Chapter 43
Kalina
Clinging to her husband’s arm, Gregory and Tiffany trailing behind her, Kalina greeted Lord and Lady Tremaine.
Their daughter, Louisa, stood beside them.
A stunning beauty, she appeared to be pouting as she looked between Gregory and Nathanial and sighed before dipping into a curtsy of the appropriate degree.
It was not the first time a debutante had looked at her husband in such a way.
The Season had begun with six eligible dukes—technically seven, but Northumberland was still in mourning and had not joined the social scene yet.
Now, two of them had married, one was practically engaged with the announcement expected any day, and half of the opportunities for this Season’s debutantes to marry a duke were gone.
Lady Louisa must have had hopes.
Kalina could not help but feel for her. She heard Tiffany graciously greeting the young woman as Nathanial led Kalina away and into the ballroom.
It was a crush, of course.
They were announced and began their descent down the staircase when her husband stiffened.
Kalina glanced at him, but his gaze was off to the right of the ballroom.
She started to look, but could not tell what had caught his attention when he kept moving again.
It did not escape her notice that he escorted her to the left when they reached the bottom of the stairs.
Whatever he had seen, he did not want to bring her near it, which only piqued her curiosity even more.
She craned her neck, trying to find what he’d been looking at without being obvious that she was looking.
It only took her a moment to give up. There were far too many people, and she had no idea what he’d had such a reaction to.
She felt fairly certain the cause had not been her parents, as he’d informed her earlier in the evening that he’d visited her father, and they’d had a good discussion.
Which she had been delighted and relieved to hear. Also touched that he’d gone and done such a thing for her.
It had led to a rather wicked encounter in his study where she’d used her mouth on him for the first time. That had mussed her hair to the point where they’d arrived at the ball later than intended, as she and Margaret put it to rights.
She knew she looked rather splendid now, her hair piled up in a complicated knot on her head, shimmering with pink diamonds that matched the ornate necklace around her throat and jewels dangling from her ears.
Twin bracelets decorated each wrist, adding to the sparkle.
Her dress was several shades darker than her diamonds, which accentuated their color, and was trimmed with an even darker pink ribbon that matched Nathanial’s waistcoat and pocket square.
No one would ever guess that a few hours ago she’d been on her knees in front of her husband, doing such wildly perverse things.
It did make one wonder about the things other couples got up to behind closed doors…
Did others in the ton do such scandalous things?
She could not imagine.
Yet, she would not have imagined herself engaging in such acts, either.
The proof that her husband had not been guiding her away from her parents appeared in front of her face a few moments later when she saw the circle of people Nathanial had aimed them toward. A completely genuine smile bloomed on her lips.
Her parents were there, with Ashwin, who was standing beside Rupert Blackstone.
The two young men had pulled themselves slightly apart from the others.
Lady Astrid stood beside Kalina’s mother, with Mei and her grandmother on her other side.
Seeing them approach, Delilah stepped back to give Nathanial and Kalina space to join them between herself and Lady Hu.
The matchmaker brightened when she saw them coming, her dark eyes dancing.
She leaned lightly on an ornate cane, the brown and gold going very nicely with her outfit.
Beside her, Mei wore green and gold, possibly the same outfit she had worn at the house party, or at least one very similar to it.
She smiled widely at Kalina and Nathanial as well.
“I am very happy to see you together,” Lady Hu said after greetings had been exchanged, nodding firmly. She gave Nathanial a look. “Mei informed me of your wishes, but I think that you ended up with the right match.”
Kalina pursed her lips together at the reminder that Nathanial had not initially wanted to marry her. But there was no denying facts. And he had certainly come around since then.
It did not hurt to have a matchmaker confirm that they were good together. Her father beamed at Lady Hu’s comment, but was wise enough to look away, his gaze directed at the dance floor as if he was smiling at what he saw there rather than the matchmaker’s assessment.
“Thank you, Lady Hu.” Nathanial’s tone was caught somewhere between amusement and resignation. “That does seem to be the general consensus.”
