Taming the Wild Duke

Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

T he dancing was pleasant to watch. Especially when everyone was as skilled as they all seemed to be tonight. Lilian leaned lightly against the wall behind her, soaking in the music and letting her gaze wander. Jane and Lord Munro were still dancing. They looked very well together. She also caught sight of the Duke of Thorne dancing with Priscilla Talbot.

They both danced well, Lilian thought, but there was a stiffness between them that kept her from seeing them as an actual couple. The Duke’s expression was vaguely pleasant, as if his mind was elsewhere. Priscilla, on the other hand, clung to him like ivy, her face rapt on his.

Lilian shook her head, feeling a touch of pity for the girl. The Duke was so obviously not interested in her. She was, however, the first girl Lilian had seen him dancing with that night, which surprised her. She supposed, thinking back, the Duke was not particularly fond of dancing. She couldn’t recall seeing him dance much at all the past two years. But then again, she hadn’t really been watching for it.

Why am I watching him now? The question made Lilian shift uncomfortably against the wall. She quickly looked away from them, watching the other dancers as the song came to an end and the men and women bowed and curtsied to one another.

“I’m relieved that you didn’t run this time.” At the sound of the Duke’s deep voice, Lilian whipped her head around, surprise rippling through her. She found him standing next to her, his head bent slightly and his green eyes intent on her face.

“Oh, I wasn’t running from you before,” she said quickly. “I was just…on my way here.” She waved a hand weakly to illustrate her point, feeling heat rise in her cheeks.

He chuckled at her claim, and she couldn’t help noticing how his eyes crinkled pleasantly when he did so.

“Well, now that you’re here ,” he echoed her words, his tone gently ironic, “why aren’t you dancing?”

“I prefer to watch,” Lilian said.

“Nonsense,” the Duke said, and Lilian’s lips parted slightly in surprise. “Only the elderly and those who don’t know how to dance enjoy just watching. I’m quite sure you’re neither of those.”

“Oh, you are, are you?” Lilian cocked her head at him. He was standing very close, and her heart was fluttering a bit with the panic of it. She wished she hadn’t been standing with her back against the wall before, so she would have room to step back. But then, she would be giving way to him, which she was determined not to do. “How do you know I’m not a complete fool when it comes to dancing?”

The Duke nodded, his lips still tilted with a smile. “I know surprisingly little about you, Lady Lilian, but the one thing I’m sure of is that you’re not a fool about anything.”

Now, Lilian felt a little breathless. It was, she thought, one of the nicest compliments she had ever received. The fact that it came from a confirmed rake made it all the more surprising.

She was still recovering when the string quartet swept into the opening bars of another dance and the Wild Duke held out his hand.

“Please, Lady Lilian. Would you do me the honor of allowing me this dance?” he asked. His tone was formal, and his expression had gone solemn. Once again, she caught a glimpse of the depths she’d noted when they’d argued in the orchard. In the dim lighting of this corner, his eyes were less of a lively summer green and more of a shadowed forest.

It was on the tip of her tongue to say no and end this extraordinarily unsettling exchange then and there, but something wouldn’t let her. Perhaps it was the fact that she really did enjoy dancing, and the Duke of Thorne had already proved himself capable in that regard. Or perhaps it was the quiet sincerity of his tone.

There was no hint of the expectation she had often heard in men’s voices—despite the fact that he, as the highest-ranking peer in attendance, had more right than most to expect an affirmative reply. He was genuinely asking, and she got the feeling that he would honor her answer either way.

Lilian gave in to her more curious side. Her hand accepted his almost without her own volition. She felt a strange spark of excitement as their fingers met. His were warm and calloused. He led her to the dance floor where they faced one another.

The music swelled, and the Duke stepped toward her, his hand outstretched once more. She touched her fingertips to his as the other dancers moved in unison around them. His eyes met hers with an easy smile. Slowly, Lilian found herself relaxing, giving in to the pull of the music.

Dancing with the Duke was easy, natural. Within moments, Lilian was smiling back at him. “There,” he said after they’d executed a rather complicated weave through the other dancers and come back together. “You look like you’re actually having fun now. Standing against the wall a few minutes ago, you looked as if you wished you’d never come.”

“I imagine that’s true,” Lilian said, “because that’s exactly what I was wishing. I’m only here tonight at the insistence of my father and sister.”

“And why do they insist on dragging you to social functions you have no interest in?” the Duke asked. He did not react to her bold statement as she imagined most others might react. It had been rude, but the Duke appeared unbothered.

Lilian hesitated at the question, focusing on the intricate steps of the dance and taking a moment to sort out her answer. The Duke waited, his gaze never wavering from her face. It was slightly unnerving.

“You’re a very forceful listener.” The words slipped out before Lilian could catch them. She bit her lip. “I mean, I’m not complaining, but…I noticed it the other day after tea as well. You make me talk more than I intend to.”

The Duke of Thorne’s expression shifted infinitesimally. He was amused, she thought, but also interested. “Is that a bad thing?” he asked.

“Perhaps,” Lilian murmured. “My mother used to advise me that I should be more careful of what I said. I’ve offended enough people since her passing to know why she gave me that advice.”

The Duke’s fingertips brushed her waist, and she placed her hands lightly on his shoulders as they stepped closer and spun slowly. “You’re taller than most women I dance with,” he commented. “It’s nice.”

