Chapter 21
Chapter twenty-one
Dietrich
Dietrich turned to watch with everyone else as they announced Duke Vaughn and his daughter, Lady Eliana Vaughn. The doors opened, and she appeared, holding her father’s arm, looking absolutely radiant in a light green gown that seemed as wide as a house.
Everyone in the ballroom began to applaud—except for three ladies.
He had positioned himself near her former family in case they tried to cause a scene. He would not have them ruining her moment. It seemed his decision had been prudent.
“That’s Ella,” the stepmother hissed.
“What is she doing here? She’s not a duchess,” one of the sisters said, her voice spewing venom.
“She must have tricked them,” the stepmother muttered, moving forward.
Dietrich stepped into her path. “If you cause a scene, you will be leaving,” he murmured quietly.
He could hear the crowd’s whispers as Ella and her father descended the staircase into the ballroom.
Her former stepmother scoffed. “And who are you? You don’t have the power to remove me.”
“I do,” Dietrich said quietly. “I am one of the duke’s most trusted men. One word from me, a look from me, and the guards will have you out of here before you can sneeze. I suggest you don’t try me.”
The stepmother stared at him before turning up her nose in a huff and spinning away.
Dietrich let out a satisfied grin.
They may not have expected anything from him, but he would protect Ella—no matter who she was with or who tried to hurt her.
He caught the eye of one of the guards stationed against the wall and used his eyes to inform him of who to pay closer attention to. The guard nodded, his gaze turning to the stepfamily, who were positioning themselves next to a table piled high with food.
Confident that he wasn’t the only one paying attention now, Dietrich turned his attention back to the dance floor, where Ella and her father had taken the floor as the musicians began to play.
He watched in satisfaction as Ella twirled around the room, looking as if she hadn’t a care in the world as she danced with her father.
It was everything he had ever hoped for in his search for the missing girl. She was where she belonged, and he was so happy for both of them.
Everyone in the room was whispering as they danced, and he began to slide sideways, hoping to overhear some of the conversations. Had the people outside the estate not known the purpose of this ball? Had they been surprised to see Ella emerge?
It should have surprised him, but it didn’t. The duke had always loved a mysterious surprise.
As the dance ended, he looked around the room to find her stepfamily again. If they wanted to cause trouble, they would have to go through him.
But he didn’t see them anywhere.
Where had they gone?
He was still scanning when he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see who it was.
It was Ella, with vulnerability in her eyes.
“Will you dance with me?” she asked quietly.
Dietrich didn’t want to dance with her. He wanted to fulfill his obligation to the duke, who had insisted that he be here for at least the first hour, and then leave. But he couldn’t be the man who told the new duchess no when she asked him to dance.
That would be cruel. Not in front of all these people.
So, as much as he wanted to say no and run away, he knew he couldn’t.
“Of course,” he said, offering his arm.
He scanned the crowd one more time, looking for her stepfamily, and instead found his mother and John standing in the front, watching him with wide smiles on their faces.
It should have surprised him that they had found each other, and yet it didn’t. They were probably talking about him and laughing at him for having been caught by the duchess he had been so desperate to avoid.
As they reached the center of the dance floor, Dietrich offered his hand to Ella, who took it with a smile.
“May I have this dance?” he asked, even though she had already asked him.
“You may,” she said with a smile as she placed her hand in his.
He looked around the room for her stepfamily one more time, but they were nowhere to be found. Perhaps they had left.
He turned and bowed to Ella, then pulled her into the proper stance as the musicians began to play a waltz.
Because, of course, it was a waltz.
Why couldn’t it be a dance that didn’t require so much physical contact?
He sighed. After this dance, he would leave. He had fulfilled his duty.
And the last thing Ella needed was the distraction of him here.
But she felt so perfect in his arms.
He didn’t want to let her go, because if he did, he might never get to hold her again.
And that would be a tragedy, because Ella was everything he’d ever wanted.
But he couldn’t have her, he reminded himself. And it would be better to let her go, even if he didn’t want to. Even if the thought of letting her go felt like giving up a piece of himself.
She needed someone who belonged in this new world of hers. Not someone who had been told to come to the commoners’ ball or risk being in trouble.
He didn’t like balls. He didn’t like theatricality. He didn’t like anything to do with any of it.
The only reason he was here was for her.
And she needed someone who wanted more than just one night.
But it was hard to think when she was looking up at him with stars in her eyes, like he was the reason her world kept spinning.
She needed someone who was better at being around for things like this. Someone who didn’t want to run away and hide.
She needed someone more than him.
It might kill him to let her go…but he would do it for her.
All too soon, the dance came to an end, and he released her.
“Thank you for the dance, my lady,” he said, bowing to her.
It killed him to let her go, but it was for the best. Another young man stepped up to take his place, and Dietrich forced himself to walk away.
He wouldn’t watch her dance with another man.
