"Thank you Sir Oliver," Elaine said coldly.
She was about to say a great deal more, when she realized that there was someone behind her. Catherine curtsied, and murmured, "your grace."
Sommerforth bowed to Elaine. "Miss Eardley, I believe the next dance is mine."
The dance was a country dance but Elaine knew very well that the duke's name wasn't on her dance card. What was he about? When she met him in the figures of the dance for a moment she glanced up at him. "Your grace, this wasn't your dance. I don't know whose it was."
He bent down to her. "Miss Eardley, it was Lord Worley's."
She had to be content with that for the length of the dance.
He confused her. Why was he smiling at her? He hadn't smiled at her since she saw him at the Hunt Ball.
If she was in any doubt that the Duke had seen Sir Oliver with a bloodied nose, that was removed with his next question. "Sir Oliver is a close friend?"
"Sir Oliver is betrothed to my friend Lady Foxton. She and I are very close."
"I see."
Whenever he touched her, she tingled. She didn't have such a reaction to any other man, and she couldn't understand it. It frightened her. However, she was determined not to allow him to see how he affected her.
At the close of the dance, he bowed over her hand. "You will ride with me in the park tomorrow?"
"I've already agree to ride with Count Volkov." She didn't know whether she regretted refusing him, or not.
7
David left the Fenchurch ball early. Miss Minty complained of a headache, so he escorted her and her mother to their carriage, and called for his own. He had estate matters to complete, and although Worley and Volkov had asked him to join them at a gambling house later, he couldn't get behind in his work.
He was surprised to find Lady Merrill at Blackwood House. The foyer was stacked with trunks and boxes. "Forgive the disorder, your grace — I had to rouse the staff from their beds. Her ladyship is in the drawing room," his butler told him.
"I expected that you would stay at the Abbey for another couple of weeks," he said, kissing his aunt's cheek.
She waved the footmen from the drawing room.
He raised his eyebrows, but didn't comment.
"I heard something –" she paused. Straightening her back, she went on, "about the countess and her sister."
"The child isn't mine." David's tone was cold. He couldn't help revealing his anger. The countess was putting him through the ringer. Not only had he been forced to pay for a new wardrobe for her at Madame Lola's and other establishments, she'd insisted that she needed new carriage horses, and a new hack. And as if that were not enough, she told him that her sister Marion required a house of her own.
He sighed, and apologized. "Forgive me… I did pay attention to Marion, but the child cannot be mine. You know Isobel — she knows that the child isn't mine of course, but it suits her to say that it is… I've done what I can to forestall gossip. That's all."
"My dear, you mustn't think that I'm judging you in any way, even if the child were yours."
"I don't mind paying for my by-blows, but I do think it's a little hard that I'm allowing the countess so much leeway. I've no idea why I'm doing it," he admitted frankly.
"The gossip wouldn't harm you. No one would think twice about it."
"The gossip would harm me in Miss Eardley's eyes."
"I see – but I thought you said that Sir Oliver –"
"She bloodied his nose, I'm certain of that, and she did it for a reason. In temperament, she's like Mrs. Grove. But there's nothing else to it. Not on her side. I'm convinced of it."
"You've decided then, she's your choice?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. She is very young. It's her first season, And I can't be seen paying her too much attention, because she hasn't the experience to deal with with what would follow after. Besides, I doubt very much whether Mrs. Grove would allow her sister to be the focus of loose talk. She's very protective of her sister, and I can only admire that."
She laughed. "So, Mrs. Grove would expect you to declare yourself, before you dance attendance on her sister. I like Catherine Grove. The woman is ruthless. And what of Miss Minty?"
David chuckled. "You heard about her, did you? You're very well informed."
"Always."
"There's nothing to that… I have some business dealings with her father. He is very wealthy man. He asked me to do his daughter a kindness, so I've taken her to the park, I danced with her at a couple of balls, and I will take her to the park again. Then my job is done, I think. Unfortunately she is very shy, so she might not take, but I will have done all that I can."
