Page 9 of The Duke's Indecent Match
“Of course,” he said tightly, turning toward the door and offering Miss Little his arm.He did his best not to react when she hesitated, then lightly rested her fingers on his coat, though it felt as if his entire body was now attuned to that one spot on his arm.“Miss Little.”
“Thank you, Your Grace,” she replied, ducking her head, as if she realized he was displeased.It was not her fault that they had been standing next to each other when it was time to move to the dining room.Nor was it her fault that she was not a suitable bride for him, though she would be for any of his friends who did not have the same hurdles to overcome with Society.
However, the gleam in Lady Astrid’s eyes was destined to be disappointed, and he did not want to lead Miss Little on when he could not marry her.
It was going to be a tightrope walk for dinner with her at his side.Yet there was a part of him that rejoiced in the excuse to have her company for it.A part of him that he knew he needed to excise ruthlessly.
After dinner.
3
Kalina
The Duke of Hereford did not want to sit with her.Kalina did not understand why.They had been having a very nice conversation, but he’d drawn back within himself the moment Lady Astrid paired them together for dinner.He led her in, was graciously courteous, but something had changed.
She lifted her chin high.
It did not matter if he had taken up against her for some reason.
Throughout the years, Kalina had grown accustomed to rejection.She was used to brushing off the sting, so that she barely felt it at all.
Which was why it made no sense that it should hurt so much this time.But it did.
The dining room was long and narrow with an extremely long table running through the center of its length.Four multi-tiered chandeliers hung above the table, twinkling light across the expanse, while sconces along the walls helped brighten the edges of the room.Candelabras rested on the heavy wooden buffets that lined the room, adding both decoration and extra light.
Massive paintings filled the space of the walls, interspersed with smaller ones, to add interest to the visual feast.Behind the far end of the table was a large window that went nearly from floor to ceiling, hung with heavy dark green drapes.Standing in front of them, Lady Astrid looked like an exotic hothouse flower against the more muted colors on the walls and paintings.Beside her, the Duke of Ormonde escorted her to her seat beside her father at the head of the table.She did not appear overly pleased with her position, but she gracefully took her seat.
Kalina found herself between the Duke of Hereford and the Duke of Montagu, who was escorting a tongue-tied Lady Johanna.Her companion was seated across from them, between Lady Astrid’s younger brother and the Duke of Clarence, and was regarding Montagu with high suspicion.Catching Kalina’s gaze, Miss Belle smiled briefly before returning to her narrow-eyed study of Montagu.
“Miss Little, lovely as ever,” Montagu greeted her, turning away from Lady Johanna with what seemed like relief.The poor young lady had already barely said two words together; pairing her with the stunning Montagu seemed rather unfair.Perhaps Lady Astrid was hoping to draw other gentlemen’s notice to her by doing so?
“Your Grace, a pleasure to see you again,” Kalina said, grateful that her mother’s training had her speaking without tripping over her tongue.She knew all the proper phrases by rote, so that she did not have to think in order to speak clearly.Even she was not entirely unaffected by Montagu’s beauty, though her awareness was all for the man on her opposite side.Hereford was currently greeting Delilah, who had been seated beside him.
“How was the trip from London?”
“Very uneventful.”She smiled at him, too well-mannered to complain the way she had earlier with Tiffany.Though Tiffany was a duchess, she had also declared herself a friend and had shown it well enough for Kalina to unbend with her, just a touch.“Are you enjoying the house party?”
“Oh, yes.I always enjoy being in the company of so many beautiful women,” he said, looking across the table at Miss Belle and winking.
Rather than swooning or fluttering, her lips pursed in disapproval.Montagu frowned, as if unsure of what to do in the face of such a response.Giving himself a little shake, he seemed to recover quickly enough despite his discomposure.
“Take Lady Johanna here,” he said, turning slightly so the young woman could be included in their conversation.
Hearing her name, Lady Johanna’s head jerked around, and she appeared frozen in place, wide-eyed and almost fearful.Kalina’s heart went out to her.She wondered if that was what she had been like when she first arrived in England.Had Lady Astrid and Tiffany seen her the way she saw Lady Johanna?She wanted to reach out and offer the young woman a helping hand.Had it been the same for them and her?
“She has the most glorious eyes.I have rarely seen the like.”
“You do have incredible eyes,” Kalina agreed, leaning in slightly so she could speak to Lady Johanna without unduly raising the volume of her voice.“If you wore violet, the color of your gown would enhance them even more.”
“Amethysts,” Montagu declared, grinning widely.“You should be bedecked in amethysts.”
“Oh…” Lady Johanna looked down at the simple gray fabric of her dress.Now that Kalina was able to examine it more closely, she could see that the fabric was a bit worn, with little holes indicating where it had either been altered or changed.If she had not been inspecting it so closely, she would not have noticed but… “What about Rose?What jewel should she wear?”
It was the most words Lady Johanna had said altogether since Kalina had met her.Both she and Montagu looked across the table at Miss Belle, who was speaking with the Duke of Clarence.As if feeling their eyes upon her, she glanced back at them, then frowned as she realized they were indeed looking at her.
“Rubies,” Montague said after a moment.“Miss Belle would look resplendent in rubies, bright red as a rose.”
The burgundy dress Miss Belle was wearing did become her, but Kalina had to agree.A rich, bright red would be very flattering on Miss Belle.It would also draw a good deal of attention, and so far, the companion had been doing her best to fade into the background.
