Page 4 of A Duke's Wicked Secret
This concerned Penelope greatly. She and Henry had been close friends as children, and she cared for him as such but nothing more. And the way he had just spoken and looked at her made Penelope worried that he had intentions other than mere friendship between them.
Penelope was not in the slightest interested in Henry romantically, and on top of that, she was not attracted to him. He was barely taller than her, his hair was mostly gone from his head even though he was not one and thirty, and he liked to flirt with every woman he saw. Simply put, Henry was not the man she wished to marry.
While surveying the room, Penelope noted that almost everyone was staring at her, and in this perusal of the room, Penelope locked eyes with the tall, handsome man from her morning ride. Penelope instantly felt her heart jump and her cheeks flush.
***
Theo stood on the opposite side of the room, giving himself as much distance from everyone else as he possibly could, and hardly anyone approached him unless they wished to speak with Alexander, who stood beside him.
The pair had arrived early to the ball and now all that was left of his obligations for the evening was to introduce himself to his new neighbours, the viscount, and his family. Then he could end this tortuous affair. He did his best to avoid making small talk, as it only seemed to further the rumours about him when he left. So why should he try to converse with any of them?
Having seen Ms Ainsworth arrive, it was clear who she was and that she was indeed the woman from this morning. He had secretly been taking note of her all evening. She looked like the perfect model of what a good debutant should be, graceful, polite, elegant, and charming, often making those around her laugh while conversing with her.
She also smiled very sweetly and seemed to put those around her at ease. Though what he found most curious about her was that when she was finally given a moment of quiet with her female companion, he saw relief wash across her face. Every other unmarried lady of the ton would have traded their best jewels to have the unrivalled attention that this girl had held the entire evening, but it was clear to him that she was not basking in it.
When she noticed him, Theo could not bring himself to look away. He saw her smile again, though this smile appeared a bit less practiced compared to the one she had been flaunting the entire evening with all her suitors, and he also saw, even from the distance that he was, that she was blushing. This only served to make her look all the more enrapturing.
Alexander noted that Penelope and her friend were free, and he nudged Theo in that direction so that he could leave, as Theo had been waiting to do all evening. When the men were finally in front of the two ladies, Alexander as usual made the introductions.
“Ladies, might I have the honour of introducing myself to you? I am Mr Alexander Davenport, and this is my good friend, Theodore Winterbourne, Duke of Winchester.”
As Theo bowed, he saw Penelope’s eyes grow larger upon realizing who he was, but she hid this almost instantly, made a polite curtsy, and kindly responded.
“It is my pleasure to meet you, sir, and Your Grace. This is my friend Miss Georgina Stuart.” As she said this, Theo saw that with closer examination, she was even more attractive than he had before realised, but he pushed it from his mind, telling himself that it made no difference to him how attractive she was. He was not interested in anyone.
Another awkward lull passed as Alexander pulled Georgina into a conversation, and Theo realised that Penelope was waiting for him to say something. For the life of him, though, he could not think of a thing to say to this woman smiling at him, so once again, she kindly filled in the spaces he had left empty.
“Your Grace, if I may say so, you have a very beautiful estate. We passed it on the way into London, and its incredible architecture took me away.”
“Thank you, my great-grandfather had it built,” Theo answered. Usually, he would have found a reason to exit the conversation by now, but the way that this girl seemed so kind and yet not overly so that it was overwhelming, Theo was not in a rush to take his leave of her.
“So, have you always loved horses and riding, Your Grace?” Penelope asked with a twinkle in her eyes. This greatly surprised Theo. He would have never anticipated a lady of her status to mention the unseemly manner in which they met this morning. Simply put, it was downright scandalous and could put her reputation at risk if the wrong people had seen her with the mad duke.
But before he could even respond, she added, “I met your stable hand while out with my father as we were in want of the best place to find items for my horse, and he said that you were an avid horseman.”
At this comment, Alexander stepped in for Theo because clearly, he thought that Theo would not do himself justice.
“His Grace is an excellent horseman. He always bests me in our hunts and races. The way he is with the beasts is truly incredible. We should all go for a ride someday if you ladies would oblige?”
Theo gave Alexander a side look of irritation for volunteering him for an outing with these ladies when Alexander knew perfectly well how much he disliked being around people he was not already close to. On the other hand, the prospect of seeing Miss Penelope atop a horse with the wind pulling her petticoat tight against her body was exceedingly enticing.
“Oh, that would be lovely! Though I am not nearly as skilled on a horse as Penelope, I enjoy a good springtime ride,” Georgina exclaimed.
Before Penelope could say anything in agreement about the idea, the young man from earlier in the evening approached Penelope and reminded her of the dance she promised him, and she politely went with him, nodding to the others as she took leave of the group and headed for the dance floor.
As Penelope left, Theo relished the last look she gave him. Once again, this girl filled him with strange and unfamiliar sensations. In some regards, he was relieved to see her walk away because her interest in him was not something he was accustomed to, especially when it so clearly came from a place of kindness as opposed to judgement.
On the other hand, Theo found himself irritated that this man interrupted their conversation and seeing her on his arm gave him a twinge of jealousy that was entirely unexpected. More importantly, it was high time he made his introduction to the viscount and viscountess so that he could end his time at this ball and return to the comfort of his home.
***
Penelope and Henry danced across the floor to a pleasant melody and reminisced on old times together as children.
“Do you recall when your shoe got stuck in the mud when we were playing tag, and we had to fish it out with a stick, and then when I had finally almost retrieved it, you pushed me into the mud?” Henry asked.
“I do remember that time, and I certainly did not push you into the mud; you lost your balance and fell!” Penelope exclaimed merrily.
“Well, that is not how I remember it or ever tell the story.”
