Chapter 6
CHAPTER 6
M addie stopped short as she walked into the drawing room. Her jaw dropped. To her surprise, the visitors were Selina, her mother, the Dowager Duchess of Everly… and the Duke of Everly himself.
“Oh,” she stammered, feeling a flush breaking out over her entire body. Her heart started hammering violently.
What is he doing here? How on earth am I supposed to act in a normal way? I cannot look at him. I must not look at him!
But, sickeningly, her eyes were drawn to him—and only him. Strangely, he looked just as shocked to see her, at first. But then, a devilish glint flashed across his grey eyes. To her shock, the rake actually had the audacity to wink at her!
“Come and sit down, Madeline,” her mother instructed imperiously. She frowned. “What has gotten into you, child? You look like you have seen a specter!”
Maddie hastily took a seat, as far from the Duke as she could. Her mind was whirring. He must have engineered this house call, to put more pressure on her to accept his proposition. There could be no other explanation for it.
Maddie glanced covertly at Selina. Her best friend was smiling, oblivious. Her heart skipped a beat. She couldn’t imagine that the Duke had informed his sister about the details of their illicit conversation the previous evening.
Selina, most probably, was still none the wiser about any of it. She didn’t know that Maddie had lost the list, nor that her brother had found it… and she certainly wouldn’t be aware that he was blackmailing Maddie for “favors” to return it.
I must talk to Selina alone as soon as I can . But how am I to tell her about what her brother is proposing for the list’s safe return?
“Tea for all?” Lady Ollerton asked sweetly, smiling at their visitors, picking up the teapot.
Everyone nodded.
As her mother poured the tea, Maddie tried to catch Selina’s eye, hoping that her best friend might intuit that she wanted to speak to her alone. But Selina didn’t take the hint.
Maddie would have to think of an excuse—any excuse—to draw her friend away from the drawing room at some point. But for the moment, it seemed she must simply endure this excruciating torment.
“How are you finding London since your return from the Continent, Your Grace?” Lady Ollerton asked, handing the Duke a cup of tea. Maddie noted he took it black, with a twist of lemon, just like she did. “Has it changed much in your absence?”
“In some ways, Lady Ollerton,” he replied, sipping his tea. “But not in others. The London Season, for example, seems to be exactly the same as it always was.” He paused, his eyes narrowing. “The same preoccupation with dull garden parties and the like. I am sure you are well aware of the torment one must endure at such events.”
Maddie suppressed a laugh, almost snorting her tea. So, it seemed the devilish Duke wasn’t any fonder of boring Society parties than she was. But then, he must be used to more cosmopolitan events and company by now. There was a whole world outside of London, after all, which he had experienced.
“Indeed,” Lady Ollerton said, her nostrils flaring slightly, which Maddie knew indicated she was a little taken aback. “You have a colorful turn of phrase, Your Grace!” She turned to Augusta, who was sitting beside her on the sofa, looking painfully bored. “My dear, would you be so kind to entertain our guests on the pianoforte? I am certain His Grace will be charmed by your playing!”
Augusta looked affronted, but she complied, walking to the pianoforte in the corner of the room.
Maddie sipped her tea. It wasn’t unusual for their mama to request that Augusta play for guests—her sister was a talented pianist—but there was something in her mother’s manner as she looked at the Duke that made Maddie suspect she was up to something.
“You will adore Lady Augusta’s playing,” the Dowager Duchess gushed, leaning towards the Duke. “She is quite skilled, Daniel. And we all know that musical proficiency is one of a lady’s greatest accomplishments.”
The Duke nodded politely, but he looked bored. “I am certain I will be charmed by Lady Augusta’s talent on the instrument, Mother.”
“My oldest daughter is also very well-read, Your Grace,” Lady Ollerton added, nodding vigorously. “As well as being proficient in French and German.” She smiled brightly. “Augusta has a talent for languages, you see, which I feel certain you would admire, being so well traveled.”
