Chapter 19
Dearest Rosalind,
It has been almost a week since I last saw you and heard from you. I am beginning to fear that London has swallowed you whole. I am starting to wonder whether you have run away to Scotland, joined a convent, or, heaven forbid, been abducted.
I hope none of these are true.
I simply wanted to ask if you are well. You disappeared after your first Corset Chronicles meeting, and it is making all the ladies anxious. I hope we did not offend you in anyway.
This week alone, you have missed three balls, two musicales, and one garden party in which a gentleman fainted into a rosebush. I wish I were exaggerating. I am beginning to think London Society has succumbed to mediocrity.
As for me, I have, sadly, been attending these events with my parents, and I must confess something rather shameful…
I am finding it increasingly sickening to locate a gentleman who is both tolerable and capable of forming a complete sentence.
I have been counting the number of times a gentleman trod on my toes and, being the scientist that I am, I began to connect that to the color of their waistcoats.
I must warn you that gentlemen who wear red waistcoats are three times more likely than those who wear blue to step on your toes. In short, I miss you.
I hope you will come to the ball tomorrow evening which is taking place at Evelina’s. I will be there, and it would be infinitely more bearable if you were too. Please send word, even if only a line, so I know you are safe.
With affection and mild exasperation,
Miss Theodora Dowell
* * *
Theodora had been at Evelina’s ball for nearly an hour, and her nerves were beginning to fray.
She had come for two reasons only: to see Rosalind and Alexander. So far, she had located neither of them. Rosalind had not replied to her letter, and the silence gnawed at Theodora. She kept telling herself she should not have grown attached to the girl so quickly.
No, you got attached to the guinea pig, she scolded herself. And now look at you, fretting like a mother hen over his sister.
She turned sharply, distracted by her own spiraling thoughts of how she had failed as a scientist. If she failed at this then she had nothing at all to look forward to in the future. It was time for her to let go—
“Oh!” She gasped when she bumped into someone.
A strong hand reached out and steadied her elbow. “My deepest apologies, Miss... Dowell?”
“Yes, that is I—” Theodora curtsied and smiled politely. “Lord Ebenezer. It has been awhile.”
“I could say the same thing.” He flashed another dazzling smile before he bowed. “Miss Dowell. Forgive me, I should have been watching where I was going.”
She looked up into the face of Lord Ebenezer, recently returned from his travels abroad.
And the ladies were right. He was tall and strikingly handsome with a charming smile.
Theodora noticed the number of heads that turned while passing him.
But, although he was good to look at, she failed to see his appeal.
But perhaps flirting with His Lordship tonight is what I need in order to forget the Scarlet Duke.
“It is quite all right,” she said, smoothing her skirts. “I was… distracted.”
He smiled. “Then I am honored to have been the cause of your distraction.”
She nearly rolled her eyes.
Specimen number… what was she on now? Seven? Eight?
She was growing tired of observing men and studying their behavior only to end up comparing them to Alexander. Her expectations were low because every man she met now seemed duller, flatter, and less vivid than the one who had ruined her scientific objectivity entirely.
Still, Lord Ebenezer was handsome, educated, and well-travelled. And he was clearly interested in her because he did not leave her side as yet.
He offered his arm. “May I escort you through the room?”
She hesitated, then accepted.
For science, she told herself.
They walked slowly along the edge of Evelina’s glittering ballroom. Chandeliers sparkled overhead, violins swelled, and guests twirled across the floor in a blur of silk and color. Lord Ebenezer began speaking animatedly.
“I am not one who gives into gossip, but I could not help but overhear the latest news,” he said, lowering his voice conspiratorially.
“Forgive me, Lord Ebenezer. I do not know what you are talking about.”
He looked disappointed as he asked, “You have not heard about the Scarlet Duke?”
Theodora’s stomach flipped but she kept her expression neutral. “I cannot say that I have.”
“Oh, it is all my father and brothers are talking about,” he said. “They simply cannot get over his last fight. You see, he never loses and for some reason, this time, he went down. Tragically too.”
She forced a smile and fought the urge to tell him that she knew what happened, of course, because she had been there.
“How interesting,” she said instead.
She had been the reason he lost. And afterward she was probably the reason why he left—
Her cheeks warmed as she remembered what they had done after his fight. Every time a carriage creaked, or she opened the cupboard with her cloak in it, she remembered every detail of that night.
Lord Ebenezer continued, oblivious to her dilemma. “I must confess, I was quite pleased. I had placed my bet on the Irishman. I had a hunch that the Scarlet Duke’s winning streak could not last much longer.”
“You did?” Theodora acted interested in him, like Alexander taught her.
“Of course. The odds were excellent. And the Scarlet Duke…well, he is formidable, but even legends fall.”
Theodora’s curiosity sharpened. “Legends? Why is he considered a Legend?”
Lord Ebenezer looked around, making sure no one was listening. Then he leaned closer.
“Forgive me, Miss Dowell, but it is not a matter I can discuss with a lady.”
“I am more open minded than you think Lord Ebenezer,” Theodora said with a sarcastic laugh.
Lord Ebenzer looked at her curiously before he continued, “You truly have not heard of the rumor that made him a legend?”
“No,” she said, pulse quickening.
He grinned. “Well, the man is undefeated. Or was, until last week. His fights are the stuff of myth. Men travel across the city just to watch him. He is said to fight like a demon: fast, brutal, and impossible to predict.”
Theodora swallowed. Yes, she thought. I know.
