Chapter 2
Chapter Two
“You are positively wicked, Your Grace,” Lady Charlotte giggled as she slapped playfully at Victor’s arm. “So very wicked.”
“I’m not trying to be,” Victor, the Duke of Blackwood, said simply. “Merely trying to keep up with you, Lady Charlotte.”
“Good luck with that,” she laughed as she slapped his arm again. “I wish you all the best.”
Victor sighed. “I am sure you do…”
Lady Charlotte smirked to herself as she stepped in closer to him.
“So, Your Grace…” Her eyes flicked about them, checking that nobody was watching.
The ballroom was busy, but for now, they were being left alone.
I almost wish that we were not, for at least that might deter the young lady from actions which I am certain even she is not entirely conscious of. “I take it that you are here alone?”
“Now, why would you assume such a thing as that,” he responded coyly. “You almost sound hopeful.”
“Perhaps I am.”
Despite himself, Victor smirked. It was not a conscious reaction, but a reflex brought about by a lifetime of conversations had that were just like this one. Knowing what was on the young woman’s mind, what she expected of him, and where she prayed this night would take them.
“Careful now, Lady Charlotte. Talk like that is how rumors start.”
“But not where they end, I hope.” Her eyes flashed with excitement. “Not if everything I have heard of you is true.”
Victor felt that familiar impulse roaring inside of him. The urge to do one thing, fighting against the desire not to get carried away, as it always led him to trouble. “I would not pay too much heed to rumors. I assure you, most of it is highly exaggerated and not what you imagine.”
“I had no idea you were so modest.”
“Just cautious,” he said. “I would hate for you to do anything that might cause concern. We don’t want that now, do we.”
“Let me worry about that.” Still standing as close to Victor as she could, Lady Charlotte reached with her spare hand and rested it on his arm. “Speaking of which, it is getting rather warm in here, don’t you think. Perhaps some fresh air is needed?”
Victor had to suppress the urge to groan. “Is that right?”
“Will you join me…” Her hand on his arm squeezed tight as if she feared he might run. “Perhaps…” She was shaking now, excitement boiling over. “Perhaps you can prove these rumors false. Or true…”
Again, Victor suppressed the urge to groan.
It is too easy sometimes. Such that I don’t even have to try. That when I am purposefully trying to not lure and seduce, they only want me more because of it. I suppose I have myself to blame, a lifetime of misdeeds and they have well and truly caught up to me…
Victor knew how this would go because it always went the exact same way.
He had not meant it to happen; his intentions tonight were honorable and wholesome because he needed to behave himself and control his pesky urges.
What was more, Lady Charlotte was an innocent, one who had gotten carried away in the moment and likely hadn’t stopped to consider what she was saying and where it might lead.
There was a voice in the back of Victor’s head that pleaded for him to behave. To remove her hand from his arm and offer to fetch her a drink instead. Or better, to leave her and never look back.
“Lady Charlotte,” he began gently, prying her hand from his arm. “While I appreciate the offer, I do not think that is such a good idea.”
She hesitated, her eyes searching for the joke she was certain he was playing. “I… why don’t you let me be the judge of –"
“Charlotte!” Through the crowd rushed a woman whom Victor assumed to be Lady Charlotte's mother. Wonderful… “What are you doing?”
“Oh!” Lady Charlotte froze, her eyes widening in terror. “Mother, I –”
“What did I tell you!” She snatched her daughter’s hand, and Victor took a hasty step back. “You were not to leave my sight.”
“I am sorry, Mother, I was speaking with –”
“I do not care.” She looked warningly at her daughter before forcing a smile and turning it on Victor. “I am so sorry, Your Grace,” she apologized. “But my daughter… she is needed elsewhere. You understand.”
“Not at all,” Victor said with the same forced smile. “I would hate to keep her from you.”
“Thank you. And may you have a pleasant evening.” The smile faded, a scowl took her lips, and she quickly pulled her daughter away, speaking harshly to her with what could only be a firm reprimand to stay away from Victor at all costs.
Victor watched them go, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. Well, that is just wonderful now, isn’t it? Made to look as if I was the one seducing Lady Charlotte because, of course, I was. Even when I try to do the right thing, it comes back to bite me on the rear end.
Despite how it had happened, Victor was glad Lady Charlotte had been whisked away.