Maddie stared hard at her mother. It was a bare-faced lie, and her mother knew it. Augusta knew a smattering of French and not much more German. Languages had never been her sister’s forte at all. But then, it wasn’t as if learning foreign languages had been pushed upon either of the Ollerton daughters. They had received a traditional lady’s education, which wasn’t much at all.
It wasn’t a lie that Augusta was well-read. She devoured books as if they were her lifeblood. But Maddie wasn’t certain that the Duke would appreciate her sister’s choice of topics. She couldn’t imagine that he had ever read Mary Wollstonecraft’s radical treatise, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, which was practically Augusta’s bible.
On the other hand, being a rake himself, he might just be familiar with his fellow rake Byron’s poetry tomes, which Augusta had read from front to back cover many times over.
Suddenly, the tinkling sounds of the pianoforte filled the air. It was Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata , one of Augusta’s favorite pieces. Maddie glanced over at the pianoforte. Augusta may have been forced to perform by their mother, but she was clearly engrossed in her playing now, looking as if she were a thousand miles away, in a deep trance.
As always, when Augusta played, an air of slight melancholy enveloped her, even when she was playing the jauntiest of tunes. It always made Maddie a bit sad to watch her.
“How perfectly lovely,” the Dowager Duchess praised. “I am so very fond of Beethoven! What do you think, Daniel? Are you as mesmerized by this sublime talent as I am?”
“The lady is gifted, indeed,” the Duke agreed smoothly. He turned to Maddie, gazing at her intently. “And what about you, Lady Madeline? Are you as proficient on the pianoforte?”
“I play a little, Your Grace,” Maddie replied, her heart skipping a beat. “But alas, I am not as dedicated in my practice as my sister.”
Lady Ollerton rolled her eyes. “No, indeed, you are not, Madeline!” She looked at the Duke. “Why, only yesterday, she was rebuked by her pianoforte tutor for inattention, Your Grace. Unfortunately, my youngest daughter’s mind is often away with the fairies.”
“Perhaps the lady’s mind is simply preoccupied with other matters,” the Duke said, a wicked smile on his lips. “We all have talents in different directions, after all, Lady Ollerton.”
Maddie blushed fiercely. He hadn’t said anything improper at all—it was just the way he had said it. She just knew he was referring to her scandalous list. Not that anyone else would be aware of that fact. But still, she couldn’t help wriggling with discomfort. And she was very conscious that he was still watching her and was aware of her embarrassment as well.
Maddie squirmed. Oh, how long must she endure this? When were they going to leave?
“Perhaps you might like to turn the pages as Lady Augusta plays, Daniel,” the Dowager Duchess suggested a bit imperiously. “I am certain it would be a help for her.”
The Duke looked uncomfortable. “I am equally certain the lady is quite capable of doing so herself. I do not wish to distract her from her performance.” He gave his mother a sharp look, almost a rebuke.
It was all starting to make sense to Maddie now. Somehow, the two older ladies were conspiring to force Augusta and the Duke to become better acquainted. Her mama had warned Augusta that she was about to take matters into her own hands and find her a suitable husband. And what better husband than a duke? Even one with the shadow of scandal in his past.
A duke was one of the highest ranks in the land, after all, just below royalty. And the Dowager Duchess was clearly supporting the match, for her own reasons. Perhaps the lady was as eager to marry her son off as Lady Ollerton was to marry her oldest daughter off.
An odd feeling gripped Maddie’s heart. She didn’t like it, not one little bit. She didn’t know why it bothered her so much. She should be grateful—it might mean that the Duke would turn his interest to Augusta and leave her alone.
As long as she retrieved her list safely, why should she care?
But she did care. Evidently, she cared very much, indeed.
Suddenly, she couldn’t bear to be in the room for a second longer. She could barely breathe. She stood up abruptly. “I need some air,” she declared. “I am going to take a walk in the gardens.”
Selina stood up like a shot. “What a glorious idea! I will accompany you, dearest.”
Maddie breathed a sigh of gratitude, linking arms with her best friend, and exiting the room. She could feel the Duke’s eyes boring a hole into her back, but she didn’t turn around. Not once.
Somehow, she felt like she truly was making a great escape.