Page 41 of If the Duke Demands

Tonight, his distraction was decidedly female. He’d been fortunate enough to secure a private box for the season, located right at the heart of the opera house and only two down from the Earl of Bentham’s box on the right, where Lady Jane sat in the front row. While to his immediate left sat Miranda Hodgkins.

Both women wore the low-cut, tight-bodice gowns that were all the rage for evenings at the opera, but there all similarities ended. Lady Jane looked coolly regal in her sapphire-blue satin that accentuated the paleness of her skin and the dark chestnut of her hair, while Miranda in her emerald-green velvet and loosely pinned strawberry-blond tresses looked utterly soft and warm.

He frowned. Tonight, she was simply lovely.

Yet she was oblivious to the whispers and stares she drew from the crowd around them, who had come to the opera less for the Mozart and more for the gossip…all of them wondering who she was, what she was like, if she was as lovely in person as she looked from a distance. Certainly a good deal of theon-ditflowing through the house tonight concerned him as well, curious if he were more to her than the man who sponsored her introduction. Of course, the whole situation was made worse by the enraptured way she watched the singers on the stage, each emotionally expressive aria mirrored on her face, when no one who was part of the quality actually came to the opera towatchthe opera. Just another distinction between her and the other ladies in attendance. And as far as he was concerned, one in her favor.

Since she’d arrived in London, Miranda had blossomed. Sebastian couldn’t deny that. And thankfully, with much relief, she also hadn’t done anything to cause undue gossip, despite how her exuberance continued to draw attention, especially from the staid and dull matrons of thetonwho wrongly saw her as competition for their own female relatives. But he could have easily laid to rest any assumptions that he wanted her for himself. Oh, she was lovely in her new city finery, and surprisingly clever and witty. Yet beneath the fancy gowns and intelligence still lurked the country gel who had set fire to the mercantile.

Which was why he’d put her right next to him, front and center in the box, so he could keep an eye on her, while simultaneously keeping an eye on Lady Jane.

Behind them sat Josie and his mother, who was thrilled by all the marriage-focused activity surrounding the family this season. Although he wasn’t certain she believed his intent to wed by August, he couldn’t be more resolved to the matter. During the past few weeks, he had continued to narrow down his list of potential wives, and still Lady Jane seemed the most promising. And clearly receptive to the idea, based on what Miranda had told him she’d overhead at various soirees. He wasn’t officially courting her yet, but he’d been focusing his attention on her, making certain to speak with her privately whenever they met. But he’d yet to formally call on her, holding back from officially declaring himself. After all, there was no hurry to make a decision, and he wanted to be certain that no one else would prove a better choice for his duchess.

Less resolved to imminent marriage but openly courting Miss Morgan, Robert continued to insist to his brothers that he had no intention of offering for her anytime soon. His mother, though, certainly hoped differently.

Then there was Miranda.

Despite her protests that she wasn’t seeking suitors, she’d been pursued since her arrival in London by several young gentlemen who had met her at one of her various outings and become smitten, deeply enough that they’d begun to call on her at Audley House. A few brave ones had actually possessed the spine to speak with him at Park Place about courting her, until he chased them away.Good riddance.None of them were right for her. And Miranda certainly wouldn’t have given them any consideration anyway, if only because they weren’t Robert.

His mother thought differently, however. It seemed that every time he turned around his mother was calling a man’s attention to Miranda. Mother had gone so far in encouraging her to be courted, in fact, that she’d asked Sebastian to give Miranda a dowry should any young man decide to offer and should Miranda surprise all of them by accepting.

But Robert still had no idea that she loved him.

And then, there was Charles Downing, who sat at Miranda’s left. The young man had met her at an art exhibition, and when Downing came to Park Place to ask permission to escort her to the opera, Sebastian had no good reason to refuse. A respected bank officer from a solidly middle-class family, Downing was conservative and staid, pleasant, and intelligent enough, with high moral values and a steady temperament—overall, perfectly harmless.

Yet something about the man irritated Sebastian, especially after Miranda agreed to allow Downing to escort her for the evening. Certainly, she’d agreed in order to please his mother, who was now encouraging her to change her mind about her season and accept suitors. But Sebastian also wondered if her feelings for Robert were softening, because she’d been trying less hard to capture his brother’s attention since the ball.

So he decided that a night at the opera would be a fine idea for Miranda and Downing…and that the entire family would goen massewith them.

A burst of exuberant applause from beside him drew his attention back to her, just in time to see her wondrous expression at the Queen of the Night’s first aria. Miranda Hodgkins may have been trouble personified, but he was grateful that he was here to experience her first opera with her. Seeing it through her eyes…magical.

She turned toward him with joy dancing on her face. His gut pinched at the sight. Dear God…she was beautiful. How had he never noticed before this season how truly alluring she was?

“Are you enjoying the music?” He leaned casually toward her to be heard above the applause, and because he wanted to be close to her tonight.

“It’s wonderful,” she answered with that beaming smile he’d come to know so well. That she liked Mozart as much as he did pleased him a great deal.

“Sadly, though,” he teased as he lowered his mouth close to her ear, “no pirate scenes.”

She slapped him gently on the shoulder with her fan. “Never underestimate the advantages of a good pirate scene,” she chided.

He fought to keep from laughing, his lips twitching as he agreed with mock solemnity, “Certainly not.”

“Hamletwould have been so much better with a pirate scene.” She gave a long-suffering sigh. “It would have saved the entire play.”

Then he did laugh, unable to hold back any longer. Glancing sideways at him, she gave him a smile that tugged mischievously at the corners of her pink lips.Imp.Only Miranda could make him laugh in the middle of Mozart.

But the laughter choked in his throat when he glanced past her and caught Charles Downing watching them both curiously. Then the man frowned at him.

Sebastian felt damnably uncomfortable. Clearing his throat and shifting away from Miranda, he glanced away in the opposite direction—

And directly at Lady Jane as she stared at him thoughtfully from her family’s private box. Stiffly, he nodded a greeting to her, and she returned his acknowledgment with a demure flit of her fan.

Good Lord.Was no one but Miranda actually watching the opera tonight?

Unaware that they were under the attention of at least two sets of eyes, Miranda leaned closer to him and whispered, “Are all operas as much fun as this one?”

In the dim light, he drank in the way she looked with the soft shadows falling gently across her delicate face, the dark green velvet of her gown accentuating her softness and warmth, the single emerald pendant drawing attention to the graceful length of her throat. The low lamplight burnished red highlights in her hair that had been lifted into a soft pile on her crown with loose tendrils tickling at the sides of her face. But most of all, there was her enraptured expression as she hung on each note, entranced by the spectacle onstage.