Chapter 3
The day of the ball was as chaotic as expected with her mother barking orders to scared housemaids and the deaf butler. The one saving grace was that no one in her family had seen the Duke since his arrival.
The only person who saw him was his solicitor, William, who had been in and out several times within the past two days. Heaven knew what they were doing, but if it meant the Duke was locked away in the study, Eleanor was fine with it.
She found his demeanor callous and lacking. Personally, she would be fine if he stayed in his study throughout the ball and for the rest of his time there.
That evening, Eleanor took her usual place next to her mother while Sarah and Beatrice stood to her other side. Eleanor took a deep, cleansing breath. With all the upheaval of the Duke’s arrival, it felt nice to fall into a familiar rhythm even if it meant standing on tired feet in a crowded ballroom, making small talk about nonsensical things. This was her element; this is where she thrived.
Ever since she could remember, her mother molded her daughters into perfect examples of ton propriety. They each knew when to speak, what to say, and how to say it all with a flirtation or a laugh. Nothing too forward, mind you. They didn’t want to be seen as wantons. “Always save something for the wedding, my dear,” was a famous Charlotte saying.
“How lovely it is to see you, again, Lady Marsh. Are you enjoying this fine weather we’ve been having?”
Lady Marsh touched Eleanor’s arm. “It’s been lovely, dear. My Harold and I have been enjoying taking walks in our garden. You know, our son Leonard is in town.” Her crinkly face widened into a knowing smile.
Eleanor did her best to repress the eye roll. “How lovely. You must love seeing him again. I hear he was out of the country for some time.”
“Oh yes, I do love our boy, but I think it’s time for him to settle down.”
Eleanor took a deep breath. Lady Marsh’s “boy” was well over forty years old, old enough to be her father.
“I wish him well in the marriage market then.” Eleanor glanced around the room, hoping to find a friendly face to save her. Instead, her eyes clashed with the bright blue ones of the new Duke. Derek .
She found herself smiling at his name. Of course, she could never call him Derek, but she had to admit the idea of it was enticing, even if she didn’t particularly care for the man.
“Isn’t it your third season, my dear?” Lady Marsh’s raspy voice broke through her reverie.
“Hmm?” Eleanor tried refocusing on the old woman in front of her, but her eyes kept drifting back to deep pools of blue.
“It’s your third season. You should be settled down as well. You know I was thinking?—”
“Oh, excuse me, Lady Marsh, but my mother is summoning me. It must be time to introduce the Duke. Please do excuse me. I hope to speak with you soon. Enjoy the rest of your night!”
Eleanor picked up her skirts and sashayed around the ballroom, quickly escaping the woman.
“Ah, Eleanor, I was just talking with Viscount of Hountshire. Have you two met?” Charlotte’s face told Eleanor all she needed to know about the Viscount. This was her mother’s pick for her.
Eleanor tilted her head down. “I haven’t had the pleasure. Lord Hountshire, it is an honor to meet you.”
The man looked just a few years older than Eleanor. He took her hand and placed a chaste kiss to the top of her wrist.
“The honor is all mine.” Eleanor had to admit his smile was nice, but she got the feeling he was like every other gentleman that came before him. Well-bred, sure. Interesting, not so much.
Charlotte beamed at both of them. “Well, if you excuse me, it’s almost time to introduce the Duke, so I must go track him down. Please, continue to get to know each other.” Charlotte dipped her head.
She stopped at Eleanor’s shoulder to whisper, “I have a good feeling about this one.”
Eleanor did her best to school her features. Her mother and she rarely agreed on what constituted a good match for Eleanor.
“Are you enjoying yourself, Lord Hountshire?”
His eyes sparkled at her use of his title, and her stomach dropped. He must be new to his title and loving every bit of it. Wonderful .
“I am however there is one thing that would make it more enjoyable.” His brown eyes noticed the sapphires hanging around her neck. Eleanor bristled. The sapphires were a status symbol. She was not.
“And what can we do to ensure you have a more enjoyable night?”
The Viscount’s eyes lit up. “A dance with you.”
Eleanor brought a hand up to her chest in mock surprise. Sometimes she really hated playing the game. “Oh, that’s a lot of pressure to put on a girl,” she said with a laugh. She pretended to look over his shoulder. “Unfortunately, I see my mother signaling for me. A hostess’ job is never done. Please do excuse me.”
She dipped her head and excused herself.
She saw her sisters standing by the refreshment table and made her way over to them. The feeling she had of being watched skirted over her body, and she fumbled with her steps. She turned and found dark blue eyes looking at her.
The Duke was standing amongst a few people she didn’t recognize and a few she did. Most likely spreading his cheery disposition to more people.
She rolled her eyes and turned back, continuing to the refreshment table.
“How is your first ball going ladies?”
Sarah squealed when she saw her sister. “Is it always this magical?”
Eleanor raised an eyebrow. “Magical? Oh, my dear sister, this is far from magical.”
“Is it always this hot?” Beatrice pulled at the collar of her dress.
Eleanor smiled. “Unfortunately, yes. No one has been able figure out how to keep these events cool.”
“Mama was looking for you. She wanted you to meet someone,” Sarah said while she watched a young man walk past her.