Elaine lay awake long after Denise had helped her to undress and had seen her to bed. She couldn't get the duke out of her mind, and that annoyed her.
The countess and Miss Minty… She thought that he'd given up his mistress, but he hadn't. She'd heard whispers that the duke was to marry again, and it seemed that Miss Minty was his choice.
She shook her head at her own foolishness.
What was the matter with her? A duke?
She had to stop thinking about him.
And if she didn't fall asleep soon, it would be time to get up to ride in the park.
Next morning, Catherine, Elaine, Cormac and Lilly were waiting for the carriage to be brought around to take them to the park. Lilly gamboled around them, as eager to be out of doors as they were.
A groom would walk Lilly while they rode. Although Lilly was becoming more obedient, Elaine didn't trust her off her leash in the park — she was too easily distracted, racing after anything new to her.
Catherine, Elaine, and Cormac rode. Cormac always rode with Elaine. Her mother insisted that Elaine must never ride alone, after her sister Melly had been abducted from the park.
"Good morning!"
They looked up. Elaine's eyes widened when she saw Felicity hurrying down the staircase.
"I'm going to ride in the park with you," Felicity said. "Will there be a horse for me?"
Elaine smiled at her friend. "My heavens, I've never seen you up this early. What are you about?"
"The count asked you to ride with him, and I thought that I might join you. Perhaps…" She hesitated on the step. "He's a very interesting man."
So Felicity had developed a tendre for the count? Elaine glanced at Catherine, who looked amused.
Felicity's face was heated. "I merely thought that if you were riding in the park with him, I might join you."
"Of course you may join us. Everyone needs fresh air and healthy exercise," Catherine said blandly.
They heard the carriage, and Morley opened the front door for them. "Your veil, ma'am," he reminded Elaine, when Lilly rushed past him, dragging Elaine in her wake.
Elaine sighed. Her veil.
"I'll help you to adjust it in the carriage," Catherine promised.
Felicity chattered all through the short carriage ride, and Elaine wondered at it. She knew that Felicity was annoyed at Sir Oliver, because Felicity never saw him, other than at an entertainment. He never escorted her anywhere, and never called at Eardley House. Did she intend to make Sir Oliver jealous with Volkov?
Volkov and Worley were waiting just inside the park in a group of grooms and horses when they arrived.
"Miss Eardley," the count bowed over her hand, and kissed it, after he'd waved Cormac away to help Elaine from the carriage. "And another lady?" he smiled at Felicity, who colored.
Oh no… it was only too obvious that Felicity was taken by the handsome Russian.
Catherine made the introductions.
Elaine noticed that Felicity blushed bright pink when Volkov kissed her hand.
Then she forgot her friend, and focused on her horses.
She handed Lilly's leash to a groom, and accepted Joy's reins from him. "She's very fresh this morning, ma'am," the groom said. "Had a wonderful time shying at everything she sees… Almost had me off a couple of times."
&
nbsp; After weeks in town, Joy was used to the noise and bustle, but it was plain to Elaine and the Eardleys' London stable master that she wasn't a town hack. She had too much energy.
"I'll see what she's like this morning," Elaine said, and sighed. Some horses never settled in town. It seemed as if Joy had decided that she preferred to be a country hack.
The Eardley stables' grooms always brought several horses to the park for their morning exercise, so Felicity was soon up on a showy chestnut. She talked animatedly to the count, while her horse pranced, sidling to and fro.
"She's over-horsed," Elaine said to Catherine, who rode one of her own horses, a tall bay gelding.
"I told her that the horse was too much for her — she's no horsewoman. But she demanded the horse, so what would you?"
"I'd rather she didn't get tossed and break an arm," Elaine said with asperity, feeling put out. If anything happened to Felicity, Sir Oliver would blame Elaine. Catherine could easily have warned Felicity off Volkov, but she seemed to be amused by Felicity instead.
She called to Felicity, intending to plead with her to change horses, but she was riding off with the count. Felicity merely looked back at her, grinned, and waved.
