Mending the Duke's Heart: A Historical Regency Romance Book

by Bridget Barton

  Ella registered all that Lady Pamala was saying.

  “But if she knew it was what you were wearing tonight, why would she chose to wear it too and then to copy your design?”

  “Because she likes to be the centre of attention, and it doesn’t matter how she gets that attention as long as she gets it. It may have been an irritating vice in the past, but she has gone too far this time.”

  “I still don’t understand how someone could do such a horrible thing to someone they considered a friend.” Ella shook her head in disbelief.

  “The more time you spend in society,” Lady Pamala explained, “the more you will come to learn it isn’t a singular incident. A great many ladies of the ton are of similar character. Plus, she got what she wanted, didn’t she? Her name was on everyone’s lips tonight, first with the dress and then snatching up the attention of my brother. I should have known to distance myself from her the first time she brought upheaval to our family, but I suppose I was too silly to realize her motives.”

  “The first time?”

  “Not long after my brother left school, he found himself infatuated with a particular lady,” Lady Pamala explained.

  “Your mother mentioned it briefly to me,” Ella interjected, not wishing to hear about the Duke’s past loves.

  “Well, it was Lady Clarissa who found out that the lady in question had been singling him out for some time and using very manipulative means to convince him of her affections while doing the same with two other men.”

  “Three men at the same time?” Ella gasped.

  “Yes. Of course, I told my brother immediately, and he discovered the truth in Lady Clarissa’s accusations. I thought she was just being a good friend at the time. I wonder though, if she knew that the deception was inevitably to come to light and wanted to make sure that her name was included when the scandal was spoken of. You see, one of the gentlemen had already discovered that something was amiss. It was only a matter of time before she would’ve been found out, which is why she was pressuring Winthrope so strongly to propose marriage.”

  “He proposed?” Ella gasped again.

  “No, but he nearly did,” Lady Pamala explained. “It was a small miracle that he didn’t, and I suppose we should be thankful to Lady Clarissa for that at least. Winthrope is a man of his word. If he made his intentions known, nothing would stand in his way of fulfilling his promise.”

  Ella couldn’t help but ponder on these words as she watched her friend stroll off to dance with a new partner.

  On the one hand, she was relieved to hear that she was cleared of blame for the debacle that night. She was even more relieved to see that Lady Pamala had been so willing to ignore the matter altogether and continue enjoying her night.

  Ella, of course, agreed with Lady Pamala’s words that she found the Duke to be a man of honour. A small part of her hoped she had been right that he had alluded to feeling something for her and that their near kiss was, in fact, a declaration of his intentions towards her.

  However, the greater part of her—which very much sounded like her mother—was screaming for her to be sensible. She was a silly poor shop girl, and he was a duke. No man of his standing, upbringing, and lineage, would ever be willing to permanently sully his good name with a connection to one like her.

  She wanted to kick herself for even considering that he might have suggested as much. Hadn’t she not just been arguing with her mother over this same situation? She had boldly and stubbornly announced to her mother that she had no intentions of seeking connections in high society beyond what benefited the shop. Now here she was dreaming away that the Duke of Winthrope could possibly be falling for her as much as she had seemed to fall for him.

  Chapter 23

  “I really don’t think you should go to so much trouble just yet, Mother,” the Duke tried to derail his mother for at least the sixth time in the last five minutes.

  The moment the Duke had excused himself from Lady Pamala and Miss Ward at his mother’s insistence, he had been ambushed with future plans involving Lady Clarissa. The Duke suddenly realized he had underestimated how serious two dances with the unattached lady actually would be perceived.

  The Dowager Duchess had taken the opening and employed herself during supper to vet the lady as a possible future Duchess of Winthrope. The instant she found her son, she had begun the lengthy report of every bit of information she had gleaned, no matter how insignificant.

  “Oh, it’s no trouble at all Winthrope,” the Dowager Duchess giggled and tapped him lightly on the shoulder with her fan.

  She was surrounded by several other matronly ladies as they all sat in a row of chairs just to the side of the dance floor. From there, they had a good view of their charges wherever they might be in the ballroom and still be far enough away from the sound of the music coming from the small raised platform to allow easy conversation.

  At the Duke’s arrival, his mother had stood and hastily told him all her exciting news. He could tell she didn’t for one second believe him when he insisted that he had no intention of setting his sights on Lady Clarissa.

  As much as he wished to stop this course of action that his mother seemed intent upon, he had the notion that very little would stop her from continuing her pursuit. So he decided to give up on the endeavour.