Beatrice elbowed her. “Stop gawking at the boys, Sarah. People will start to talk.”
Eleanor smiled and ignored her sister’s blatant staring. “Yes, I know. I met him.”
Sarah turned to her sister. “You did! How did it go?”
Eleanor wished she retained an ounce of excitement she had when she first debuted. She lifted a shoulder. “To be expected. He asked me to dance, and I excused myself under the pretense to find Mama.”
Sarah looked at her sister quizzically. “Why on earth would you do that?”
Eleanor watched the couples dancing. “Because when you get to your third season, you learn to pick out the men who want to dance with you because they value your time and the men who just want to use you for their own status. I’m running out of patience for the latter.”
Sarah tsked. “That’s assuming I won’t be taken by the end of my first season,” she quipped.
Both women giggled.
“True,” Eleanor conceded.
“Caroline told me that Lady Marsh tried to push her son onto her.” Sarah chuckled.
Eleanor gazed out before her. “I’m offended. I thought I was the only one who was good enough for her boy.”
Sarah covered her laugh with her fan.
“She should set up several weddings for him. The law of averages states that if she sets up enough, one should pan out. Maybe that’s what she’s doing.”
Sarah and Eleanor looked over to Beatrice, who was idly picking at her gloves.
When she felt her sister’s eyes on her she looked up. “What?”
Sarah rolled her eyes. “You read too much.”
“No such thing,” Beatrice said and stuck her tongue out.
“Both of you stop it. This isn’t the nursery. We do not act like this in public,” Eleanor chastised.
Beatrice stood straighter. “Watch out, Eleanor. Here comes Mama, and she looks like she’s on a warpath,” Beatrice whispered.
“Eleanor? I thought you were talking with the Viscount.” Charlotte’s face was flushed.
She nodded. “I was. An acquaintance of his showed up, and he excused himself.” Eleanor had the presence of thought to be surprised how easily the lie rolled off her tongue, but after two seasons of dealing with forward men, she needed a break.
“Oh, well, that’s fine. You can help me.”
Eleanor couldn’t help but cringe. Doing her mother a favor during an event usually meant dancing with someone who stepped on her toes or speaking with someone who had a proficiency to spit while talking.
“I cannot find the Duke,” her mother whimpered. “We should introduce him soon; people are starting to think we made him up,” Charlotte whispered under her fan.
It was even worse than she thought.
“Mama. I don’t think that’s the issue.” Her eyes went to the back corner where she had seen him on the way over to the refreshments. The corner was now empty. “Where did you see him last?”
Charlotte rubbed her forehead. Eleanor knew this was one of her mother’s worst nightmares come true. Think of the gossip if she couldn’t produce the Duke. Eleanor bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from laughing at her mother’s overreaction.
“That’s just it. I saw him walk in about an hour ago, but I haven’t seen him since.”
“We just saw him. He was talking to a bunch of people over there,” Beatrice nodded to the back corner by the door to the veranda.
Charlotte looked at her girls. “Ladies, we have found ourselves in a dire situation. Sarah and Beatrice come with me; we’ll check the parlor and dining room. Eleanor, please look around here and outside. Perhaps he went out to smoke.” With that Charlotte was off with Sarah and Beatrice following her like little ducklings.
Chewing her lip in concentration Eleanor made her way to the outer wall of the ballroom.
She remembered the smell of pipe smoke in the study when she spoke to him the other day. Perhaps her mother was right, maybe he went outside for a smoke?
She pushed through the doors, and the cool summer night air washed over her. Why don’t we keep these doors open during balls?
It felt refreshing after being in the stuffy ballroom for so long. She squinted as her eyes adjusted to the low light, but she did not see him anywhere.
She turned to go back through the doors when light coming from the library on the other side of the veranda caught her eye. The door must have been open if she could see the light spilling out from inside. Maybe he was in there?
Eleanor walked over the open library door and peeked in. Her heart stopped.
There, on the other side of the room, was the Duke with his back to the wall and the widow Devin pressed up against him. He was kissing her neck, causing soft moans to escape the widow’s lips. His one hand was entangled in her hair while the other disappeared within her skirts.
Eleanor brought her hand to her chest in shock. She knew she should turn and leave them, but the display in front of her was mesmerizing. The way the widow’s body was molded against his, her head tilted to the side, exposing her neck for the Duke to take advantage of, was something Eleanor had never seen before. For as scandalous as it was, she could not stop looking.
“Do you like this?” the Duke growled.
The Duke’s question startled her out of her daze, and she went to move. When she shifted her weight, her eyes drifted up and were captured by the dark blue ones that she felt on her before. He was looking right at her.
Eleanor quickly looked around. Surely he couldn’t see her. She was standing in a doorway, but the light from the room didn’t hit her, and there wasn’t much light behind her on the veranda.
“Answer me,” he demanded.
Eleanor jumped at the command in his voice. Her mind was telling her he couldn’t possibly be talking to her, but instinct told her otherwise. A sly grin crept across the Duke’s face while his eyes darkened, locking her in.
It was at that moment Eleanor knew he was talking to her, and she was very much in serious trouble.