Chapter 3
This would be Dominic’s fifth ball of the season. As he left the receiving line to find a quiet corner, he could feel the eyes of the Ton on him.
He pondered if his days of managing marriage-minded mothers was finally coming to an end.
I should be relieved that so many families wish to have my hand in marriage. I could perhaps take any of them. What would happen if I stole away with a young lady now, ignoring gossip and the Ashbourne family?
“Your Grace, what a delight to see you this evening!” Lady Hamhearst beamed with her two daughters in hand.
He offered a courtly bow while they all curtsied. “Good evening, Lady Hamhearst, Lady Hamhearst, and Miss Lucille.”
This ball was one of the few occasions of the year when everyone was desperate to arrive early so they wouldn’t miss a thing. He regretted being timely now, seeing the hall fill up in pastels and giggles.
Now that they had finally reached the cusp of spring, he knew he should be grateful for the sunlight and occasionally warmer weather for his daily rides.
I wish I was out riding right now. I didn’t need to bring my carriage. It only seemed appropriate. And the word on their stables is rather unreliable, so I will not risk my steed.
“Your Grace?”
Dominic realized his gaze had been wandering as his thoughts went in every direction. Every single way beyond the three ladies standing in front of him. All of them looked rather put out.
“My sincerest apologies,” he announced at once. “I’m afraid I am needed elsewhere.”
“Elsewhere? Besides the ball?” Lady Hamhearst asked in befuddlement.
She wouldn’t be so desperate to have him talking or dancing with her daughters if she knew the secrets her husband was up to.
Hamhearst was one of two names Dominic knew of tied to a financial scandal that could collapse any day now.
The thought of him marrying into that family was uncomfortable and laughable.
“A pleasure to see you all,” Dominic said and he started to walk away.
Originally, it had been his aim to dance with and meet as many young appropriate women as possible. But now he had someone else…
He stopped in his tracks when he saw her.
Lady Verity Ashbourne was standing across the room, a hair taller than half the party. She looked very fine this evening, dressed in a beautiful green that was too dark for a debutante.
The green did wonders for her eyes that were narrowed on another figure. Dominic followed her line of vision to find she was staring down her own brother, Cassian, who ignored her whilst talking in his own group.
Turning his gaze back to Verity, Dominic noted there were two younger women at her side.
One was dressed in a pastel pink, quietly watching and leaning in toward Verity.
And then the other, a shorter young lady dressed in the debutante white, was rocking on her heels while she looked about energetically and chatted to the two women who hardly paid her any mind.
Were they family, friends? What was Verity doing?
Dominic checked his cuffs before crossing the room, sweeping past everyone to approach Verity directly.
Her eyes widened imperceptibly upon his arrival. “Your Grace.”
He offered a deep nod. “Good evening, Miss Verity Ashbourne. I am glad to see you here this evening.”
When her lips parted, they curved into a question that she never asked.
It took her a moment. She paused and then nodded.
“I am glad to see you as well.” The girl beside her gave her a nudge.
“What a perfect opportunity to introduce you to my sisters. Miss Elowen Ashbourne and Miss Octavia Ashbourne.”
Elowen was the one in pink, leaning in close like she wanted to included but not involved.
Her eyes were darker compared to both sisters as she looked him over like she might very well see through his soul.
When she curtsied and murmured under her breath, he couldn’t quite hear her but nodded respectfully and took her hand all the same.
“Good evening, Your Grace! I’ve never met a duke before. How do you know our sister?” Octavia, the youngest and surely on her first season, bounced through her curtsey.
He straightened from taking her hand, glancing to Verity in case she cared to address the question. It seemed preferable and more appropriate.
“That is a wonderful question,” she said while lifting her chin. There was a challenge in those eyes of hers. “This is the second time I’ve had the pleasure of meeting the Duke of Wycliffe as the first occasion was within our very own halls. You’re a friend of our eldest brother, aren’t you?”
A friend? To Cassian? The man collects pawns and players, not friends.
Dominic hoped it would be a theoretical question. But when she said nothing more, he was forced to answer. “We are acquaintances, yes.”
Her eyes narrowed into sharp points. What sort of challenge did she expect or desire? He didn’t care for games like this. Cards, perhaps. But nothing more.
