Page 84 of Debating with the Duke (Second Sons of London 2)

Everett decided to take charge and said, “Then I will come to you and we shall dance the supper dance and then join your parents afterward.”

He left with Spence and they retreated to the card room.

Everett asked, “Is it true husbands and wives do not dance with one another?”

His friend chuckled. “For a majority of theton, that is true. I insist upon dancing with Tessa, however. It is one of my favorite things. To hold her in my arms and move to the music.”

Everett played several hands of cards, winning a few, and then he excused himself from the table. He circulated about the room, talking to a few of the people he knew and meeting other gentlemen through introductions. When a footman came in and announced the supper dance would be starting soon, Everett and many of the gentlemen in the card room exited and made their way toward the ballroom.

He scanned the room as he entered and as she had said, Addie sat in a grouping of chairs that included the matrons of Polite Society. He collected her and led her onto the dance floor.

The musicians struck up a waltz and he took her hand in his, placing his other hand against her back, and pulled her closer than he usually did. For a moment, her eyes widened and then the bland look, which seemed to permanently reside on her face now returned. They danced the number together without conversing as he confidently moved her about the floor. When the music ended, he reluctantly released her and tucked her hand through the crook of his arm.

“I saw Mama earlier,” she told him. “She knows we will be supping with her and Papa. Louisa and her escort will also join us.”

Once in the supper room, they found Lord and Lady Uxbridge and Louisa, who introduced them to a pasty, solemn fellow. The three men left the women at their table and went through the buffet line, returning to join them.

Louisa, whom Everett thought was by far the more reserved of the three cousins, seemed downright animated this evening when compared to Addie. Once more, his wife had become an ice queen, rarely speaking and when doing so, her voice was well modulated and her comments brief. No one at the table seemed to notice anything different about her.

That is, until he caught Louisa’s eye. She gave him a questioning look and Everett merely shrugged, not knowing what to say.

The supper ended and he requested to escort Addie back to the ballroom.

“That won’t be necessary, Your Grace. Louisa and I have plans to visit the retiring room.”

He watched the two women leave and decided he had to act. Glancing about the room, he sought out Spence who was leading Tessa. Finding them, he headed in their direction.

When he reached them, he said, “I need to borrow your wife, Spence.”

His friend studied him a moment and then said, “Of course.”

Spence took his leave and Everett asked Tessa, “Would you mind if we went out to the terrace? This is a private conversation and I do not wish for anyone to overhear us.”

She nodded and he took her back to the ballroom, where they exited through a set of French doors into the night. Only one other couple was present outside and Everett steered Tessa away from them.

“What is on your mind, Everett?”

“I believe you already know, Tessa. It is Addie. I need to know what is wrong with her.”

Tessa frowned and it looked as if she hesitated to speak so he added, “I know I am not the man for her. She needed someone as vibrant as she is. I am too quiet and much too sober for her. Yet ever since we wed, she seems like a different person.

“I implore you, Tessa. Guide me. Help me to become the man Addie wants. The man she needs. Because it can’t go on as it has been.”

“Do you love her, Everett?”

Anguish filled him as he nodded. “More than life itself,” he revealed. “I thought I had enough love in my heart for the both of us. I fear I have only made her miserable. That is why I sent her back to town without me. You know how she sparkles, Tessa—and she has not sparkled ever since we made our vows to one another. I thought if she returned to Polite Society, she might become more herself. Yet tonight, she seems so distant. She acts like a woman twice her age. Frustration fills me. I just don’t know what to do.”

“Normally, I would not meddle in the lives of other people and their relationships,” Tessa began, “nor betray any confidence. However, the two of you have created quite the mess. It all boils down to your list, Everett.”

Astonishment filled him. “That bloody list?” he asked. “I don’t care about that list one whit. Yes, I made it simply because Addie asked me to do so. At the time, I thought I knew the woman I wanted but my mind has changed. The list is nothing like what I want in a woman. In my wife. In my duchess. The woman I want is Addie. The old Addie. Not the stranger I find myself wed to.”

Tessa nodded, understanding in her eyes. “Adalyn believes she is nothing like the woman on your list,” she explained.

He chuckled. “She’s not. And I am ever grateful for that.”

“My cousin wants to please you more than you know, Everett. She is trying tobethat woman on your list. She is attempting to embody every quality on it to makeyouhappy. That is why she is so subdued. She is trying to behave and speak as the Duchess of Camden.YourDuchess of Camden.” Tessa smiled mischievously. “At least the Duchess of Camden you thought you wanted.”

She placed her hand upon his arm and squeezed it. “She has deep feelings for you, Everett. I believe you can have a successful marriage—if you clear up the misunderstandings between you.”

---