Lilian blinked. Another compliment. And one about something she’d been feeling negatively conscious of earlier that evening.

“If it helps you feel better,” he continued, his green eyes warm, “I happen to know that the ton’s opinion of you is actually quite high. On the other hand, their offense at me is never-ending. You may speak your mind to me, Lady Lilian, with no fear of repercussion on either front.”

Surprisingly, that’s exactly what Lilian found herself doing a moment later. “My father and sister,” she said slowly, “think I ought to be considering marriage. They want me to mingle and find a match for myself, just as I’ve found partners for my sisters.”

“And this is not your wish for yourself?” the Duke asked carefully. “You don’t want to someday be married?”

“No.” Lilian shook her head. She spun as the dance prescribed, putting her back to the Duke. Her hand was over her shoulder, still touching his, and his other hand rested just above her hip. She could feel the heat of his tall, broad body against her back. It suddenly made her feel light-headed—as if she had forgotten to breathe. She inhaled quickly several times, but this only succeeded in awaking a slight flutter in her stomach.

When the steps changed and she moved back around to face him, they were only inches away. Their eyes caught and held, just as they had in the library.

“I mean, I suppose I wouldn’t be completely opposed to marriage,” Lilian said. Her voice sounded strangely distant in her own ears. “If I were to grow acquainted with the right man.”

“I see,” There was definitely amusement in his eyes now but also a deep, searching look that made the butterflies in Lilian’s stomach flutter even more busily. “And what would define the right man for you, Lady Lilian?”

“Someone who would let me have my freedom,” Lilian answered immediately. “Just as I have it now. Someone with whom I could be myself and whom I enjoyed spending time with.”

“And not a single man among your acquaintances fits this description?” The Duke’s fine, straight brows rose as he studied her.

Lilian hesitated again. “I suppose I don’t know,” she said slowly. “I suppose I just put finding someone for myself out of my mind when I started focusing on finding the right partners for my sisters. It was easier to dismiss it than worry about it then, and now… it’s frankly rather embarrassing to find my family so intent on marrying me off.”

As the words spilled from her mouth, she inwardly berated herself. She was talking too much, being too forthright with a man she barely knew—the Wild Duke of all people. She pressed her lips together and dropped her eyes to the buttons on his vest. What has gotten into you, Lilian? she scolded herself. Your mother would be ashamed.

If the dance with Priscilla had seemed to stretch on indefinitely, the dance with Lady Lilian ended far too quickly. The music slowed toward the end of the dance, and Lilian dropped her eyes from his, a deep flush rising from the creamy curve above the low neckline of her gown through her slender neck to stain her cheeks. For all her talk of women’s rights and freedom, she looked startling demure.

The dancers drew apart, and Simon bowed. Across from him, Lilian dropped the slightest curtsey. Then, she immediately stepped back toward the wall she had formerly been occupying. Simon followed her, noting her nervous glance upward. “Is everything all right?” he asked, and she cast him another glance. Her eyes were clear and golden in the lamplight.

“I fear I’ve overburdened you with sharing my personal thoughts and feelings,” she said, her tone suddenly formal.

“Not at all,” he said quickly. “I told you that you may talk freely to me. Please, set your mind at ease—and be assured I won’t go spreading gossip,” he added as it dawned on him that this might be her concern. “I know far too well how unpleasant that can be.”

He felt his brows draw into a frown as he recalled his setback earlier that evening. Somehow, dancing with Lilian had sent it completely out of his mind. Another thought gave him pause. He had asked Lady Lilian to dance partly in hopes of mending his own reputation. But what if dancing with him did the opposite to her reputation? Was there a way to do one without doing the other?

To his surprise, it was Priscilla Talbot’s words that drifted through his mind in response to his internal inquiry. She had advised him to settle everything by taking a wife. No doubt, she had herself in mind, but Simon found an entirely different figure rising to fill that space in his own imagination. The thought taking shape in his mind momentarily shocked him. But then, he found he couldn’t let it go.

“I beg your pardon,” Lilian was saying quietly beside him, “but I’m not feeling over well. I think I must go in search of my sister.” Without giving him a chance to inquire further or offer his services, she slipped away from him, weaving between the other scattered dancers with a practiced ease that he knew he would be unable to replicate.

So, he simply watched her go, turning his idea over and over in his mind. It was crazy, of course. She would never agree. He wasn’t even sure he would have the boldness to ask. Especially now that she had fled his presence not once but twice in the space of one evening. It was a frankly humbling experience.

“Are you all right, old man?” Aaron’s hand clapped him on the shoulder, jolting him back to reality. “You look as if you’ve drifted clear out of London.” His friend smiled at him in the flickering light. “I saw you got your dance with the lovely Lady Lilian. May I congratulate you? Or is that the last we shall ever see of her?” He nodded toward Lilian’s retreated form.

Simon shook his head, watching until Lilian’s slender figure, dark hair, and violet gown had entirely been swallowed by the swirling crowd. “You know, Munro, I can’t say. I’m not even sure whether we parted on good terms or not.”

Aaron chuckled. “Women can be baffling, I’ll admit.”

Women ? Simon privately corrected the sentiment in his own head. That woman. Lilian Weston was without doubt the most baffling woman he had encountered so far. She fascinated him. And quite possibly still hated him.

His idea was impossible. He really should just forget about it.