“I understand that you do not approve of such arrangements,” Bridget said, her voice playful. “But even you cannot deny that the Duke is quite handsome, and you are only human, after all.”
Anna giggled quietly at this. She leaned her head in close to Bridget’s to reply in a loud whisper, “It is true that I do not approve of such arrangements. However, my heart races every time that I see him, and…I feel warm, everywhere. The thoughts that come into my mind are most wicked, but I cannot seem to stop them.”
“Oh, Anna,” Bridget said, smiling at her kindly, “you must not blame yourself for such thoughts. A woman would have to be in her grave not to notice how handsome the Duke is.”
Anna raised an eyebrow at this, and looked quizzically at her friend.
“But you need not worry on that score,” Bridget said firmly. “The Duke could not take his eyes off of you at the party.”
Anna knew that she should not feel relieved to hear this. She did not, after all, wish to form a romantic relationship with the Duke, ruining her reputation for a moment of pleasure. However, she could not help but feel quite pleased by what Bridget had said.
Chapter 23
Nathaniel travelled home from his visit to Miss Conolly’s boarding house on foot. The day was chilly but fine, and he had always enjoyed exploring London’s various neighborhoods. He was fascinated that a walk of only half an hour made the difference between the fine townhouses of the ton, and the cramped boarding houses and tenements of the common people.
He had a vague notion that these seemingly vastly different worlds were, in fact, interconnected. And an even vaguer idea that understanding the ways in which they were connected might help him to be a more effective member of Parliament. After all, the Lords had a responsibility to the Commons as well as to themselves.
Nathaniel had convinced himself earlier that day that these were the reasons he chose to walk to Miss Conolly’s boarding house. However, he knew now that the true benefit was the time he had allowed himself to continue thinking of her on his way back home.
Their visit had been a resounding success in Nathaniel’s mind. Miss Conolly had not only been even more beautiful than he remembered, but they had talked easily, and she made him feel comfortable even when discussing the difficult subject of his father’s death. She had understood his sense of obligation to his mother, and had shared with him quite freely her own family background.
Nathaniel could hardly have hoped for a better interaction, but then she had agreed to his proposal of lending her the use of his carriage. Here was a ready-made excuse for him to call upon her again, perhaps several times. Her anxiety that he might be offering this in exchange for a romantic connection had stung, somewhat, but he did his best to put that out of his mind.
Given everything that Nathaniel knew about gentlemen of his social class, and especially of their interactions with ballerinas, he supposed that he could not blame her for assuming such a thing. He understood that a woman in Miss Conolly’s position would be wise to protect herself from scandal at all costs.
And, if I am being truly honest with myself, she was not entirely wrong in thinking it.
Knowing what a scandal of that sort would cost her, Nathaniel would never propose such a thing to Miss Conolly. His own reputation might be momentarily tarnished, but he would bounce back in the end, while hers would be completely ruined. Still, the thought of making love to her had been nearly constant in his mind since they had danced at the party.
Nathaniel had worked hard to develop that quality that was most important to any British gentleman, a stiff upper lip. He was usually able to hide his emotions from his friends, but in his experience, women, whether maids or high-born ladies, were usually more intuitive about these things. He could not help but wonder if Miss Conolly had seen his desires written clearly upon his face.
Nathaniel considered this as he walked, and ultimately came to the conclusion that if Miss Conolly had understood his desires, she most certainly would not have agreed to take his carriage to Wiltshire. He breathed a sigh of relief at this conclusion, not wanting to scare Miss Conolly off.
Nathaniel wondered whether Miss Conolly would be flattered or horrified if she were to learn of his desire for her. If there were no possibility of scandal, might she desire him, too? Nathaniel had always been told that he was quite handsome, and though he usually gave the matter little thought, he supposed that he agreed with this assessment.
He arrived home in a very good mood, indeed. Upon entering the foyer, he was greeted by the butler, who took his hat and coat.
“Your Grace, the Dowager Duchess is in the sitting room, and has requested that you join her as soon as you are returned home,” the butler said, bowing slightly to Nathaniel.
“Thank you, Williams,” Nathaniel said with a sigh. “I shall go and join her now.”
Nathaniel had no desire to join his mother in the sitting room at the moment, wishing instead to go to his studio and continue work on the portrait he was painting of Miss Conolly. However, he thought it best to oblige her, considering everything else that he had done to upset her in the past few days.
He walked through the hallway to the sitting room, and the butler opened the door and ushered him in. Nathaniel was surprised to see that his mother was sitting opposite a pretty young lady of about his own age. It was Lady Elaine Stanton, with whom he had danced the previous evening.
Nathaniel could feel a slight frown forming on his lips, but quickly replaced with a smile that he hoped would be believable. Williams had not mentioned that Lady Elaine was with his mother, which Nathaniel found quite strange.
