Page 90 of It's All About the Duke
“I do like to dance, but you know my heart already belongs to Mr. Bramwell. I don’t feel right encouraging anyone else.”
“Yes,” Marlena said sympathizing with her. “I know what you mean.”
Her friend’s pale eyes blinked against the breeze. “I don’t know why Veronica won’t let him call on me.”
“You do know, Eugenia. He’s not a gentleman. He’s below your station in life. If you married him you would never be accepted in thetonagain, and you know that would break Veronica’s heart.”
“And what about my heart?” Eugenia said, sounding angry for the first time. “Is it all right for mine to be broken as long as Veronica’s isn’t? Besides, her heart is already broken because of her husband. Must mine be shattered, too?”
Eugenia’s passion surprised Marlena, yet heartened her. She liked seeing her friend sounding stronger about what she wanted. “That’s not what I meant, but you do make a very good point.”
“And Mr. Bramwell makes more money than Mr. Portington’s allowance.”
“Maybe you can revisit this with your sister at the end of the Season. If you find no one you think you can marry, you can tell her you’ve tried. Maybe she will be more accepting then.”
“I would like for her to care about what I want. She knows Mr. Bramwell would be a much better provider for me than Mr. Portington has been for her.”
Marlena decided to stay quiet about that.
Eugenia went on, “You aren’t happy about attending the Season, either, are you?”
“Not really,” Marlena said honestly. “Like you, I want a man I can’t have.”
“The duke.”
Eugenia was never one to be very perceptive, so Marlena asked, “How did you know?”
Her friend laughed. “You were kissing him.”
“Oh, yes, I’d forgotten that.”
Eugenia’s eyes widened in disbelief and she said, “You forgot the Duke of Rathburne kissed you?”
“Heavens, no,” Marlena said. “Never that. I had forgotten you witnessed part of it.”
“Only part of it,” Eugenia teased. “There was more.”
Marlena looked down at her gloved hands. “You were kind not to question me too much about it afterward.”
“The truth is, I didn’t really want to know. I was envious.”
“You? You fainted every time you saw the duke.”
“No, jealous that you had the nerve to let him kiss you, and I hadn’t let Mr. Bramwell kiss me.”
“Everyone is different, Eugenia. And I am two years older than you. Besides, it would be a very boring world if we all thought alike and did everything alike, don’t you think?”
“I know. But tell me, is it as amazing as I think it will be?”
“Kissing?” Marlena asked, though she was quite sure that was what her friend was talking about.
Eugenia nodded.
“Yes. It’s more so. You can’t dream about how wonderful it will feel. You must experience it to really know.”
“I thought so.”
Marlena folded the letter from Mr. Trout and handed it back to Eugenia. “Since we have such good news from the publisher today, I can now tell you what I’ve been dreading to share with you.”
