Chapter 3
Kalina
The Duke of Hereford did not want to sit with her. Kalina did not understand why. They had been having a very nice conversation, but he’d drawn back within himself the moment Lady Astrid paired them together for dinner. He led her in, was graciously courteous, but something had changed.
She lifted her chin high.
It did not matter if he had taken up against her for some reason.
Throughout the years, Kalina had grown accustomed to rejection. She was used to brushing off the sting, so that she barely felt it at all.
Which was why it made no sense that it should hurt so much this time. But it did.
The dining room was long and narrow with an extremely long table running through the center of its length.
Four multi-tiered chandeliers hung above the table, twinkling light across the expanse, while sconces along the walls helped brighten the edges of the room.
Candelabras rested on the heavy wooden buffets that lined the room, adding both decoration and extra light.
Massive paintings filled the space of the walls, interspersed with smaller ones, to add interest to the visual feast. Behind the far end of the table was a large window that went nearly from floor to ceiling, hung with heavy dark green drapes.
Standing in front of them, Lady Astrid looked like an exotic hothouse flower against the more muted colors on the walls and paintings.
Beside her, the Duke of Ormonde escorted her to her seat beside her father at the head of the table.
She did not appear overly pleased with her position, but she gracefully took her seat.
Kalina found herself between the Duke of Hereford and the Duke of Montagu, who was escorting a tongue-tied Lady Johanna.
Her companion was seated across from them, between Lady Astrid’s younger brother and the Duke of Clarence, and was regarding Montagu with high suspicion.
Catching Kalina’s gaze, Miss Belle smiled briefly before returning to her narrow-eyed study of Montagu.
“Miss Little, lovely as ever,” Montagu greeted her, turning away from Lady Johanna with what seemed like relief.
The poor young lady had already barely said two words together; pairing her with the stunning Montagu seemed rather unfair.
Perhaps Lady Astrid was hoping to draw other gentlemen’s notice to her by doing so?
“Your Grace, a pleasure to see you again,” Kalina said, grateful that her mother’s training had her speaking without tripping over her tongue.
She knew all the proper phrases by rote, so that she did not have to think in order to speak clearly.
Even she was not entirely unaffected by Montagu’s beauty, though her awareness was all for the man on her opposite side.
Hereford was currently greeting Delilah, who had been seated beside him.
“How was the trip from London?”
“Very uneventful.” She smiled at him, too well-mannered to complain the way she had earlier with Tiffany. Though Tiffany was a duchess, she had also declared herself a friend and had shown it well enough for Kalina to unbend with her, just a touch. “Are you enjoying the house party?”
“Oh, yes. I always enjoy being in the company of so many beautiful women,” he said, looking across the table at Miss Belle and winking.
Rather than swooning or fluttering, her lips pursed in disapproval. Montagu frowned, as if unsure of what to do in the face of such a response. Giving himself a little shake, he seemed to recover quickly enough despite his discomposure.
“Take Lady Johanna here,” he said, turning slightly so the young woman could be included in their conversation.
Hearing her name, Lady Johanna’s head jerked around, and she appeared frozen in place, wide-eyed and almost fearful.
Kalina’s heart went out to her. She wondered if that was what she had been like when she first arrived in England.
Had Lady Astrid and Tiffany seen her the way she saw Lady Johanna?
She wanted to reach out and offer the young woman a helping hand. Had it been the same for them and her?
“She has the most glorious eyes. I have rarely seen the like.”
“You do have incredible eyes,” Kalina agreed, leaning in slightly so she could speak to Lady Johanna without unduly raising the volume of her voice. “If you wore violet, the color of your gown would enhance them even more.”
“Amethysts,” Montagu declared, grinning widely. “You should be bedecked in amethysts.”
“Oh…” Lady Johanna looked down at the simple gray fabric of her dress.
Now that Kalina was able to examine it more closely, she could see that the fabric was a bit worn, with little holes indicating where it had either been altered or changed.
If she had not been inspecting it so closely, she would not have noticed but…
“What about Rose? What jewel should she wear?”
It was the most words Lady Johanna had said altogether since Kalina had met her.
Both she and Montagu looked across the table at Miss Belle, who was speaking with the Duke of Clarence.
As if feeling their eyes upon her, she glanced back at them, then frowned as she realized they were indeed looking at her.
“Rubies,” Montague said after a moment. “Miss Belle would look resplendent in rubies, bright red as a rose.”
The burgundy dress Miss Belle was wearing did become her, but Kalina had to agree. A rich, bright red would be very flattering on Miss Belle. It would also draw a good deal of attention, and so far, the companion had been doing her best to fade into the background.
“Red would be very pretty,” she agreed, smiling at Miss Belle.
The young lady smiled back at Kalina and shot another glare at Montagu before turning back to her conversation with the Duke of Clarence.
Montagu frowned at her, his own gaze now narrowed almost in imitation of hers when she’d been studying him so closely.
“Red is Christian’s favorite color.” The Duke of Hereford’s deep voice, suddenly joining the conversation, made Kalina jump in her seat.
She felt her cheeks burn with emotion and was grateful for constant practice in composure that allowed her to appear unbothered—other than her initial start of surprise.
“Oh?” She smiled at the Duke of Montagu before turning back to the Duke of Hereford. “What is your favorite color?”
His gaze flicked down to the rose diamonds around her throat and then down to her dress of complementary pink hues with cream trim. “I am sure I can guess at yours.”
Kalina laughed lightly.
