Page 46 of The Duchess Trap
“Explains what?” Duncan grunted.
“The thundercloud on your brow. You look ready to throttle the poor bastard.” Stephen’s grin widened, wicked as always. “AndI cannot decide whether to stop you or to fetch a chair for the spectacle.”
Duncan tore his gaze away long enough to spear his friend with a look that could have frozen stone. “Tell me who he is.”
Stephen’s brows lifted. “Mr. Benjamin Selkirk, if I recall correctly. Surprised you don’t know him. He’s been making quite a stir these past few years. Started with nothing. An orphan, so the tale goes. Built a fortune in trade: ships to the Indies, all that. Tea, silk, spices. Half the merchants in London want his mark on their ventures now.”
Duncan mulled over that information for a long moment.
An orphan. A trader.
Stephen leaned closer, amusement thick in his tone. “From Brightwater, I think. That must be the link. Your wife must have known him as a boy, no doubt.”
The name struck Duncan instantly. Brightwater. Of course. The pieces slid into place with immense clarity. He could see now the shared games and the bonds forged in the innocence of childhood. Bonds that made his wife smile like that. Bonds that allowed him to stand too close, to spin her across the floor as though she were his personal playmate.
Duncan recalled the moments he’d spent at Brightwater and sent a searching glance across the ballroom at Catherine and her companion.
Every inch of her was alive, alight, but not for me.
It was disappointing.
Stephen chuckled. “I’ll wager you’ve not glared so fiercely since you faced down half the House of Lords. You’ll have the matrons fainting in their feathers if you don’t master yourself.”
Duncan did not hear him. His vision had narrowed, the crowd fading until there was only Catherine and the stranger with his hand at her waist, only the laughter that should have been Duncan’s to claim.
Without another word, Duncan set his glass down with deliberate care and straightened to his full height.
The men around him continued their chatter, oblivious, but Stephen cursed under his breath. “Ah, Christ. He’s going to do it.”
Duncan strode across the ballroom, each step measured but heavy with intent.
The crowd parted instinctively, whispers rising as his presence cut through silk and satin with ease. The music swelled, violinsspun high, as Catherine twirled beneath Selkirk’s arm. Her skirts flared, pale silk catching the light, her laughter spilling?—
And then his resolve faltered.
Who am I to steal this moment of joy from my wife?
He stared at the couple long and hard and wished that he could abruptly turn about and walk in the other direction.
I must earn her smile and cherish her laughter—not be some sort of brute who steals what is not mine for the taking.
Perhaps Duncan would have pivoted and returned to the conversation he’d just left if it had not been for the way the dancers nearly collided with him. Because he’d stopped walking right in the path where Catherine and her partner were destined to spin next, it went without saying that they collided with him.
The younger man froze, startled. He glanced upward at Duncan, recognition dawning in his eyes as though he suddenly recalled he was dancing with the Duchess of Raynsford, wife to the Duke who stood before him.
“Your Grace,” Selkirk said quickly, his voice even and lacking all the hilarity that had been there just seconds before. “A pleasure to meet you! Her Grace and I were reminiscing.”
Duncan sent his wife a long look. She nodded at him encouragingly, and he could just hear her voice in his head.
Be kind. Dazzle him with your charm.
“I…” Duncan began, but he did not know how to finish that statement.
He had been too unnerved while watching her dance with this other fellow to just calmly saunter this way now and strike up a trivial conversation. He was at a loss for what to say until it occurred to him that he need not state any other facts than the pertinent ones.
“I should like to dance with my wife now.”
“Of course, Your Grace.” He released Catherine’s hand and stepped aside. “It was a pleasure, my lady.”