"Alexei will look after her, Miss Eardley," Lord Worley told her.
"I can see myself explaining to Sir Oliver why his intended bride rode in the park, and came a cropper," Elaine said to Catherine.
Catherine shrugged. "You're not her nursemaid, Elaine. Let her go." She looked at Elaine's mount, frowning. "Joy isn't settling, is she? Think about sending her back to the Hall, before she develops too many bad habits."
Elaine agreed, but she loved riding Joy. "I'll make my mind up today," she promised.
She left Catherine and Lord Worley, and concentrated on Joy.
Fifteen minutes later, Joy had settled sufficiently for Elaine to ride her at a collected canter. She and Cormac had rounded a turn in the park, when she saw a horseman she immediately recognized riding towards them.
Sommerforth. Her heart leapt, and she inhaled sharply, just as Joy bucked.
For a moment, Elaine was in serious danger of sliding off, but she managed to regain her balance, and grinned ruefully at Cormac. "Back to Gostwicke Hall it is," she told Joy, riding her forward.
"Miss Eardley," the duke bowed in the saddle.
He smiled at her. Elaine's heart lifted. It seemed that she was forgiven. "Your grace."
"A handful." He nodded at Joy. "You're sure you won't let me have her?"
"I'm very sure, but I will be sending her back to the Hall — she's not settling in town."
"Too much spirit for town," he agreed.
When she glanced at him, he looked as if he were about to say more, but compressed his lips. "Tell me," she demanded.
He laughed aloud at that. "It's merely that I thought you might like to send her to me —" he lifted his hand. "No, I assure you that I won't try to steal the horse. It's just that my stable master has successfully schooled several horses I thought too lively for town."
Cormac and the duke's groom dropped back, so that they could speak privately. The duke explained his stable master's methods. They included leading out the recalcitrant horse from an older, steadier horse. The older horse wouldn't take any nonsense from Joy, and eventually Joy would learn proper town etiquette.
By the time they rejoined Worley and Catherine, Elaine had agreed that she'd give Joy to Sommerforth's stable master for a month. It might not have an effect, but it couldn't damage the horse either. "Thank you."
"A word, your grace," Catherine said pleasantly.
Catherine cantered her horse away from the group, until she was certain not only that they wouldn't be overheard, but also that no one could read their expressions.
Then she stopped her horse, and sat straight in the saddle. She glared at the duke when he moved his horse closer to hers. "What are you about?" She asked bluntly.
She hadn't yet found a suitable spy she could plant in Lady Hazelbridge's household. In the meantime, she wasn't prepared to see him toy with her sister. She intended to pull him up sharply. He'd tried to give Elaine the cut direct, but now he was all smiles at her?
Catherine was close to losing her temper at the wretched man. Sommerforth was twice Elaine's age, and knew a great deal better than to single Elaine out — or to toy with her. She should never have allowed the visit to Sommerforth Abbey.
He respected her enough not to ask her what she meant. "What's Destry to Miss Eardley?"
"Sir Oliver — why, nothing at all. What do you mean?"
"I don't like the man."
"I don't like him either. He's a bosom friend of my dear Major Grove, and I wish them both to the devil, but what would you have me do? Elaine and Felicity are great friends." Catherine sighed. "When I encouraged Mother to allow Elaine to visit at Foxton Hall, I had no idea of Felicity's connection to Destry — had I known that he would visit — I don't like him, or trust him."
She paused for a moment, and stared hard at Sommerforth. She saw nothing but mild interest in his gaze. "However, your grace…."
"However, what concern is it of mine? I take your meaning."
She narrowed her gaze. "Fred."
"What? Oh yes," he laughed aloud at that.
So he did know. Well — what did that mean? "Elaine adores frippery. But she's also got a head on her shoulders, she likes to be busy on the estate. And when she rides out, I instructed her to ride — "
He lifted his hand to silence her. His grey eyes sparkled. "I saw nothing, Mrs. Grove. Fred is the stable lad who has the care of your sister's favorite horse, yes?"