“It is true, I’ve always loved the color pink.” She smiled. “It feels such a warm, happy color. Like a hug.” Realizing who she was speaking with, the heat filled Kalina’s cheeks again.
Thankfully, she did not have to worry about the heat showing. Though she loved the color pink, the way the English actually turned pink when they were embarrassed was something she was grateful not to have to endure.
Quickly, she looked away from him, unsure of how he would take the comment. She had not meant to say something so personal, not after how he’d pulled away from their conversation earlier, clearly reluctant to be her dinner companion.
“It is a very flattering color on you,” the Duke of Montagu interjected, breaking the tension of the moment. “As I think you know.” He winked at her, and she felt Hereford bristle at her side.
She smiled back at Montagu, relieved to have him to distract her from the man at her side.
Why she found the Adonis of the ton less attractive, yet easier on her nerves than the Duke of Hereford, she could not say, but it was true.
Though she had been less nervous when they’d been speaking of books.
Before he’d pulled back.
Before she’d felt the coldness of his retreat.
“I’ve always been partial to pink myself,” Hereford said, drawing her attention back to him.
His fingers reached up to brush over the handkerchief peeking out of his coat pocket, a rather lovely shade of puce.
It matched the puce and cream striped waistcoat he was wearing.
“My mother grew nothing but pink roses in our garden.”
“Oh, I should like to see that,” Kalina said without thinking. There was something about Hereford that made her far too comfortable, blurting out her thoughts too easily, before remembering herself.
“Ah, well.” It was like seeing shutters drawn across the duke’s eyes. “We do not entertain much these days. Eventually, perhaps.”
Blast. She had accidentally reminded him of his dire financial straits.
The entire ton knew. Just as he had to know that she had a genuine fortune for a dowry.
What hung around her neck and from her ears was the least of it.
Her father had been determined to see her properly settled into English Society.
That they had not been fully accepted, regardless…
She wondered what it was about herself that the Duke of Hereford objected to since she had the one thing he needed in a wife.
“We do not entertain at all,” Kalina replied, smiling at him.
Perhaps he kept drawing back because he did not want her to think him a fortune hunter?
Even though everyone knew he required a wife with a substantial dowry.
“I am grateful to be included in invitations when we are, especially to such surrounds as this. It is my first house party.”
Indeed, being invited to Lady Astrid’s house party had such cachet, the family had immediately received three other invitations for when they returned to London. All from hostesses who had not deigned to acknowledge her or her parents before.
“You will enjoy it,” Hereford said, slanting a glance down the table to where Lady Astrid was seated. “Lady Astrid insists on being entertained at her own house parties, which means they are never dull.”
“Have you attended many?”
“Not until recently, but she does have a reputation.” He chuckled, still watching the lady at the end of the table as she turned her nose up at something the Duke of Ormonde said to her. “Next time, I hope to be able to bring my sister Juliette. After she debuts next Season.”
“Ah, I always wanted a sister.” Kalina smiled back at him as he turned his head to look at her again. “I love Ashwin, of course, but there were times when it would have been nice to have a sister.”
“I have three, and I would have happily traded one for a brother.”
Comparing notes on siblings, their conversation passed so easily, she barely noticed the various courses being served.
From siblings, they went on to talking about their childhoods.
Strangely, it sounded as though Hereford had been as lonely as she in some ways—he talked around it a bit, but it was clear he felt responsible for his sisters in the same way she felt responsible for her family.
Perhaps it came from both of them being the eldest. Though Kalina’s father had never shown her anything but love, while Hereford’s father… he talked around the subject, but she’d heard the gossip. The former duke had been a gambler, a wastrel, and not very pleasant as a person to boot.
That he had left his family in such dire straits demonstrated his lack of responsibility toward his family, something Kalina would never understand.
Rather than following in his father’s footsteps, Nathanial had clearly taken the opposite tack and was doing everything he could to be the antithesis of his father.
Kalina did not need to read very far between the lines to understand that.
She thought it rather admirable.
In fact, the more she talked to him, the more she liked talking to him. The more she felt at ease with him.
To the point where she felt rather sorry when the last course was served, and only then realized that they had monopolized each other’s time completely.
Once they had begun conversing, she’d completely ignored the Duke of Montagu.
Rather horrified at her ill manners, she quickly turned to see how he was faring…
To her surprise, he had managed to charm Lady Johanna into speaking with him very softly about the latest traveling art exhibition in London.
From across the table, Miss Belle appeared torn between relief that her charge was finally having a conversation and consternation over who she was having it with.
Smiling, she turned back to the Duke of Hereford, only to realize that the meal was over. Disappointment filled her as Lady Blackstone got to her feet, nearly at the same time as Lady Astrid.
“Ladies, would you like to return with me to the parlor and leave the gentlemen to their drinks?” Lady Blackstone asked softly, smiling widely.
Internally sighing, Kalina smiled at the duke… only to find that he’d retreated behind his shell again. The openness with which he’d spoken with her had vanished, and he was once more stiffly upright in his chair, avoiding her gaze. Her heart sank.
“Thank you for a pleasant conversation over supper, Your Grace,” she said, knowing it would force him to at least acknowledge her and that they had been having a lovely conversation together.
His head jerked up, something unfathomable flashing through his dark eyes.
“The pleasure was all mine, Miss Little.”
Taking her leave, Kalina knew she would have to be satisfied with that.
Perhaps some time with the other ladies was what she really needed. Someone must know why the Duke of Hereford had taken against her.