“But that is not the only reason he is legendary,” Lord Ebenezer added with a wicked smile, lowering his voice even further.
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
He hesitated, then whispered even softer, “He has a reputation with… women.”
Her heart stopped.
“What?” she asked, too sharply.
He chuckled. “Oh, come now. Surely you have heard the rumors.”
“I have heard people whisper that he is a rake, but…I’m not sure what that has to do with his boxing matches,” she said, stiffening.
“Well,” he said, delighted to be the bearer of scandal, “it is said that one night, after a particularly grueling bout, the Scarlet Duke pleasured three women at the same time.”
Theodora nearly choked on her own breath. “He—what?”
“I warned you that his deeds were not suitable for young ladies’ ears,” he said, laughing. “But word about his…endeavors spread quickly. The courtesans would not even look at the rest of the gentlemen for weeks. All they could speak about was him.”
Theodora felt her blood boil, and she did not understand why.
“But of course,” Lord Ebenezer added lightly, “it is only a rumor.”
She forced her voice to remain steady. “Ah, yes…Do you know when he will fight again?”
“Not anytime soon.” Lord Ebenezer snorted. “I wanted to know about that too, so I asked around but, sadly, he has left London.”
Theodora froze. “That is too bad. I wonder why he left London so hastily. Do you think his hurried departure has something to do with losing that last boxing match?”
“Some say he is chasing after a woman. Others say several women.” He laughed again. “Who knows with a man like that?”
Theodora felt a sharp, unexpected sting beneath her ribs.
She looked away from the gentleman, and her throat felt tight.
Lord Ebenezer continued talking, but she barely heard him.
The ballroom blurred around her. The music faded and all she could think about was Alexander with another woman.
She felt sick, and she needed a distraction.
“Lord Ebenezer,” she interrupted him. Theodora looked up at him bashfully and was surprised that her words had caught all of his attention.
Alexander was right.
But she wanted to forget all about him and his advice which he probably learned from all the courtesans he had been seducing.
“Are you going to ask me to dance or should I beg you?” she asked the waiting Lord as seductively as she could.
Lord Ebenezer was completely enthralled. “Miss Dowell, how rude of me. May I please have this dance?”
He bowed and offered his hand and that was when Theodora caught sight of her mother behind him with a bright and hopeful smile on her face.
God help me.
She ignored the cheerful look her mother gave her and placed her hand slowly into Lord Ebenezer’s. When their palms touched and he led her to the dance floor Theodora did not feel her body react in the same way it did with Alexander.
She forced herself to focus.
This is good, she reminded herself. No, this is necessary.
She should never have relied on one source for her experiment.
Yes, she had talked with plenty of specimens and even attempted flirting before.
But she should have allowed herself to feel the touch of other men too, a proper touch, through dancing.
She was beginning to believe that the Scarlet Duke had trapped her.
He had planned this all along, ever since he read her notebook.
He is nothing but a rake.
Theodora exhaled through her gritted teeth.
“Are you nervous, Miss Dowell?” Lord Ebenezer looked at her kindly.
“A little, yes,” she admitted but she did not explain any further.
He nodded. “I understand. I feel a bit nervous myself.”
He winked at her and Theodora laughed softly as they stopped and prepared for the waltz. She had always rejected partners after only a few words, but tonight that needed to change. She needed more specimens. More comparisons. More data. And less of the Duke of Hawthorne.
Lord Ebenezer reached out and she held her breath. He placed one hand at her waist gently and the other lifted her palm up.
Theodora felt nothing. Not even a flicker of heat.
Lord Ebenezer began the first part of the waltz and she followed automatically.
As they moved around the dance floor, she caught Maria and Anna waving and grinning at her like madwomen.
They were clearly excited and did not try to hide it.
Ladies glanced at them jealously, but Theodora did not give a damn as her mind drifted.
Why is nothing happening? Why is my body so infuriatingly selective?
“You dance beautifully,” Lord Ebenezer said.
“Thank you, so do you.”
“And you look beautiful as well.” He looked at her with a familiar heated look, but she did not return it.
She offered him a shy smile instead.
“And,” he added, “I have heard you are quite intelligent. I would love to hear more about your interests.”
Her eyebrows lifted.
“Truly?”
“Yes, of course.”
Finally, she thought. A man who appreciates a women’s intellect.
She felt a small spark of hope until—
“Women’s hobbies always intrigue me,” he said brightly as if there was nothing wrong with his statement.
Her smile froze. “Hobbies?”
“Yes, of course. Is that not what reading and studying is to you lot?” He frowned slightly, as though she asked a ridiculous question.
Theodora stared at him. Her body stiffened and her mind told her to flee from this man who considered her life’s work as a hobby.
A hobby.
She laughed sharply, and disbelievingly. “I’ve spent most of my years studying science, dedicating myself to research, to observation, and to understanding the world only for a man to tell me he loves my little hobby.”
“I did not call it little,” he protested.
“Well,” she said coolly, “you might as well have.”
She stopped dancing, right in the middle of the floor.
Lord Ebenezer looked around nervously. “Miss Dowell?”
“Good night to you, Lord Ebenezer. I wish you luck on your future travels.”
She turned on her heel.
Behind her, he called, “I did not mean to offend you!”
She spun back, ready to deliver a scathing remark when—
“Alexander?” she said his name under her breath like a prayer.
Across the ballroom, half-hidden behind a column, stood the Scarlet Duke and he was watching her.