She smiled in response to his bland look. So he didn't mind that Elaine rode astride. She liked him better for that, but she still didn't want him singling out Elaine for special attention, especially since his attention was also fixed on the Minty heiress.
It annoyed her that he wouldn't tell her what his intentions were, but she couldn't believe that he had any. Elaine was 18, and in her first season.
"Ah… if I might speak with Mrs. Eardley? Or — Arndlea?"
What the…? So he was serious? Catherine realized that she was staring at him.
"You object?" His tone was cold.
"No," she snapped. She glared at him — how like a duke to give her a set down like that. She wasn't used to it. "No, of course I don't object to you courting my sister, but I will say this, your grace. I won't have you take Elaine up and drop her again. To that end, I'd like you to wait to speak to her."
He didn't reply, merely nodded to her to continue.
"We've agreed — and by the way, we're estranged from Arndlea, so he has nothing to say about it — that Elaine should have a season free of… Elaine is very young."
To her relief, he nodded. "Yes, of course. And I agree, Miss Eardley is young, and requires a season to find her feet — I don't object, because she's completely unformed. I've no interest in schoolroom misses."
Catherine was stunned that the duke was interested in Elaine as his duchess. "What of Miss Minty?"
He looked startled. "Miss Minty?" He flushed slightly. "I'm afraid that you might accuse me of taking her up and dropping her — but her father asked me to help her. She knows it, and has no expectations of me."
"I see." She waited, as did he. He didn't intend saying more, and of course she had no right to ask, but she was curious about Miss Minty.
Finally he spoke. "I'll wait to speak with Mrs. Eardley then, until the end of the season… As long as we understand each other?"
So he knew that Catherine's opinion mattered. Catherine resisted the temptation to squirm. He'd made a study of her family. "I won't forward your suit, you know. And please don't make your attentions to Elaine obvious — she would be uncomfortable if you… I want my sister to enjoy her season."
"In short, you would prefer that I say nothing to anyone, least of all Elaine. You're making my wooing wretchedly difficult."
He sounded disgruntled. "Difficult?" S
he asked, realizing that he didn't like being told what was expected of him. But then, he was a duke. No one says no to a duke.
He needed reminding. "You're a duke, so you can hardly imply that you're handicapped. You know very well that you could have your choice of any lady, young or older, wealthy or poor. Elaine isn't in such a happy position… Anne's inheritance from Kingston enabled her to dower her sisters, but Elaine's no great heiress."
For another long moment, they stared at each other.
He broke the silence. "Well then, Mrs. Grove — we understand each other?"
She couldn't read him at all, and that annoyed her. She nodded, and rode back to the group, hoping that she hadn't made a mistake. Should she have warned him off?
Elaine looked at her when she rode up. She was standing beside Joy patting her nose. One of Sommerforth's grooms was mounted on the mare. "Joy's spending a month away — being schooled," she said to Catherine.
"You may visit Joy you know, at my stables," Catherine heard the duke's deep voice behind her. She was pleased that Elaine was so distracted by Joy that she hadn't paid attention to Catherine taking him aside.
Nevertheless, when they were in the carriage, Elaine asked about Catherine's conversation with the duke.
"We discussed my husband, that's all. Sommerforth knows everyone, so I thought he might know where Grove is," Catherine said mendaciously. She didn't care about Grove. She wished him to the devil.
"I see," Elaine turned to Felicity, to twit her about the count.
Catherine smoothed her gloves, and stared out of the window of the carriage. She'd already decided that she wouldn't say anything to her mother about the duke's interest in Elaine, but she would tell Anne.
Late that afternoon, Catherine found Anne alone in the library. The afternoon light was usually good for her stitchery. However, a spring storm had blown up, and rain pounded at the long windows to the garden.
She sat beside her sister on the chintz-covered sofa, and told her about conversation she'd had with the duke.
The Lady and the Duke: A Dangerous Season (The Eardleys of Gostwicke Hall Book 2) Page 9
