Chapter 11
Garden Party
The Season was still in full swing, no matter how Prim tried to grasp onto reality and time.
She really needed to take time and put things in order after all that happened to her, but it seemed reality was determined to be relentless as usual, and every day dawned at precisely the time it was supposed to.
“You will wear it, Prim,” her mother brought her to the cruel present.
Prim had to deal with that crisis that day. Her family got an invitation to a prestigious garden party, since it seemed that Abigail’s pressure had the desired results so slowly the Jenkins family was getting more frequent invitations.
“I think it is bad taste,” Prim insisted.
Before her, on her vanity, it was the blue velvet box and in it the sapphire necklace that the Duke of Greyhaven had gifted her with.
“First of all, it goes perfectly with your ivory dress, so it is impeccable taste. Then, if you are worried about how the Duke of Mildenhall will react, that is exactly the purpose.”
Prim frowned at her mother. Both she and her father have been seething, and they have been plotting. Their scheme was that Prim would marry Leo and then one of the girls would become the Duchess of Greyhaven.
Prim didn’t have the energy to explain that the Duke would never marry any of the twins. He was looking for a competent wife and a mother for his daughter. Her sisters, bless their precious souls, were good girls, but they could barely take care of themselves.
“Mother,” Prim tried.
“You will wear the necklace, Prim. No more arguing. Let’s see how the Dukes react.”
Prim gave up, and so she entered the garden party with the sapphires glowing under the sun.
All eyes were on her, the new gossip travelling far and wide.
Two Dukes were in her drawing room not so long ago.
Then she was seen promenading with one, and now she appeared with a precious jewel around her neck, a present from the other.
She decided to focus on the party. And it was a smart move.
In the past days, the weather had conspired to make this Season memorable.
Well, for Prim, it was already unforgettable, but she appreciated the backdrop.
The garden was a marvel to look at. Bushes of colorful flowers were scattered all over the perfect lawn, butterflies flying all over.
The trees were tall in the Minton Estate, offering their cool shadow.
It seemed as if hundreds of birds sang through the branches.
Beneath the shade of ancient oaks, crisp linen tables groaned with silver trays of food and desserts.
Colorful blankets with pillows were scattered all over the lawn, already occupied by companies and couples.
“Girls, you will stay with me,” Prim warned her sisters.
“Don’t we always?” Camilla said as she looked upon the gentlemen and ladies gathering. “I must say, garden parties are boring. No dancing, just mingling, eating, and nothing much else.”
“I disagree,” Myrtle said in her soft voice. “It is so quiet, enough sun if you want to read, and no one is stepping on your toes.”
Prim laughed, and her sisters joined her.
“Little doves,” Prim went serious. “How are you? I’ve been so busy with my own problems these weeks that I forgot that all this must be harsh on you, too.”
The sisters gathered close to her, twining their hands with hers like they had been doing since they were little.
“Prim,” Camilla said. “Take care of yourself. All else will fall into place.”
“When did you get so wise?” Prim teased.
They were all hugging in a rare moment of reprieve from all that threatened their happiness when a voice cut through the air.
“Miss Primrose.”
There was no mistaking that deep voice. It wasn’t so much the voice, though. It was the monotone way that the voice communicated. Prim turned and saw the Duke of Greyhaven standing there, his hands behind his back.
The moment her sisters saw the Duke, they mumbled some excuse and made themselves scarce. They were totally intimidated by the Duke. Another reason that their parents’ plan would totally fail.
“Your Grace,” Prim curtsied.
“I see you are wearing my necklace. I trust it is adequate?”
“It is very beautiful, thank you.”
“Beauty is subjective, but I understand the notion.”
“Don’t you think we can also find beauty in symmetry?”
“I haven’t thought about that. It is an interesting observation.”
The Duke looked at her as if appraising an asset. It was clinical and methodical.
“Miss Primrose, the fact that you are in possession of intellect as well, makes you one step higher than the ladies of the ton.”
“Your Grace, I think you are being too harsh,” Prim tried.
“I beg to differ,” he deadpanned. “But I will indulge you.”
“Uhm…” Prim was lost. “How do you like the party so far? I just got here.”
“I know. I observed you.”
Prim found his sincerity refreshing.
“Still haven’t answered the question,” Prim teased.
