Page 4 of Courting Miss Lancaster
“Make yourself useful, Harry, and dance with Athena,” Adam ordered.
Athena felt her cheeks flame. How horrifyingly humiliating. If her two hours of uninterrupted sitting had not confirmed her a wallflower, having her guardian order a gentleman to stand up with her certainly solidified the label.
“Bad form, old man.” Mr. Windover shook his head in a mock display of disapproval. “I had intended to ask the ladymyself. But now she will be convinced I am doing so only on your orders. Bad form.” Mr. Windover smiled at Athena, his blue eyes twinkling down at her. “Dare I hope your supper dance is unclaimed?”
“No,” Athena managed, her heart suddenly leaping. She would not be forced to sit out the supper dance!
“No, I ought not to hope? Or no, it is not claimed?” Mr. Windover smiled more broadly.
A smile slid across Athena’s face. “It is unclaimed,” she clarified.
“If you stand there talking endlessly like a gossiping matron, it will remain unclaimed after the music begins,” Adam said. “Get on with it, sapskull.”
Harry held his gloved hand out to Athena. She slipped her hand in his and rose to walk with him to the set forming nearest her seat. For only a moment, her heart fluttered nervously. But Mr. Windover smiled across at her, and she felt herself grow more at ease. He was a comfortable sort of person—a drastic change from Adam, who had been at her side the entire evening.
The quick movements of the dance made any degree of conversation between them impossible. It was just as well. Despite her frequent practicing, Athena was concentrating on her steps, determined not to embarrass herself.
The dancers, including Mr. Windover, applauded as the orchestra emitted one last, drawn-out note before the mass exodus to the supper room. Athena laid her hand quite properly on the arm Mr. Windover offered her and walked with him out of the ballroom, a little out of breath.
“I understand from your sister that your presentation went well yesterday,” Mr. Windover said after they were both seated with plates of delectable food before them.
“I did not even trip once,” Athena said lightly.
“And you were so certain you would.” Mr. Windover smiledback. Her nervousness had been discussed at some length at a family dinner the evening before her presentation. Mr. Windover was always present at family dinners, something Athena appreciated. Persephone may have been entirely at ease with her husband, but his often surly and always intimidating presence never failed to rid Athena of her appetite. At Falstone Castle she had not been so entirely overset by him. But the combination of her fearsome brother-in-law—his disgruntled nature more keenly accentuated in London—with the prospect of a Season, even a Little one, had proven nearly too much for her nerves.
“I wish you could have been there,” Athena mused, pushing a puff pastry around her plate with her fork. “Persephone was nearly as nervous as I, and His Grace looked...” What was the right word?
“Annoyed?” Mr. Windover ventured.
“Precisely.” Athena smiled. “How did you know that? You were not even present.”
“The Fearsome Duke of Kielder generally looks annoyed when interacting with the royal family,” Mr. Windover whispered, leaning closer to her as he did. The last remnants of nervousness slipped away at his nearness. Mr. Windover had that effect on her, had from the moment she’d first met him at Persephone’s wedding. He was calming, peaceful. “I believe he finds them tedious.”
“What amazes me is that he makes no effort to hide his feelings.” Athena shook her head. She could not imagine being so unconcerned with the opinions of the very highest of society. “Does he not worry that he might offend?”
“I do not believe he cares one whit if the royal family is offended by him. They, on the other hand, appear quite concerned about offendinghim,” Mr. Windover answered. “The queen, I am certain, finds our duke quite fascinating. Iunderstand she goes to great lengths to make him welcome whenever he condescends to attend her drawing rooms.”
“She spoke with him for nearly ten minutes,” Athena confirmed, remembering her shock at the unexpected break with convention. “Exclusively.”
“And he probably glared at her the entire time,” Mr. Windover added.
“He had the temerity to check the time on his pocket watch as Her Majesty was addressing him,” Athena said, knowing her eyes were wide with the memory.
Mr. Windover laughed out loud. “Lands, I wish I had been there to see that.”
“And he caught out the prince watching him rather pointedly and—”
“The prince was actually foolish enough to stare at the Dangerous Duke?”
Athena nodded. “And far more foolish to have been caught doing it.”
“Don’t tell me he called His Royal Highness out again.” Mr. Windover shook his head.
“Again?” Athena felt her heart lurch. “He has previously challenged the Prince of Wales?”
“It is of no account, really. Prinny apologized. The entire thing was smoothed over.”
“Good heavens,” Athena muttered. What kind of guardian did she have? He wrested apologies from the prince himself and found conversation with the queen irritatingly boring. Was it any wonder Athena was so uncomfortable with him?
