Page 14 of Betting on a Duke
Clarice placed her hand on his forearm. “Thank you.” They walked silently out of the room, down the hall, and into the noisy ballroom filled with orchestra music and pulsating voices. “I see her just up ahead.”
“You have made some fine friends. I’m not acquainted with the Marchioness of Rutherford, but I know the Duchess of Blackstone and the Countess of Langford quite well, along with their husbands.”
“I’m fortunate to be able to call them my friends.”
He stopped just short of the ladies and lowered his voice. “Can I be honest with you?”
“Yes.”
“When you first arrived at the library, I didn’t want to speak to you, but now I’m glad we had the chance to talk.” He bowed over her hand. “Until next time.”
Clarice stood there, watching his back retreat out of the ballroom, taking some of the vibrancy from the room with him. Was he leaving for good? She had a nagging feeling he was.
“Clarice.”
A tight knot formed in her stomach at hearing her name. Samuel mentioned he was here, but Clarice had hoped he was mistaken. Which was silly, because Samuel would never be mistaken about something so momentous. She straightened her spine and tamped down all the emotions suddenly flooding her. She would not give him the satisfaction of thinking he meant anything to her or that she wasbothered by seeing him again after so many years apart, years she’d spent hating him. She turned and faced the man who’d sired her but no longer deserved the title of father, even if she referred to him as such. “Father.”
His brown eyes assessed her, making it hard to stand still when all she really wanted to do was run outside on the veranda and scream. Or hit him on the side of his head with her reticle.Where did that violent urge come from?
“You look well, daughter.”
“Thank you. I am well,” she said casually.
“I trust your marriage to Chesterfield didn’t damage you in any way so that you can marry again and provide your husband with an heir. Something you never did for Chesterfield. Not that I’m surprised. The man was ancient.”
Nothing like getting straight to the point and invading the privacy of her marriage. “If you believed he would harm me in any way, why did you marry me to him?” she asked with her most gruff, demanding voice.
“You know why. But seriously,” he reached for her arm, but she stepped out of his reach, “did he hurt you?”
Instead of screaming, she now wanted to laugh and laugh and laugh until her stomach hurt. “I hate to disappoint you, Father, but he never laid a hand on me. So no physical damage whatsoever.” Emotional damage was another matter entirely.
“Glad to hear it. Maybe I can help you find your next husband, and you can help me select a new bride. There are so many young ladies to choose from, and it’s been decades since I was single, evaluating the young debutantes. I’m out of practice.”
He couldn’t be serious. “I will find my own husband, on my own time and terms, thank you very much.” Her father would never have any control over her again.
“If that’s what you wish. However, I hope you will help me. In myadvanced years, I seek a wife who can manage my household, bear male heirs, and fulfill my needs. I’m not looking for a companion or friendship. Just a wife who does what’s asked of her. Who, in your opinion, fits that description?”
“Really, Father.” Trying not to laugh, she glanced around the room, observing all the young ladies. “I’m familiar with three ladies here tonight. Two are married, and one is widowed.”
He huffed. “That won’t do. I suppose I’ll have to ask several young ladies to dance, and if they pass my test, I’ll pay morning calls on them tomorrow. I suppose I’ll have to send flowers and sit through endless cups of tea in my quest to find a bride. No thanks to you, my daughter.”
“I wish you luck, Father,” she said in a strained voice. It felt wrong and disrespectful to her mother’s memory to be discussing her replacement. “If you’ll excuse me, I have someone I must speak to.” She curtsied out of habit and hurried away as quickly as she could, giving her father no chance to say anything else. She needed to find Letitia and persuade her to leave.
After frantically scanning the ballroom, her eyes landed on Letitia, standing off to the side alone, opening and closing her fan out of boredom. She made her way over to her. “I’m sorry I disappeared. I followed Stanton and then ran into my father.”
“Oh, dear, how did both those conversations go?”
“The conversation with Stanton went better than I expected. The one with my father, not as well. Do you mind if we go home?”
Letitia’s eyes moved around the room, and she sighed. “No, I don’t mind.”
“Who are you looking for?”
“There is this gentleman who caught my eye. He is most handsome, and he smiled at me. We kept locking eyes from across the room. Even when I wasn’t looking his way, I felt the heat from his stare. Unfortunately, he has two lovely young ladies following himaround like puppies.”
“Did you get an introduction?”
Letitia sighed. “Sadly, no.”
