Page 15 of The Duke on Her List
“You’re not just doing this to mark another item off that list of yours?”
“This has nothing to do with my list.” There it was—her first lie in the service of this courtship. It had been easier than she’d thought it would be, and something inside her relaxed a little at that realization. She would be able to do this. “I enjoy the duke. I like spending time with him. I can’t say that I know where this is going to lead for the two of us, but what I can say is that I’m grateful to be getting to know him better.”
“So that’s why you came out tonight,” Violet said shrewdly. “You wanted to spend time with him.”
“That’s right,” Agnes said. “He’s friends with the Duke of Henshaw, and he made sure I would get an invitation.”
“But if all of this is true,” Dorothy said, “then where is he? Why doesn't he come and dance with you? If he went to all the trouble to get you invited to this event, surely he wants to dance, and yet as far as I’m aware I haven’t seen him all evening.” She turned away, scanning the room slowly. “I don’t see the Duke of Bellwood anywhere.”
Agnes had, in fact, been wondering the same thing. It was a gnawing in the pit of her stomach. “Perhaps he hasn’t arrived yet.”
If hehadarrived, if he was here somewhere, why wouldn’t he have come and found her? Did he not understand how difficult it had been for her to leave her home and come to this event, where she knew that everyone would be judging her? Agnes didn’t care what people thought, exactly, but at the same time, it was difficult to be looked at in that way. It was hard knowing that everyone in a room was stealing looks at her, all of them forming opinions about her, maybe even whispering to one another. The notorious spinster had re-entered society at last—what could have drawn her out? Without the duke by her side, she had no easy explanation for her presence here.
She swallowed hard. If he didn’t make an appearance soon, she would go home, she decided. She wasn’t going to stand here all night and allow herself to be an object of curiosity. They could make a different plan, go out, and attend a different event. Or, if he wasn’t going to be reliable, perhaps they wouldn’t engage in this courtship at all. She had looked forward to his promise to help her complete her List of Inappropriate Ideas, but so far, the only thing he had done to help with that was to stare at her whileshe read a book. She didn’t need him for that. She could do the list without him.
Thinking about it, she began to fume. How could he have done this—left her here to face scrutiny like this? Didn’t he realize how foolish she would look? It wasn’t so much that she feared ridicule, but she was angry at his lack of consideration for her. She’d thought him better than that.
“Let’s go look for him,” Dorothy urged. “I want to meet him.”
“No.” Violet put a hand on Dorothy’s arm. “That isn’t proper. He should come and find Agnes. She shouldn’t have to go to him.”
“I don’t think that’s how Agnes feels about it,” Dorothy objected. “She’s never been the sort to wait for things to come to her. Agnes…come, let’s go and find your duke. You shouldn’t have to sit here waiting for him to remember his responsibilities. And besides, I want to get to know the man who has won my friend’s heart!”
“He hasn’t won my heart,” Agnes objected automatically, before recalling that she was supposed to act as if he had done exactly that. “Well—what I mean is, I’m going into this with open eyes. I don’t want it to seem as though I’ve been completely swept off my feet, just because a handsome duke has asked to court me.”
“So you think he’s handsome?” Dorothy’s eyes shone. She linked her arm through Agnes’s. “That settles the matter. Now Ihaveto meet him.”
She started to pull Agnes away from the wall and toward the crowd. To her own surprise, Agnes allowed herself to be drawn out. Maybe Dorothy had a point. There really wasn’t any reason to just go on standing here. If she was going to leave the party early, it would be satisfying to at least locate the duke first, to let him know how he had let her down by not showing up when he had promised to do so.
That is, assuming he’s here at all. Maybe he decided at the last minute that he didn’t need to bother showing up. Maybe he’s sitting at home in his study, smoking a pipe and laughing at me.
Then, from behind her, she heard a familiar voice. “Good evening, Lady Agnes.”
CHAPTER 8
Lady Agnes turned. Her eyes were wide with surprise, but after a split second, her face hardened. “So,” she said. “Here you are.”
“Here I am,” he agreed. Then, seeing that someone was with her, he added, “Dearest.”
It felt odd to speak that word, but he thought she would be pleased with it, given her insistence that no one should know the true nature of their relationship. Instead, her frown deepened.
“This is my friend, Lady Dorothy,” she said. “Dorothy, the Duke of Bellmoor.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Grace.” Lady Dorothy gave a quick curtsy. “Agnes has told me so many things about you. I’m happy to make your acquaintance.”
“It’s good to meet you too, Lady Dorothy,” Gabriel said. “Would you mind if I stole Lady Agnes away for a dance?”
“Not at all.” Lady Dorothy released her friend’s arm and stepped back. “I hope the two of you have a splendid time.” She wiggled her fingers in farewell and disappeared into the crowd.
Lady Agnes watched her go for a moment, then turned back to Gabriel. “Where have you been?” she asked. “I was waiting. I felt like a fool, standing over there.”
“Well, you can’t have been waiting long,” he said, raising his eyebrows. “This party only began half an hour ago. If it disturbs you that much, we can make arrangements next time to meet at the door, but we did say we would arrive separately.”
Color rose in her cheeks. “I just thought—well, that maybe you weren’t coming.”
They had reached the dance floor. He turned to face her, and they fell into the steps of the dance. She performed it easily, rhythmically, her gaze never leaving his face. She’d been right in her estimation of her own abilities—shewasa good dancer.
“Why would you think I wasn’t coming?” he asked her. “What would have given you that idea?”