Did Mother tell him not to tell me that Lady Elaine was here? Did she think that I would refuse to join her if I knew?
“Lady Elaine, I did not realize that you would be coming to call today. I apologize that I was not here earlier,” he said, smiling at her, but shooting a glance at his mother as he said this.
“The Dowager Duchess was kind enough to invite me for tea,” Lady Elaine said, smiling politely, though Nathaniel thought that her smile lacked a certain enthusiasm.
Nathaniel felt a surge of sympathy for Lady Elaine—as a young lady, he supposed that the pressure to make a good marriage was probably even worse for her than it was for him. As a Duke, Nathaniel could overrule his mother in the matter of his own marriage, as long as he was willing to live with her commentary on the matter for the rest of his life. A young lady could never do the same without suffering much graver consequences.
“Mother,” Nathaniel said, turning to her with an intense gaze. “You ought to have told me that Lady Elaine would be coming to tea.”
“My apologies,” the Dowager Duchess said her voice sounding grave. “It must have slipped my mind to tell you about it. I did not realize that you had planned to be out of the house today.”
“Well, we must try to communicate our plans more clearly in future,” Nathaniel said, keeping his voice as steady as possible, so as not to let Lady Elaine know that he was frustrated at being ambushed with her presence.
It is not her fault, after all. I doubt that she even wants to be here at all.
“Yes, of course, you are right.” His mother replied, cheerfully. “But never mind that. We are all here now. Come, sit and have some tea.”
Nathaniel dutifully sat down next to his mother, and a serving girl stepped forward from the corner to pour him a cup of tea. Nathaniel nodded his thanks to the girl, who blushed and looked away as soon as she had handed it to him. He hoped that he had not offended her, but he could not spare much time to consider this possibility. Instead he tried to think of anything to say to Lady Elaine.
Nathaniel was spared the responsibility of moving the conversation forward when Lady Elaine said, “Did you enjoy the ballet last night, Your Grace?”
“Yes, My Lady,” he replied, feeling relieved. “I enjoyed it very much. Did you enjoy it?”
“I did, Your Grace,” Lady Elaine said, “I have always enjoyed
the ballet, but I think that this most recent production may be my favorite that I have ever seen.”
“I quite agree.” Nathaniel said, chuckling slightly.
Lady Elaine gave him a quizzical look, and he realized that, of course, she would not understand why this was funny.
“My apologies,” he said, “I saw this production several times, but it was the first ballet I have ever attended, so it is my favorite by default.”
“Oh, I see,” Lady Elaine said, laughing along with him. “Well, if you are only going to see one ballet, I think that this one was a good choice.”
“I can hardly imagine another being better,” Nathaniel agreed, “but I do intend to see the next production as well, to be certain that my conclusions are valid.”
“I think that is most wise, Your Grace,” Lady Elaine said, sounding entirely serious, so that Nathaniel did not quite know how to respond.
“Of course,” the Dowager Duchess interjected, “His Grace will be quite busy in Parliament when the next production is mounted. He is working hard to build political alliances, and I dare say he will be asked to join a committee in the near future. So he may not have much time for attending the ballet.”
“Oh…” Lady Elaine replied, looking a bit confused.
“It is true that I am working to establish myself with my colleagues in the House of Lords,” Nathaniel agreed. “But I daresay I shall find time for an evening out here and there. I shall make sure to attend the next production at least once.”
Nathaniel was looking intently at his mother as he said this, wondering what she hoped to accomplish. She seemed not to notice his eyes upon her, or else she was doing a remarkable job of ignoring them. Lady Elaine was looking as confused as ever, her eyes moving back and forth between Nathaniel and his mother.
“Well,” Lady Elaine said, sounding quite uncertain, “I hope that you will enjoy it as much as the last one, Your Grace.”
“Thank you, My Lady,” Nathaniel said smiling politely at her. “I hope so as well.”
“I am quite sure that you will,” his mother said. “Perhaps you will see Lady Elaine there, as you are both so interested in the ballet.”
“Perhaps,” Nathaniel said, and then, not wishing to insult Lady Elaine, he added, “that would be lovely.”
His mother smiled at both of the young people, and Nathaniel attempted to smile back at her in an effort to keep the fragile peace between them. He thought that Lady Elaine looked quite uncomfortable at this suggestion, but a second later she smiled as well.
The visit with Lady Elaine did not last much longer, as the time was growing late, and she needed to return to her father’s home for dinner. The time passed uneventfully, with the Dowager Duchess and Lady Elaine discussing various upcoming balls they would be attending, and Nathaniel merely nodding from time to time.
When Lady Elaine had gone, the Dowager Duchess turned to Nathaniel and said, “Lady Elaine is a lovely young lady, don’t you think so?”
