Page 79 of It's All About the Duke
“I’m not Lady Vera. I’m Lady Sara, her twin sister, and who might you be?”
“I’m sorry, Lady Sara.” Marlena curtsied. “I’m Miss Marlena Fast. Lady Vera—”
“Yes, I know who you are. Vera told me all about you. She’s had such a grand time helping you prepare for the Season.” She looked Marlena over from head to toe. “It looks as if she took excellent care of you. Your gown not only fits you perfectly, it complements your hair and your countenance as well.”
“Thank you. She was very kind. I’ve been told youtwo look very much alike, but even more so than I’d expected.”
“Well, we won’t for long.” She took her hand and pressed her high-waisted dress against her stomach.
Marlena saw the small swell of her babe and realized she didn’t know what to say except, “How wonderful. You must be very happy.”
“Extremely so. And how is your first ball?”
“I haven’t been here long but I don’t think I was prepared for the opulence of the hall, the gowns, and the people.”
“Believe it or not, I felt that way my first ball, too.”
“You? The daughter and sister of a duke?”
“We are all human, Miss Fast.”
Marlena watched a tall, broad-shouldered, and quite handsome man approach Lady Sara and lovingly kiss her hand. Marlena assumed it was her husband until she heard him say, “How is my dear sister tonight? I didn’t expect you’d come.”
A shiver stole over Marlena. She was looking at Lady Sara and Lady Vera’s brother, the Duke of Griffin. The first rake she’d written about. Like Rath, he didn’t look like the ogre she’d always imagined him to be. He didn’t sound harsh. There were no piercing gleams of folly or meanness in his eyes. He looked quite normally, quite lovingly at his sister, and he was almost as handsome as Rath.
“I was just showing Miss Fast how my dress conceals my condition. Have you met her?”
The duke’s gaze landed on Marlena’s and she was sure he noticed she swallowed with difficulty. What had she written about him? A quote flashed through her mind.It is my hearty belief that most everyone in Society agrees that it is Lady Sara and Lady Vera’s misfortune that it’s up to their brother, the Duke of Griffin, to see them suitably wed. That the duke is now the protector of innocentyoung ladies is dismaying but may prove to be the punishment that long escaped him and perhaps force a measure of penitence upon him.
Marlena could weaken as she had the first time she found herself lost in the woods chasing after her cousins, or she could be as she had the second time it happened and not wait to be rescued. She reached deep inside herself and remembered her parents were watching over her. The boys had taught her to be strong and stand up for herself. Mr. Olingworth had seen she was taught the proper manners. Her shoulders lifted a little higher. She knew what to do and she would do it.
“I haven’t had the pleasure,” the duke said.
“Then may I present Miss Marlena Fast,” Lady Sara said. “Miss Fast, my brother, the Duke of Griffin.”
Marlena smiled, curtsied, and responded, “Your Grace.”
“I’ve heard much about you, Miss Fast.”
“As I have you.”
“Ah yes,” he said. “I fear I have a reputation I’ll never live down.”
“Lady Vera speaks highly of you,” Marlena said. “I’m sure Lady Sara does as well.”
The duke chuckled. “A clever answer, Miss Fast. I know you met Esmeralda, my wife, when you met Lady Vera, too.”
“Yes. It was an honor. She’s beautiful and was very kind to me.”
He nodded. “And how about the Duke of Rathburne? Is he treating you well?”
“I have no complaints, Your Grace,” she answered.
“That’s good to hear. I would be happy to speak to him on your behalf should that ever change.”
Marlena kept her gaze steady on the duke’s, feeling amazed. He wasn’t just making conversation with her. Hewasn’t just telling her what he thought she wanted to hear. She could see he was sincere in his offer. That shocked her. Why should he care how she was treated by anyone? She always believed him to have no care for a young lady’s feelings—other than his own sisters, of course. But as Rath was not as she expected him to be, neither was the Duke of Griffin.
“There you are, Griffin, and Lady Sara.” He kissed her hand. “I’m surprised to see you tonight. Are you sure it’s wise for you to be out?”
