Chapter 9
“Oh, look, Dorothy! There’s the Duke of Henshaw! Go to him at once; I am convinced he has been watching for you!”
Dorothy waved Abigail off. Her sister was right, of course.
She did need to go over and speak to Nathaniel, to make sure the two of them had some time to confer with one another at this party.
It was the Earl of Penhurst’s annual dinner party, and it would be a perfect opportunity for Nathaniel to look out for potential brides.
Everyone here would be doing the same thing.
Well, everyone but me. But no one expects me to find myself a husband anymore. Everyone knows that I’m committed to spinsterhood.
Everyone except her sisters, that was. They hadn’t stopped talking about the potential for a marriage between Dorothy and Nathaniel. They seemed to believe the whole thing was as good as decided.
“After all,” Honora had pointed out on the carriage ride over tonight, “your closest friends are married to his closest friends. It couldn’t be more perfect, could it?
That might be the reason he noticed you in the first place—which isn’t to say that he doesn’t recognize all your charms, of course, Dorothy.
I’m sure he wouldn’t be paying you such attention as he has been if he hadn’t come to see how lovely you are. ”
That thought was in Dorothy’s head now as she moved away from her sisters and toward Nathaniel.
By associating with him, she was only feeding the flames of her sisters’ misunderstanding.
She was allowing them to believe even more firmly that there was something between Nathaniel and herself, something that might develop into marriage.
It was irresponsible of her to allow things to go on like this.
And yet, she had pledged to help Nathaniel. And if it was true that he had a child, particularly one nobody knew about, he would need all the help he could get.
She sighed and approached him. He was dressed well for the occasion, in rich, dark blue fabrics cut to the latest style. As he noticed her, he smiled, and Dorothy couldn’t help smiling in return. She was conflicted about what they were doing, and yet it was enjoyable to spend time with Nathaniel.
“You look lovely today,” he said as she drew near.
She glanced down. She was wearing a gown that had once belonged to Honora.
It was nothing special, and it was several years out of fashion, though she did like the way the blue color matched her eyes.
He was probably just being kind, she decided.
He would know that it was to his advantage to make sure the two of them were getting along well with one another.
“Thank you,” she said. “You look very nice as well.”
He waved her off in the direction of a corner that was a little more secluded.
After a moment’s pause, she followed him over.
People would see them talking to one another, but that was inevitable if they were going to start spending more time in each other’s company.
They would have to get used to making excuses for that sort of thing.
“I’ve been thinking,” he said, his voice low. “We won’t be seated together at this dinner.”
“Unlikely,” she agreed. “After all, there are so many people here. But that’s a good thing. You don’t want to spend the whole day talking to me. You’re supposed to be associating with ladies you might want to court, not with me.”
“I know,” he agreed. “But how will I know if I’m talking to the right ones? That’s what I need you for, to point out when I’m going wrong.”
She bit her lip. On one hand, he was going to have to learn to do this for himself eventually. But maybe it was too soon to expect him to manage without her.
“You don’t think that you could spend the dinner talking to the people you’re seated near and then consult with me afterward?” she suggested. “You could learn their names, see if you like anyone, and then…” She trailed off. He was already shaking his head.
“What happens if I find someone I like and then it turns out she’s all wrong for me?
” he asked. “Or for…” He stopped talking abruptly.
He had been about to say Colin, she was sure of it, and he had stopped himself from mentioning the boy’s name in public.
He was so protective over Colin, she thought.
He wanted nothing more than to make sure Colin was well taken care of, and that he was safe. She admired him for that.
“All right,” she said. “But since we won’t be by each other’s side, how are we going to make sure I’m able to communicate to you?”
“You can use hand signals,” he said. “That’s what I thought of.”
She frowned. “Won’t it be obvious to everyone what we’re doing if I’m showing you hand signals all through dinner? I mean, people might not know why, but they will know that I’m communicating something to you. Questions will be asked.”
“That’s why we’ll have to find a way to be subtle about it,” Nathaniel said. “I was thinking that if I’m talking to someone you think isn’t right for me, maybe you could scratch the side of your neck, like this.” He raised a hand and demonstrated.
She had to hand it to him. It was a subtle enough gesture that it wouldn’t be noticed unless someone was specifically looking for it. “And what if you’re speaking to someone I do think is a good fit?” she asked.
“Then maybe…” He paused. “It’s got to be something different enough that I won’t mistake the two gestures for one another.”
“I could take a sip of my drink,” she suggested.
“No, that won’t work, because what if you forget and take a drink just because you’re thirsty? It has to be something you wouldn’t do on your own, but something that wouldn’t stand out as odd to anyone else.”