  It wouldn’t be long, anyway, until his mother learned of Lady Clarissa’s true character and then she would no longer find the lady to be a worthy option. As much as the Dowager Duchess loved to hear some good gossip, or even pass it along, she certainly would not agree with Lady Clarissa’s methods of stirring conversations about herself.

  Once it was determined that Lady Clarissa was not suitable, his mother would settle her attention elsewhere.

  His heart sank a little bit at the thought. The one person he knew with a surety that his mother would never turn her matchmaking attention to was the one that he wished to spend the rest of his days with, Miss Ward. He wasn’t entirely sure how his mother, or even his sister, would react when he finally announced his intentions to them.

  To be honest, he still didn’t really know how Miss Ward felt on the matter. Yes, she certainly did have some sort of warm feelings towards him, or she wouldn’t have blushed so quickly at his teasing, or been so willing to let him kiss her. But that didn’t necessarily mean that she was as in love with him as he was with her.

  As desirable as one might think a duke was, there were also the practical aspects of a dukedom that a woman would have to live with if she chose him for a companion. For Miss Ward he was sure there would be many more difficulties than a woman of the ton would face. He wasn’t entirely sure if Miss Ward wanted to develop the little feelings he at least knew she felt.

  Even if she did, would it be enough for her to wish to overcome all the difficulties sure to come in their future together? Being a woman of no name, no family, it would be difficult for her to be accepted by society, especially the female side. It would be a lot to ask of a miss to bear all their ridicule and negativity simply because he was falling in love and wished to be with her.

  He was probably asking too much of her. She had a chance at a normal life, with a good amount of happiness, should she choose anyone of her similar standing or even one of the lesser lords of the ton. However, if she chose him, he hoped they would still have an equal amount of happiness if not more, but there would also be a great many more obstacles in their way.

  He had no doubt that with tonight being the beginning of her own introduction into society, it wouldn’t be long before many gentlemen were vying for her attentions. Lord Malcolm had clearly already set his sights on her. Of course, the Duke had little understanding of why as he knew Lord Malcolm to be less inclined toward ladies of substance—as Miss Ward was—and more for ladies of fortune and connections.

  In respect of other lords noticing her tonight, he had known it would be an inevitability. She may have come from a lesser class and had little money to her name. Still, she had so many
beautiful qualities that counteracted these negatives that they wouldn’t be an obstacle at all.

  His eyes were scanning the crowds as all these thoughts were tumbling through his head. He needed to know if she shared his growing feelings for her. He knew it would be rash to ask two separate ladies to dance two sets in the same evening, but he didn’t care.

  He was determined to make his intentions clear at least with Miss Ward. If that meant being on gossiping lips by morning for rakish behaviour, it was of little consequence to him.

  He knew he was already often a topic of the conversation simply because of his unsociable tendencies, perhaps this would be a nice change for him.

  When he didn’t spot her in the ballroom, he made his way first to the drawing-room at the front of the house and then circled back to the card room connected to the ballroom.

  She had been relatively good at playing cards last night at the private dinner party. Still, he hadn’t really pictured her as someone who would enjoy spending the night at a card table.

  He had noted that his sister was still in the ballroom smoothly being exchanged from one dance partner to the next, and Lord Melvin had also been doing his part asking a variety of women to dance.

  Knowing that Miss Ward was without anyone of a close association made him feel uneasy wherever she happened to be. A smile quirked upon his lips as he thought that perhaps Lord Cunningham had cornered her, as he was often a constant figure in a card room. He could only imagine the tongue lashing the lord would get if he dared to bring up his hunt from earlier this morning.

  The Duke was surprised to feel that rush of adrenaline accompanied by a turning of his stomach when his eyes fell on the lady towards the back of the room. He recognized her at once by her dark chocolate locks that stood in stark contrast to the pearls that had been set to decorate her hair.

  She was standing with her profile to him in a small circle of three other girls. Instead of seated at one of the many card tables, they seemed to be enjoying some punch that was recently set out.

  It only took him a second to recognize one of the other ladies in the party, as she stood out with her copy-cat dress. Instantly his body tensed into a protective stride. Their body language alone spoke of hostile intentions.

  Lady Clarissa stood in the middle with the two other ladies on either flank. All three of them faced Miss Ward as Lady Clarissa spoke with a smug grin and condescending eyes. Miss Ward seemed to shift back and forth on her feet in an uneasy manner. Clearly, these ladies had caught her off guard.

  It was a crowded room and already challenging to navigate with more tables squished in than customary. It didn’t help that at nearly every step, one person or another wished to catch his attention.

  He did his best to greet and sidestep each acquaintance, his eyes locked on the grouping of girls at the far back of the room.