Nathaniel stared at his mother for a moment, contemplating how to answer this question. He bore Lady Elaine no ill will, and in fact he felt some sympathy for her, but he found her no more interesting now than he had done yesterday. He could hardly say this to his mother without causing an argument, but he was determined not to give her any reason to believe that he felt any romantic interest in Lady Elaine.
“She is…very well-mannered,” he said at last, which was the truth, at least.
“She is,” his mother said. “And I believe that she is cleverer than she seems at first. She will make a good wife.”
“I am sure that she will make a good wife for someone,” Nathaniel said, placing extra emphasis on the last word, hoping to make it clear that someone would not be himself.
The Dowager Duchess seemed to take his meaning, for she looked at him for a moment and then sighed without saying anything more. Nathaniel considered telling his mother that he did not appreciate surprise visits from eligible young ladies, but decided that now was not the time for such a discussion.
“I think that I shall go to the club for dinner tonight.”
His mother cast a disappointed look at him, but said nothing and merely nodded in response to this pronouncement.
* * *
Nathaniel was pleased to find, upon entering the club, that his friend David was also there for the evening. They decided to dine together and were seated at a table at the back of the room.
“Did you enjoy your dance with Miss Conolly?” David asked, a sly look upon his face.
“Very much,” Nathaniel replied, with a grin. “So much that I called upon her at her home earlier today.”
“Did you really?” David asked, sounding quite pleased by this information. “You rogue.”
“I assure you, I am no rogue,” Nathaniel said, attempting to hide a grin. “I am practicing the greatest self-restraint where Miss Conolly is concerned.”
David listened, with rapt attention, as Nathaniel recounted the details of his visit with Miss Conolly. He was surprised to learn that she had been so direct in her assertion that she would not agree to be Nathaniel’s mistress.
“But I have told you already,” Nathaniel said, sounding exasperated now. “I do not wish for her to be my mistress.”
“Come now, you cannot tell me that you do not desire her,” David said, skeptically.
“I did not say that I do not desire her,” Nathaniel told his friend. “Only that I will not make her my mistress. Such a scandal could ruin her, and I will not put her at risk.”
“You have always been too honorable for your own good,” David said, shaking his head in disbelief. “This is simply the way things are done.”
“Well, I suppose that is fine, for the people who choose it, but she has made her wishes quite plain, and I will not try to change her mind,” Nathaniel said, firmly. “If she will not consent to marry me, then we shall go our separate ways.”
“Marry you?” David asked, incredulously,
“I have not asked her yet, but yes, I wish to marry her,” Nathaniel said, admitting this to himself for the first time. “Perhaps when she returns from her visit to her mother I will ask her.”
David seemed to be at a loss for words, and merely shook his head at this. Nathaniel laughed at the look of shock on his friend’s face and returned his attention to his dinner.
Chapter 24
Anna was feeling far more refreshed when she awoke the following day. Her mind had raced with thoughts of the Duke of Yanborough, and what might or might not happen between them. However, she was so exhausted by day’s end that she had fallen into a deep sleep almost as soon as her head touched her pillow.
Having experienced one social call from the Duke already, she was far less nervous about seeing him today. Ordinarily she would wear her gray gown again today, since it had not gotten dirty the day before, but today she chose to wear the brown so that the Duke would not see her in the same gown two days in a row. She felt sure that aristocratic ladies must not wear the same gown for two days in a row.
She took an extra minute at the looking glass, making sure that her face was fresh and clean, and her hair neatly arranged, just as she had done the day before. However, she did not stare at her wardrobe for several minutes feeling a sense of panic about what to wear. She did not consider wearing a ballgown at midday, as she had yesterday. Overall, she felt that she was acting much more rationally today.
Once dressed, Anna managed to write the letter that she had meant to compose the night before. A small table in the corner of her room doubled as a writing desk and a dressing table. She moved the washbasin and jug off of it now and replaced them with paper, ink, and quill, and then sat down and began to write.
Dear Mother,
I am sorry that it has been so long since my last letter. I have not had much news to report in the past month, but still I ought to have written to you, and I hope that this letter finds you well.
We just finished our production, which was
very well received. One review said that I breathed new life into the company, which was quite flattering to read, but something of an overstatement in my opinion.
We now have some time off before we begin rehearsals for our next production. It has been so long since I have been home, and I thought that it would be nice to visit Wiltshire again. I am able to hire a carriage for the journey, so that it will not take me so long to get home.
Anna left off here, realizing that she would need to speak with the Duke and determine when the carriage would be available before posting her letter. She could hardly believe that she had not thought that this detail would be important until now.
Anna had always considered herself a very organized sort of person, and felt that this oversight was most unlike her. She could not help but wonder if her constant thoughts of the Duke were making her foolish.
The Art 0f Pleasuring A Duke (Steamy Historical Regency Romance) Page 18