“I was attempting to avoid answering. You might call me harsh twice in such a short span of time. I tend to avoid that.”
Prim chuckled. She knew that many thought of the Duke as boring, but they failed to see the veiled humor behind the cold mask.
“But not always quite succeeding, right, Greyhaven?”
Prim stood absolutely still. Leo was here, his impeccable timing in full use. It was the second time she found herself caught between the two men, and it was a cold, cold place to be. She looked at Leo first, but he was fixated on how close the Duke of Greyhaven was standing.
“Mildenhall,” the Duke acknowledged.
Prim saw that there was more Leo wanted to say, but he managed to tame his impulse and turned to her. He bowed and then saw the precious jewel around her neck.
What could possibly have gotten into him?
He seemed to lose all his levity around Nathaniel.
Then a thought came over her. Leo was the reason she was dragged in this mess and he was many things but he was also an honorable man.
he must have felt responsible for her, not wanting her to have a bad match in marriage.
“Miss Primrose,” Leo smiled. “This piece is certainly not you.”
“What can you possibly mean?” Prim sent him a warning look.
“I simply mean that the stones are precious, yet it doesn’t suit you. It is too heavy for your delicate neck, the colors don’t complement your skin color, and it is too flashy for your personality.”
Prim ground her jaw and swallowed. Still, his scrutiny made her blush, the look of his taking all of her face in too much for her to bear.
“In fact, Miss Primrose, I think a completely different set of adornment would make your beauty stand out more.”
Prim knew it was all a show for a one-man audience, but she couldn’t hold back the little smile that curved her lips at hearing him call her beautiful.
“I see,” the Duke said dryly. “Then I take it, Mildenhall, you don’t like my taste.”
Leo looked at the Duke with confusion.
“Why would my comments include you?” Leo asked, confused.
The Duke took one step closer to her and glanced at the necklace before returning to Leo.
“I deduced that by the way you criticized my gift to Miss Primrose.”
She saw it. Prim saw the fleeting second when that information landed. Leo just realized that the necklace adorning her neck, the one he so harshly disapproved, was a gift from the Duke. A gift to accompany a proposal. A very specific kind of proposal.
“This is your gift?” Leo needed confirmation suddenly.
“It is a token of an offer.”
“And what were you hoping to offer with that loud piece? It looks more like a cannon blast than a subtle gesture.”
“Interesting. I didn’t know you could distinguish subtle gestures.”
Prim bit her lip as the two men were locked in a gaze. She wished the earth would swallow her whole to avoid the embarrassment.
If one ever wondered what truly awkward felt like, he had but to witness the little scene unfolding under the quiet corner of the linen canopy of the garden party.
Leo was silently looking between her and the Duke, wondering if she would accept the proposal. The Duke was keenly observing the interaction, probably not missing her blush and the tension on Leo’s shoulders. And poor Prim was left looking up at the two towering men who were locked in a stare.
“I see my sisters are left unaccompanied,” Prim said, seizing the flimsiest of excuses with the grace of a drowning woman grabbing a rope.
She curtsied to both men, a general, frantic dismissal, and turned before either could respond.
The Duke of Greyhaven offered a solemn, unsurprised bow, as if her retreat were a predictable variable. Leo took a half-step to follow, a protest forming on his lips, only to be arrested by a voice calling his title across the lawn. Prim couldn’t be more grateful.
“There you are, girls,” she said, hearing her own tension in her voice.
Things kept piling up for her. Sure, it was nothing grave, no life-threatening situations, yet her sanity was seriously tested.
Prim felt as if she were unraveling at the seams. She needed to devote her focus to so many things that she ended up confused.
The scandal and the fake courtship, the Duke’s offer and her parents’ plans, her sisters’ future. And then there was him.
“If you marry the Duke of Greyhaven,” Camilla whispered, “does that mean you get to live with him?”
“It is usually how marriage works.”
“And aren’t you scared?” Myrtle asked.
“The man looks menacing,” Camilla added.
“You should marry the Duke of Mildenhall. He seems so nice.”
Prim chuckled, her sisters looking at her as if she were having a psychotic breakdown.
She didn’t have the heart to explain to the girls how wrong they were.
She could deal with the Duke any time of the day, his stern look and his dry comments.
But Leo… She was terrified of Leo. He could burn her down to ashes by just touching her.