Page 13 of The Duke on Her List
She sighed. “You’ve really been making the rounds, especially for a man who isn’t even comfortable allowing me to spend a few minutes in a room with his niece.”
“It isn’t the same,” he said firmly. “I have a duty to protect her from everything the world might throw at her.”
“All right. I understand,” Lady Agnes said. “And if an invitation arrives, I’ll accept it—I’ll attend this party. I don’t know that I think it’s the best idea, but I haven’t got a better one.”
“We should dance together a few times while we’re there,” Gabriel said.
“That won’t be a problem. I’m a fine dancer.”
“Is that right?”
“I have done it before,” she said rather tartly. “Being unmarried doesn’t mean that I’ve never had any experiences at all.”
“I didn’t mean it like that,” he told her. “So we’ll dance at the ball.”
“Yes.”
“And there’s one other thing.”
“What is it?”
He drew a breath. “We’re going to have to pretend to be in love with one another.”
Her brow furrowed. “That wasn’t part of the original agreement at all. Why would we have to pretend that? I assumed we were just going to let everyone think we were getting married for some benefit that we wouldn’t have to specify to them. No one is going to think that we’re in love with one another. It’s a much harder story to sell.”
“I don’t think that’s true,” Gabriel said. “I think it will be easy. And what’s more, it’s the best way to explain your frequent visits to my home, if anyone is still watching us.” He raised an eyebrow. “Unless you want to tell people you’re here reading salacious books.”
“Are those my choices? Publicly confess to reading this book or else pretend that I’m in love with you? Your Grace, you must hear how absurd you sound.”
“And yet, I truly think it’s the best strategy for the both of us,” he said.
“Why does this matter to you?”
“Because it looks better for Helena,” he said simply. “Let people think I am so caught up in the idea of romance that I’ve fallen in love myself. They’ll look indulgently upon us, and favorably up on her. And what’s more, they will leave us alone if we do this, Agnes. Thinking that we are in love will convince the worst of the mamas that it’s time for them to set their sights on someone else for their daughters. No one wants to see their daughter married to a man who doesn’t love her, after all. They’ll understand it’s to their benefit to simply choose somebody else.”
Lady Agnes sighed. “I don’t know if I can do this, truth be told,” she said. “I’ve never been in love.”
“Nor have I,” he agreed. “But it doesn’t seem so hard to imitate. We look into one another’s eyes, we say a few sweet things to each other, and we dance together. People ought to believe that. And we won’t have to keep up the charade for too long. Can you manage it?”
“Of course.” A bit of fire came into her voice. It made him smile. “I can manage anything, Your Grace.”
“Good,” he said. “Then I’ll arrange for Nathaniel to send you an invitation, and I’ll see you at the ball. I think it will be a very good time.”
He gestured to the door, indicating that he was ready for her to go.
With a curt nod, she rose and departed without looking back.
CHAPTER 7
“Agnes, aren’t you even going to come away from the wall and make the rounds?” Dorothy pleaded. “You should allow someone to find out you’re here. If you remain by the wall, no one will know.”
“And why would I want people to find out I was here?” Agnes sipped her drink, pondering the implications. The moment her presence was recognized, it would become a topic of unflattering conversation, and who wanted that?
“I’m still surprised you were invited at all,” Violet commented. “Everyone in London knows that you usually skip these events.”
Agnes nodded. The invitations had dried up, for the most part, several years ago, and she hadn’t minded. Parties like this one were full of people trying to sort themselves into pairs, and that was the last thing Agnes wanted any part of. She was glad for a respite from the expectations. Of course, her friends were surprised to see her here tonight.
Dorothy tugged lightly at her arm. “Walk about the room with me,” she said. “We need to make ourselves available so that gentlemen will put their names on our dance cards. You may be content to stand beside the wall all night, but I am not. And if there’s one thing I know about you, Agnes, it’s that you value having a story to tell. What will make for a better story—standing here unnoticed, or dancing with someone you never thought you would?”
