Page 36 of Never Doubt a Duke's Desire

Chapter Five

The cravat Isaac was wearing felt like a tight noose around his neck and was only getting tighter. For the hundredth time, he wondered why he had not found a reason to break his promise to William to attend his dratted ball—but he had not.

Now, his carriage was trundling to the carriage gate of the extensive manor house, and he grit his teeth. This was a hair-brained idea, he knew it, as the repercussions would only come back to bite him—people would be sending more invitations to lure the absent Duke out of his hiding place just to stare at the oddity he had become.

He suddenly craved the seclusion of his home and private rooms, as back there, he knew what to do. He had lost touch with thebeau mondeover a year-and-a-half ago, and even before that, he had not been much of a participant. He was not a social creature, flitting to one ball or another just for the sake of beingseen.

The carriage stopped at the gate and, with gritted teeth, he left the vehicle. The black of his suit temporarily merged with the night air around him. As he stepped on the porch, it seemed to suck in the light from the lamps there.

A footman greeted him respectfully while he handed in his invitation and wished him a happy evening.

I hardly doubt that I will enjoy a second of it.

He entered, passed through a foyer and another footmanshowed him to the stairs leading to the ballroom, and handed the card to the butler. There, Isaac grimaced—he had forgotten about the announcements. Devil and damn; at the sound of his name, the people there would be staring at him as if he were a beast recently escaped from a cage.

“Announcing, His Grace, the Duke of Westwood, Isaac Montagu,” the butler’s monotone droneseemed to stop time. Every eye in the room spun to him, and Isaac even heard the shatter of glass.

Descending the steps to the massive ballroom, filled with the crème de la crème of London, Isaac kept his expression blank, trying hard not to react to the stifled silence in the room.

“Montagu, you came,” William said, as he wound his way through the press.

Like a flicker, the people around him went back to their conversations and turned away from him. William looked pleased as he reached out to shake Isaac’s hand.“Thank you. you are a little late, and I feared you had changed your mind.”

Mildly irritated at the implication that his agreement was not worth much, Isaac’s lips twisted.“I’m so touched that you think so little of me.”

Snorting, William snagged two flutes of champagne from a passing waiter.“Here, drink this, and possibly your derision will change.”

“To what?” Isaac drawled. “Light contempt?”

“That too,” William replied.

From the corner of his eyes, Isaac saw four women, dressed in jewel-toned dresses. They were fluttering silken fans while their eyes flickered to him. Of course, the chatter had started already, and he could wager that by the next morning, his name would be splashed across all the scandal pages in London.

Under their gaze, he felt sized-up and judged, as if he were a slab of beef, but then again, was not the reason for balls to find the most well-suited, tall, strong, smart, and wealthy specimen to reproduce with? Dryly, Isaac wondered what would happen if they were stripped of the forced politeness society put on them.

We would be like animals—pouncing on each other.

Finishing his glass, Isaac handed it off, “Sadly, Langley, your theory did not work—I am still the cynical man who arrived.”

“We’ll get you another then,” William replied. “Some of the ladies here have already noticed you.”

“Are you surprised?” Isaac ticked a brow up. “I’m a strange creature in the midst of a known breed.”

His friend liberally rolled his eyes.“God’s blood man, when will you ever let go of those ideas about yourself? You belong here, with the rest of your class; it's where you should have been months ago.”

“I beg to differ,” Isaac sighed.“I do not belong here, Langley.”

“Yes, you do,” William pressed. “It's like...riding a horse, once you’ve been away for a while, and you return to it, the motions will come back to you. Please do me a favor, try to put aside those self-recriminations for a while and enjoy yourself; drink, dance, meet other people. I am sure there are lord and ladies here who would love to interact with you.”

Yes, they can brag about the pariah and how Helena made me a fool to believe that love existed.

He rubbed his eyes.“I—I make no promises, Langley, but I’ll try.”

“Good,” William nodded. “Now, let me introduce you to a few people.”

I realize that it was probably for the best. Through all my hardships, I realized how strong I was, and how better I am because of it.

The back of his jaw clenched when he remembered how he had nearly called Louisa by her given name. He had slipped, and he knew that she knew he had slipped. To his relief and gratefulness, she had not made anything of it, and to this day—five days on—they were both contented to pretend it had not happened. But he held those words dear—if she had found a way to move on from all the tragedy she had faced, he should as well.

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