Page 15 of A Wicked Duke's Arranged Marriage
“Oh, your home is just so lovely,” Lady St Vincent breathed. “Thank you so much for having us.”
“Thank you.”
Josephine’s stomach was in knots as she waited, fighting every instinct not to crane her neck to try and peer around her parents to see her intended. His voice was different than she had expected. She didn’t know how, but it was enough to pique her interest.
“And this, of course, is our daughter,” Lord St Vincent continued, stepping aside at last to introduce Josephine. “Josie – I – ahem – Lady Josephine St Vincent.”
If he said anything further, it was lost to Josephine’s ears. And not because of her father’s social blunder.
The Duke of Wallburshare was indeed a tall man like she thought she’d remembered. But he was nothing even slightly similar to the image she had built in her head.
He wasn’t stooped or sallow. He was a good head or more taller than her five foot four, with a head of golden curlsslightly shaggier than was now considered fashionable but no less attractive for it. His skin was also golden, and his eyes were a bright shade of green that seemed to penetrate her very being.
“Lady Josephine,” he greeted kindly. “It’s lovely to meet you.”
Lovely. Lord help her, but he was.
Even with that haunted, lost expression that he wore.
Maybe more so because of it.
“The pleasure is mine,” Josephine murmured quickly, remembering her manners at the very last second.
“I very much doubt that.”
No one knew what to make about such an enigmatic expression, the elder St Vincents sharing a look between themselves before the duke ushered them over to the armchairs and loveseat off to the side of the room.
“I trust that your trip here was easy enough?” he enquired politely. “I hope you don’t mind. We are waiting on Lord and Lady Fethmire; they should only be a few minutes longer.”
“Lady Fethmire is coming? Oh, we do so enjoy it when they visit the countryside!” Lady St Vincent exclaimed.
Josephine had to bite back a smile as she veered for an armchair, that smile fading even inside of her as her father quickly took that seat. Her mother did love Lady Fethmire; that wasn’t just politeness.
“That’s a sentiment that I happen to share,” Lord Wallburshare said easily. “Although I won’t tell Lord Fethmire that you were only so pleased to hear about her attendance tonight.”
Josephine was surprised to hear her mother giggle as she moved to warily take one side of the loveseat after seeing her mother take another armchair. Giggle. Just like a schoolgirl.
“Oh, please don’t! It’s only that I’m better acquainted with Lady Fethmire,” Lady St Vincent insisted.
“And she always sends such lovely thank-you gifts,” Josephine’s father teased.
Lady St Vincent coloured a pretty pink, her eyes widening.
Lord Wallburshare, though, just looked on as he came and took his clearly orchestrated seat next to Josephine. Shecould almost swear there were hints of a smile in the corners of his lips, though.
“Don’t worry, Lady St Vincent. That is the usual consensus. I’ve told Lord Fethmire for years that she is the more amiable of the pair.” There was just the slightest bit more life in Lord Wallburshare’s tone as he talked about his friends, and Josephine took that opportunity to stare at him unabashedly.
He really was devastatingly handsome, but there was something else there. Something closed-off and untouchable. Even when his voice warmed, and he said all the right things socially, clearly intending to be friendly, there seemed to be an absence behind his green eyes. A shuttered, far-away thing.
“I don’t mind Lord Fethmire in the slightest,” Lord St Vincent said bluntly. “He makes an excellent hunting partner. And I quite like his opinion regarding parliament as well.”
“Darling,” Lady St Vincent warned, her voice hushed.
Again, Josephine could swear she thought she saw the duke’s lips twitch.
“And you?” he asked suddenly, turning his piercing green gaze on her and catching her mid-act of staring so intently at him. “Are you well acquainted with our arriving guests?”
Our arriving guests. Mercy, he already made it sound as if they were married.