As said, his intentions for tonight’s ball were honorable, as he was supposed to be seeking a lady to be courted in the traditional manner.
No outrageous flirting. No one-time affairs.
What Victor needed was an innocent creature that would not succumb to his advances or tempt his more dangerous side.
A wife whom he felt nothing for, so that he could live his life in peace.
Sadly, Victor’s reputation was such that he wondered if such a woman even existed in the ton. It serves me right in many ways. A lifetime of this behavior, and perhaps my fate has been determined for me?
Nonetheless, Victor moved through the ballroom with purpose, walking among the crowd of lords and ladies in search of someone to speak with. Predictably, most ladies who saw him coming did so with a scowl and a distrustful look, as they all knew him well and knew what was likely on his mind.
He smiled at some. He inclined his head at others. A few he even walked toward, only for them to be pulled away by their fathers and mothers before he got the chance.
Such was the state of things that after thirty minutes of this, feeling annoyed and wondering if he might as well go home and give up on the farce, Victor headed for the balcony to get some fresh air and regroup.
Through the doorway he stepped, the cool night’s air on his face, a sigh of relief to escape the crowds because he was sick to death of being judged everywhere he went.
That was when he saw her…
She was standing near the railing of the balcony, darkness surrounding her, while somehow illuminated by the full moon which washed across her so that she was glowing.
Short and lithe in frame, dark hair and the whitest skin he had ever seen.
Her eyes were too big for her face, her expression was sullen and morose, and the way she stood nervous and unsure.
She was beautiful, to be sure, but that wasn’t what had Victor smiling.
She looks out of place. Awkward and withdrawn because this isn’t her natural setting. And as I have never seen her, I can only assume she is new to this scene. Her first Season, perhaps?
It was exactly what he was after. The complete opposite of what he so often went for. No drawn by desire or lust or amour. He felt little real attraction at all, and that was why she was perfect.
For that reason, and with nothing else for it, Victor approached the young Lady before she had a chance to see him coming.
“Good evening,” he said as he emerged from the darkness. “Do you mind if I join you?”
The young lady started when she heard his voice, her large eyes turning wide. “Oh! Go – good evening,” she stammered nervously. “I – No. I mean yes. Pl – please, yes…” She gave her head a shake and attempted to straighten. “Please, join me. I would like that.”
“It was so crowded in there,” he said with a sigh as he reached her. “I find the fresh air calming. Don’t you?”
“Oh, yes, I am of the same mind.” Her big eyes flicked about awkwardly, and her body shook with nerves. “I… I like the peace and quiet.”
“We are of the same mind,” he said with a charming smile. “And where are my manners,” he then chuckled. “Please, allow me to introduce myself. I am Victor, the Duke of Blackwood. And you are?”
Her eyes somehow turned even wider. “Your Grace!”
“That’s me,” he chuckled. “Although I was hoping for your name.”
“Ye – yes. Sorry. I…” She could not have looked more nervous. “I am Lady Iris Hawkins.” She offered an awkward curtsey. “It is a pleasure to meet you.”
Hawkins… why is that name familiar?
It did not matter. Victor studied the young lady, deciding quickly that he had made the right choice.
Clearly, she was new to the ton – she must have been, to have not recognized him.
Furthermore, she was kind and simple, no fire to her, no immediate spark lit between them. It was exactly what he needed.
Victor had never been one who desired marriage. He spurned the idea, thinking it a waste of time and beneath him. Sadly, as a duke, these things were expected and with him now being thirty-one years of age, he was forced to accept the reality that he needed a bride. And fast.
But she could not be just any bride. She had to be the one he felt nothing for. One who would agree to marry because she needed to, but would quickly come to realize that they had nothing in common. A marriage of convenience only.
“So, tell me…” Victor started as he stepped beside her, leaning casually on the railing. “What brings you here this evening?”
“The ball,” she said eagerly.
He looked at her for elaboration, but she was so awkward that she did not realize how simple her answer had been.
“I suspected,” he laughed. “But you are not here on your own? Surely, not. Is your father about? Your mother? They would not dare leave a creature as pure as you alone?” He pretended to look about them. “Your first Season, I take it?”
“My second,” she said. “But this is the first where I available for –” Her eyes widened again and she caught her tongue. “I mean… this is my second Season, but the last I did not attend as many social events as I wished.”
“Oh, and why is that?”