Page 13 of The Duke's Indecent Match
To her credit, she mentioned her former lover with nary a change of expression.Kalina’s heart ached for her.She’d been Grafton’s long-time lover, but now that he needed to marry, he’d separated himself from her and was looking among the debutantes for a bride.Kalina did not understand because it was obvious there were strong feelings between the two.
As much as her father had explained about English society and customs, there were some things that were so illogical, they went beyond her comprehension.
“Our fathers were killed in a hunting lodge… accident,” Tiffany said, a slight pause between two of the words that made Kalina blink, then wonder if she’d heard correctly.“All at once.”
“My goodness!I am so sorry … please accept my condolences and apologies for the unthinking question.”Lady Johanna gripped the pale fabric of her skirt.“I also lost my father, not so long ago.It is… very difficult.”
“It is.My condolences on your loss as well.”Tiffany smiled sympathetically with feeling.“I still miss him, but I do believe he would be proud of the duchess I have become.”
Thinking of her own father, Kalina’s heart ached.She could not imagine losing him.Either of her parents.
Pressing her lips together, Lady Johanna nodded, her gaze dropping.
“That is why they are called the tragic dukes,” Delilah finished.“Though, of course, Society finds the tragedy utterly romantic as it resulted in a bevy of young, handsome dukes in need of wives all at once—and the first one was brash enough to have a love match.”She shot a speaking glance at Tiffany, who blushed prettily.
“We did not mean to fall in love,” Tiffany retorted.“It just… happened.”
“And every debutante in Society wishes it would ‘just happen’ to her,” Delilah teased, though there was a bit of an edge to her tone.
It was not just the debutantes who wished a duke would fall in love with and marry them, Kalina suspected.
She herself did not need love, though she did hope for companionship.Kindness.Desire.Someone who made her heart beat a little faster, yet with who she could speak easily, while the rest of the world faded away around them.
Someone like the Duke of Hereford.
Except she also wanted someone who would not pull away and close themselves off afterward.She wanted a husband who could, at least, be a true partner to her.
And he must be a duke.She was lucky enough to still have her father, and all he wanted was to be acknowledged by his family.The dukes, Tiffany, Lady Johanna… they had all lost their fathers.Life was never guaranteed.
Kalina would marry a duke and see her father have his dream of being received again by his family if it was the last thing she did.
5
Kalina
Though Lady Johanna remained rather quiet, Miss Belle had picked up the threads of conversation.If she was intimidated by Tiffany’s station, she did a better job of hiding it than Lady Johanna’s obvious anxiety.It turned out they were not from London but were the Blackstones’ neighbors.Lady Johanna’s late father had been a local viscount, and her younger brother now held the title.
Reading between the lines and looking at Lady Johanna’s attire, Kalina realized that Lady Johanna’s family was in the same—or worse—financial straits as the Duke of Hereford.No wonder Lady Astrid was trying to arrange a match with a duke for the young lady.She seemed very sweet, though incredibly quiet and reserved.Being with Miss Belle helped her—the other woman was far more confident and seemed to bolster Lady Johanna’s spirits.
The two were friends, she realized, rather thantonnishlady and hired companion.But the strictures of Society were such that Lady Johanna would not be able to attend the house party without some kind of chaperone, so that was the role Miss Belle was performing for her.
Silently, Kalina wished the young lady the best… and wondered if Lady Johanna might accept a gift of jewelry from a near-stranger.Kalina did not have her own funds, but she had heaps of jewelry she could part with.Would Lady Johanna consider it an insult?
English pride was still something she did not have a good grasp of.
Perhaps she would wait and see if they could form a deeper friendship over the duration of the house party and decide by the end of it what to do.
A small stir of activity near the door indicated that the gentlemen had come to join them, and sure enough, a moment later, Lord Blackstone led the way in.The atmosphere in the room immediately changed, young ladies straightening their spines and the elder ladies sharpening their gazes to watch what happened next.
Kalina felt a little tingle along her own very straight spine when the Duke of Hereford strode into the room and cast his gaze about.For a moment, their eyes met before he continued looking about.When he made for a group, it was for the other group of young ladies, who had settled into the chairs.It was silly nonsense to feel as though her heart was sinking.
She turned to Tiffany, speakingsotto voceso as not to be overheard, though with the sudden increase in noise as the ladies greeted the gentlemen, it might not have been strictly necessary.
“Do you know if the Duke of Hereford has something against me?Or my family?”
Tiffany blinked in surprise at the question, turning to speak with Kalina in her own low tones.
“Gregory has certainly not said anything, and I cannot imagine why he would.Why?You seemed to be getting on very well.”