“Our brothers know a great many people,” Octavia blurted out when the two of them continued staring at each other.
Her head turned back and forth while she clung to Elowen who had dropped her gaze.
“Cassian seems to know every single person to be found in Debrett’s, I believe.
As for Lucien, he knows everyone else. Do you know him as well? ”
Finding himself somewhat irritated, his response was reluctant. “I haven’t had the pleasure.”
He had left Verity knowing they would talk today, knowing that was exactly what she desired. Now, she avoided his gaze and he didn’t know what to make of her behavior.
This should have been easy. Most ladies of any age would be thrilled to be considered by a duke.
While I wouldn’t consider her overly mature, most women by their twenties seem desperate to be wed.
I suppose this shall take some effort on my part.
I should have expected Cassian would be more helpful, but he’s not exactly the helpful sort.
“What a shame. Lucien is quite a party. He’s here somewhere, of course. He is our escort and chaperone tonight, though he does a poor task of it. That is, depending on how you view it. I find it quite nice,” Octavia added cheerfully. “Do you have any sisters or wards you chaperone tonight?”
“I’m afraid I don’t have that pleasure,” Dominic said as he forced a smile. He attempted to remember his charm. “Perhaps in his absence, it shall make my enterprise for this evening easier.”
Elowen perked up then. Octavia opened her mouth, but it was Verity that spoke the question. “And what exactly is tonight’s enterprise?”
His body thrummed with energy as they gazed at each other. Tension thrummed through the air between them.
As he looked at her, he wondered how much she knew.
How much she wondered. Had her brother told her anything?
It was unlikely; unseemly information for a lady.
There was obvious strength to Verity and yet even the strongest warrior could be thrust down by an arrow to the heel.
He didn’t seek to do that to anyone, let alone his future wife.
“A dance, my lady.”
“A dance?” She sounded more suspicious than thrilled.
How else am I to get the lady alone to talk?
Her two sisters beamed. They seemed to understand his intentions much more than she did. Dominic nearly wondered if he might ask Cassian for one of them instead, and yet the thought flew away at once. Something about Verity intrigued him.
“Yes, a dance. I trust you have left room on your dance card for me?” He asked with a note of optimism in his tone.
Verity had no choice but to lift her wrist. She fumbled with the card, so he reached out with both hands. One cradled her hand and the other on her card. It was blank.
“I…” Her cheeks warmed into a strawberry pink.
“Perfect, I may claim this next set. Shall we?” He tucked her hand into his arm with ease.
The movement had her eyes widening. “Oh, I don’t know. My sisters…”
“Are perfectly fine,” Octavia piped up. “Enjoy yourself!”
“But––”
Dominic forced himself once more to try. “I should think a dance is a perfectly innocent opportunity to get to know one another better. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Comprehension cleared her vision at once as she understood he was requesting an opportunity to talk with her. To have the conversation that they both clearly needed.
Her shoulders relaxed. “I agree. Thank you very kindly. I’ll return soon,” she added for the sake of her sisters who were already skipping through the crowd.
Together, they neatly wound their way through the layers of people to reach the dancefloor. It only took a moment to find a place together as other attendees glad madly room for them.
“Very well.” Verity spoke softly in front of him. “You have me alone. What is it you wish to say?”
“You are direct.” The words slipped off his tongue.
Her lips twitched. “I can be when the occasion calls for it. As you were introduced as my intended, I rather feel like that may be warranted in this situation. Would you not agree?”
The dance begun and they separated for a spell, giving him a moment to consider his answer. “Very well. It would be ideal for us to understand one another.”
“Good.”
She was very satisfied with herself and it annoyed him as much as it amused him. Did she think she had a leg up on him? From what he had discussed with her brother, it seemed unlikely she truly knew anything…
And he wasn’t going to say a word of it. Secrets were best when nobody knew them.
“You don’t know my brother very well at all, do you?”
Dominic refocused his attention on Verity. “Not particularly. It doesn’t mean that is a permanent situation,” he added. Then he had to pause when another couple joined them in a circle before it was just the two of them together. “I should like to know you and all of your family better.”
“It makes no sense. We have nothing to do with you, Your Grace,” she added sardonically.
“We have a complex relationship, your brother and I. There is much between us that is complex.”
“Too complex for a tiny female brain?”