.
Having a duke interested in her would be a great boost to her status and notoriety for the season. Some men might try to woo her out of jealousy, or revenge. Other men, however, might simply look upon her with new eyes, eyes that might have overlooked her otherwise.
Emmeline was still thinking when Francesca came in. “Are you ready for me to braid your hair?”
“I can do it,” Emmeline insisted, but Francesca was already taking the brush from her hands. She gave up arguing with the French woman. It was a pointless struggle to convince Francesca that she could do things on her own.
Francesca eyed her in the mirror. “What is wrong with your complexion? Are you blushing?”
“I do not think that I am.” Emmeline patted her cheeks and peered in the mirror.
Francesca leaned over and peered at Emmeline’s face. “I do hope you are not coming down with some illness. You should not have been out in the damp after the storms.”