  He was nearly there when he saw that telltale sign that Miss Ward would not back down. She set her punch glass on the table, lifted her chin, and balled her white-gloved hands into fists at her sides as she responded to whatever Lady Clarissa had said.

  The ladies at both Lady Clarissa’s sides hid giggles behind their hands, clearly enjoying that they’d finally gotten some rise out of the miss, while Lady Clarissa looked on smugly.

  “Exactly as I expected,” Lady Clarissa said just as the Duke came within earshot.

  Miss Ward was taken aback by the response and her mouth gaped open. The flanking girls only seemed to giggle more.

  “I beg the intrusion,” the Duke announced himself.

  The whole party turned, and even one of the flanking ladies gasped. She looked very young and was not one he recognized right away.

  “Is that the Duke of Winthrope?” she whispered behind her gloved hand to the other flanking girl.

  She nodded excitedly in response.

  Lady Clarissa turned around and planted a smooth, charming smile on her face. Without so much as an invitation, she slipped her arm through the crook of the Duke’s.

  He would have liked to pull his arm away from her, but knew it would be far too rude, and make a ridiculous scene. Really, he couldn’t blame her for making an assumption that they were somehow intimately connected now.

  He had danced with her twice, in a row, and then dined next to her. He was sure every single person at the ball tonight was expecting some sort of courting to begin between them after such actions.

  He was sure the gossipers present tonight were about to be thrown into a tizzy here in a moment when he would ask another to dance, thus forcing Lady Clarissa to relinquish her dominating grip.

  Lady Clarissa introduced the duke to the two other ladies. He knew their father’s names but really nothing beyond that. One was a Tory that he was relatively familiar with, the other a lesser lord that he only knew of by title.

  “I’m surprised to see all you ladies clustering here and not in the ballroom.”

  It would be an easy opening to ask Miss Ward to come and dance with him. He turned his head to look over at her, and instantly his heart sank. His muscles tightened where he felt Lady Clarissa’s unwanted touch.

  Miss Ward was looking at the ground, and he could see she was struggling to control great big tears that were welling up in her blue eyes.

  “Oh, we certainly aren’t done dancing, but I fear if we turn another set, it will incite quite a stir. We just stopped to get some refreshments when we ran into Miss Ward, here,” Lady Clarissa spoke in an assuming manner. “But I am sure Lady Catherine here would be happy to dance as she has had so few partners herself tonight. She is quite new out in society as well, you know. I have taken it upon myself to take her under my wing and guide her to the best society,” Lady Clarissa prattled on.

  The Duke reached out his free hand and touched Miss Ward’s elbow softly to get her attention.

  “Actually, I came to seek you out when I didn’t notice you with Lord Melvin or Lady Pamala,” he spoke in a gentle tone. “I wanted to make sure you were doing well.”

  Still, Miss Ward couldn’t seem to raise her eyes to meet him. He wished so much to remove himself from Lady Clarissa’s claws, scoop Miss Ward's delicate chin with his hands and tilt her head up. He wished to know what had transpired just now and he was sure if he could look into her eyes he would have the answers to the questions that turned within him.

  “Didn’t I tell you His Grace has such a kind heart?” Lady Clarissa prattled on to one of her friends. “Always ensuring that his employees are treated so well. Don’t you worry, though, Your Grace, I too was of your same mind. When I saw Miss Ward over here by the punch bowl, I just knew I had to seek her out. As I said, I am rather fond of helping those new to society. It’s not always easy for a lady—or I suppose in this case, a miss—to start out on the right foot, know where they will find the most comfort and associations.”

  “I’m sure a turn in the ballroom would give a much better view of various members of society,” the Duke stated never letting his eyes leave Miss Ward’s downturned visage.

  “Don’t be silly, Your Grace, you already danced the second set with Miss Ward. It was very kind of you, I might add. I am sure no others would have considered approaching a miss with hardly any connections. You did her a great service,” Lady Clarissa continued the conversation with a presumptuous giggle.

  “I am well aware of all the dance partners I have had as of yet, even some that I have regretted,” he said sharply, turning his scowl to the woman who had planted herself beside him.

  He felt her hand slacken in his arm at the rude declaration. He knew it was a slip back into his old, beastly, habits, but he couldn’t help it. It seemed that Lady Clarissa wasn’t getting the hint that he was there for Miss Ward and not her.

  He watched Miss Ward swallow back the last of her tears and raise her face to his in an effort to hold a pleasant smile. Reaching down, she pulled out the train of her dress that had been tucked since the dancing commenced, signalling that she would not be accepting any m
ore dance partners for the rest of the evening.