The two of them thought for a moment.
“I could clasp my hands together,” Dorothy said eventually, holding them up to show him. “Like this. That’s not something I normally do, but it doesn’t appear odd.”
“Yes.” A smile broke across his face. “Perfect. So that will mean I should go on talking to her, whoever she is.”
“But I do think you should wait until after dinner is over before you commit yourself to anyone,” Dorothy said. “You should take the time to find out everything I know about whoever it is, just to be sure she has something you want.”
“Oh, I’m not going to make any commitments tonight,” Nathaniel laughed. “I’m just hoping to narrow down my prospects a bit.”
Dorothy nodded. “Very well, then,” she said. “Shall we go in to dinner?”
They split apart from one another. Dorothy made her way back over to her sisters, who had their heads bent together and were watching her and giggling.
She kept her chin in the air as she approached them, and they fell silent, though they continued to look from Dorothy to one another as though communicating something they thought she might somehow fail to understand.
She strode past them and into the dining room.
There were place cards in front of the seats.
Honora found hers first and waved to her sisters, but when they examined the places, they saw that she wasn’t seated next to either of them.
“I suppose Lord Penhurst wanted to give us the opportunity to speak to new people,” Dorothy murmured, moving up the table.
With luck, she would be seated near Nathaniel so that she could show him the signals they had come up with.
But luck was not with her. “Dorothy, you’re here,” Abigail called out, pointing to a seat at the very end of the table.
Dorothy’s heart dropped. She could already see that Nathaniel was taking a seat near the head. Once she sat down, they wouldn’t even be able to see one another. The hand signals they had worked out together would be useless.
Well, I should have known this would happen. Of course she had been exiled to the end of the table. The head was for gentlemen of standing and ladies who were likely to marry. Nobody saw Dorothy that way. It was as she’d told her friends. She was very nearly on the shelf.
Which is what I wanted. I don’t wish to marry, so it shouldn’t bother me. It doesn’t bother me.
But that wasn’t entirely true. It was with a sense of sadness that she took the seat that had been assigned to her. This was what people saw when they looked at her—someone who didn’t need to be considered. Someone who could be set aside so the focus could be placed on more important people.
“Lord Penhurst, if you don’t mind, I think I’ll take this seat.”
The voice was deep and familiar. Dorothy looked up in surprise.
Nathaniel was standing opposite her, his hand on the back of the chair that faced hers. She blinked several times, hardly able to believe what she was seeing.
Lord Penhurst was standing at the head of the table, a frown etched across his face. “Well…of course, if that’s what you want, Your Grace…but I did have this seat here set aside for you, I don’t know whether you saw?”
“I did see,” Nathaniel said evenly. “I prefer this seat, if it’s all the same to you.” He picked up the place card that sat in front of the plate and looked at it. “Lord Elmdale? Would you mind exchanging for my seat?”
Lord Elmdale was an elderly gentleman with a narrow face like that of a rat.
“Oh…of course, Your Grace,” he stammered.
Dorothy had the feeling nobody would have denied Nathaniel anything he asked for—he was simply too well-respected and too high-ranking.
Everyone up and down the table was staring at him as he settled into the seat he had claimed for himself, but no one spoke up to dissuade him.
A thought occurred to Dorothy. He really shouldn’t sit here. He would be seated next to ladies like herself, ladies who had been considered unmarriageable. It wouldn’t do at all to have him here, where he wouldn’t be able to find someone worthy of him.
How was she to tell him?
She reached up and scratched at the side of her neck, the code they had come up with to signal that he was choosing incorrectly.
His gaze lingered on her for a long moment, even after she’d returned her hand to her lap.
What is he staring at? Heat rose to her cheeks, and she felt a flash of irritation. Doesn’t he remember the signal? Why is he looking at me like that?
He picked up his glass of water and took a long drink, then offered Dorothy a smile before turning to talk to one of the ladies seated beside him, who looked as though she couldn’t believe her good fortune.
Dorothy looked up to the head of the table.
The faces there weren’t nearly as pleased. Lord Elmdale had taken the seat that ought to have belonged to Nathaniel, and one of the ladies sitting next to him looked like she might get up and run for the hills. Her nose was wrinkled and her face was a storm cloud of anger.
But there was nothing to be done. Nobody was going to tell the Duke of Henshaw that he couldn’t have what he wanted—and he had made it abundantly clear that what he wanted was to sit in that seat.
The food began to make its way out from the kitchen, and Dorothy shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
This was certainly going to be an interesting dinner.