Couldn’t.
He aimed for the door, his feet blindly carrying him far away from here.
Far away from her.
But before he could get out of the room, his mother and John intercepted him.
“Hello, my darling,” his mother said, catching him in a hug. “It is good to see you.”
“I am glad you could come, Mother,” he said, giving her a hug in return. “I was wondering if you would make it.”
“Couldn’t miss this,” his mother said. “This is your big moment.”
He let out a grimace. “If that’s what you want to call it. Sure.”
His mother gave him a knowing look. “I know this is hard,” she said quietly. “I was hoping to hear that you had won her over.”
Her eyes twinkled as she said it, and Dietrich shook his head.
“I am not trying to, Mother,” he reminded her. “She deserves better than me.”
“She’s not going to find better than you,” John said bluntly, “so she might as well have the best.”
Dietrich smiled at his second-in-command. “Thank you for the support,” he said, “but I truly believe that she would be better off without me.”
“You believe wrong,” his mother said, shaking her head. “And I don’t know how you can think that.”
“Because I am not nobility,” Dietrich said, “nor am I cut out to be. I am a stable boy, born and bred, who grew up in a barn and has zero skills when it comes to navigating this.” He gestured to the ballroom and the organized chaos surrounding them.
“She doesn’t, either,” his mother countered.
“And she needs someone who can help her with that.”
His mother shook her head. “And that’s where you’re wrong. She doesn’t want someone who can help her navigate that. She wants you.”
“Wants and needs are two separate things,” Dietrich said. “And she’ll have to learn the difference, because I cannot be what she needs.”
His mother sighed, and John shook his head.
“We won’t change his mind,” he told her. “He’ll have to figure it out himself.”
Dietrich wanted to point out that he had already figured it out, but John was turning to his mother and bowing low.
“May I ask you to dance?” he asked, and Dietrich’s mother turned a shade of pink that he had never seen before. Not since his father had died, at least.
“I would be honored,” she squeaked.
Dietrich looked at John with raised eyebrows, and John simply grinned at him before sweeping Danise off into a dance.
Dietrich watched them for a moment, somehow feeling proud, surprised, and shocked, before he turned to leave the room.
He had fulfilled his duty, and now he would go check on the horses. While most of their guests tonight had not brought them, it was good practice for the next event, when they would have potentially dozens more horses to take care of.
But as he turned to leave, he noticed the stepmother was back, moving through the room with a devious glint in her eyes.
Oh, no.
This was not going to happen.
Dietrich moved to intercept her, catching her by the wrist as she attempted to climb the stairs, as if she was going to make a grand announcement herself.
“Oh, no, you don’t,” he growled.
“Unhand me at once,” she declared before turning to see that it was him. “You have no power here,” she sneered. “You are simply a stable boy.”
“I have more power than you think,” Dietrich said icily before nodding to one of the guards, who sprang into motion at his command.
A surge of satisfaction rolled through him as he watched her leave, ushered by the guard. But as he turned to check on Ella one more time, his eyes caught on her stepsister a few feet away, with a jealous glint in her eyes.
Of course, there was more than one.
He hurried forward and caught the stepsister’s wrist as she began to attempt the same thing her mother had.
“That’s enough,” he said, gesturing to another guard, who hurried forward to apprehend the sister.
“Where is your other sister?” he asked, and the stepsister he held spat in his face.
So that was the way they wished to play it.
Dietrich wiped his face with his sleeve and turned to the guard. “Take her to a holding cell,” he said, as the girl began to struggle.
“You can’t do this,” the girl shrieked, drawing attention as the guard hauled her out of the room, following the path taken by her mother.
The musicians kept playing, but everyone within earshot of them turned to see what the commotion was, including Ella.
The duke caught his eye, and Dietrich nodded, hoping the duke would understand he had a reason for sending her away. He wasn’t simply being petty—though if he could send off the other sister now, he would.
The duke relaxed at the reassurance and hurried to Ella, who was looking between Dietrich and her former stepsister with concern. The duke whispered something to Ella, who turned to look at Dietrich.
He could feel her gaze from across the room, which was both comforting and hurtful.
She trusted him, and yet he was going to leave her to face the crowd alone.
He couldn’t.
So instead of leaving like he’d planned, he spent the rest of the night circulating the room with the guards, searching for the last sister.
He couldn’t find her, which was both concerning and a relief.
If he couldn’t find her, then perhaps she had left—or perhaps she was hiding, biding her time.
It wasn’t clear which way it was going to go, but since he couldn’t find her, he simply watched as Ella danced with more men than he could count, each one making his stomach clench in frustration because she was dancing with someone other than him.
Even as he reminded himself that he had walked away and chosen to let her dance with others, it still stung.
He had no claim on her, and she could dance with as many men as she chose. She had no reason not to.
It was the way he wanted things to be…right?