“Well, some things are obvious. Others will require a more delicate touch.” Lady Hu lifted her gaze to the stairs where the Duke of Grafton had just been announced, along with his mother, the Duchess of Grafton, his uncle, the Marquess of Selter, Lady Annabelle Walsh, and her parents.
Delilah had stiffened, her chin lifting slightly, though she kept her back firmly to the staircase, not bothering to look at her former lover as he escorted the woman Society expected him to marry. Zachary’s gaze flitted around the room, coming to rest on the back of Delilah’s head.
If the young lady on his arm noticed, she did not show it.
Wearing a pale white dress with very pale blue trim, she clung to his arm.
On his opposite shoulder, Monkey Sinclair sat, the saffron colored ribbon around his neck matching Zachary’s waistcoat exactly.
Kalina could not help but wonder how many ribbons Zachary had bought for his pet.
The effect was entirely adorable, even though her stomach tightened at the sight of them, knowing how his presence would affect Delilah, though she pretended otherwise.
She could not help but think that Zachary did not look happy, either. However, his mother looked elated, beaming at the couple in front of her as she was escorted down the stairs by Zachary’s uncle, the Marquess of Selter. The Walshes followed behind them, positively preening.
With such a united familial display, there was no doubt that an offer of marriage was in the wind.
Kalina’s heart ached for Delilah. Even a little for Zachary, though part of it was his own fault for letting his mother dictate his future.
He looked like he was marching toward his doom, not a marriage he desired.
On the other hand, even she had heard about his mother’s deep grief after the death of his father, although there was no sign of it on her face.
Kalina knew something about life-altering decisions to make a parent happy.
But knowing what she knew now of love… she was so grateful to have it. She could not imagine losing it. And Zachary knew exactly what he was losing by letting Delilah go and marrying Lady Annabelle instead.
So, she did feel a bit sorry for him.
Just a bit.
“Well,” Lady Astrid said brightly, also ignoring the group headed down the stairs. “Has anyone seen the new exhibit at the museum? I heard it’s quite stunning.”
Determined to follow her lead, everyone rallied, as if Delilah’s heartbreak was not walking past. The conversation about the new exhibit lasted until the quivering sound of a bow being run over violin strings alerted everyone to the musicians readying themselves.
Nathanial immediately turned to Kalina.
“My lady. May I have this dance?”
“You may,” she replied, laughing at the twinkle in his eye. She was very aware of her parents watching them and the way her father was beaming. It seemed as though her mother was softening toward him, now that she could see how happy Kalina was.
Which made her glad. She did not want her parents at odds with each other. Especially because of her.
Smiling up at her husband, she followed his lead toward the dance floor—and nearly stumbled when he came to a sudden halt.
He’d gone stiff again, just like he had on the stairs, and now that she could see his expression, there was a cold hauteur that she had only seen in the first days of the marriage.
But it was not directed at her; it was directed at two men in front of them.
One was older, wrinkled, with grey hair, and leaning heavily on a cane.
The other… the other looked an awful lot like her father.
Several years older than her father, but close enough in appearance that it was obvious they were related.
Looking back at the older one, she realized he was very much what her father might look like in another twenty or so years.
She had never actually seen them up close like this before. Though she knew they’d been at several previous events she and her family had also attended, they’d stayed well away. Mostly, she’d seen their backs when her father had watched them with longing but did not attempt to approach.
Kalina’s stomach flipped over.
“Your Graces.” The Marquess of Stilton’s wrinkles looked to be from frowning a great deal, and his eyes might be the same color as her father’s, but they held none of the warmth her father’s did.
Neither did her uncle’s. Both of them were stiff as pokers as they bowed.
“I thought it time to… congratulate you on your marriage.”
If anything, Nathanial somehow stiffened even further. Kalina had no idea what to say, so she bit her tongue.
She’d never really thought about what would happen when she was faced with her grandfather.
She certainly would not have expected a ballroom confrontation with every eye turning in their direction.
If she’d pictured anything at all, it would have been a more intimate gathering.
One with apologies and acceptance. Not slyness and a contemptuous undertone.