Chapter 8
Eight
Selina went to bed early that night. She was irritated from her argument with Dominic, but also conflicted. For a moment, when she said she would rather be a maid than marry him, he’d looked hurt. Maybe even devastated.
It was gone the next moment, replaced with anger. But that moment of hurt made her curious. Why would that statement affect him so much? It wasn’t like he wanted to marry her either.
The next day, breakfast was served to the guests in the manor park. A wide, grassy field behind the manor was adorned with cloth-covered tables and canopies to shield them from the sun.
Servants served tea and iced water along with breakfast pastries.
The guests were subdued. Many of them had drunk too much the night before and were now paying the price.
Selina was happy for it. Everyone was too tired to do anything except mind their own business, so she didn’t have to listen to the incessant whispers.
She was seated with her godmother and Christine at one of the small tables. She helped herself to another cup of tea, trying to perk herself up. Despite going to bed early, she had not slept well the night before.
She couldn’t stop thinking about how good it felt when he was on top of her and how her skin tingled with his touch as he helped her back into her dress. Shame filled her at the thought of thinking of him that way. The duke was a father, after all.
Feeling eyes on the back of her head, she turned around to see Dominic seated at the table with the other duke. He looked quickly away as soon as their eyes met.
She swallowed and turned around. She had no idea what the man was thinking, and that made her uneasy.
Christine looked at her with a furrowed brow. “Is something wrong, Selina? You look ill.”
“I’m perfectly fine, thank you,” Selina said, offering her a tired smile.
Lady Gillray snorted. “Your sister is just coming to terms with her reality. No one wants her.”
Christine sighed. “Lady Gillray, please.”
“I am simply speaking the truth,” she said.
Her voice rose slightly in volume, and Selina’s cheeks flushed with mortification.
“I did not see her once on the dancefloor last night. She will never hope to have a husband, and to be frank, I have a difficult time believing someone would want her as a governess or a companion either. Not even disappearing for five years is enough to make everyone forget that she is an embarrassment.”
Selina gritted her teeth. “Oh, do speak up, Godmother. I am sure there are some people in Scotland who did not hear you.”
Lady Gillray sneered. “Face it, Selina. Your only option is to work for me. I am not happy about it, either. You’re a headache that I would be glad to be rid of.
The things I must do for my goddaughters.
” Suddenly, her face paled, and terror flickered across her expression as she looked up, beyond Selina.
She turned to see Dominic standing behind her, his expression full of cold fury as he stared at Lady Gillray.
Then, with slow, controlled movements, his eyes shifted to Selina, and he gave her an icy smile as he held out his hand to her.
“I believe it is time to tell everyone the good news, darling. Don’t you think so? ”
Selina’s stomach flip-flopped. With everyone watching, she had no choice but to take his hand and stand up. For half a second, she expected him to squeeze her hand painfully, but instead, his hand was surprisingly gentle.
She also couldn’t help but notice how much bigger his hand was compared to her own, which sent a small frisson through her. Her stomach clenched with a desire she had never known until now.
They walked to the front of the crowd, so everyone could have a good view of them.
Dominic spoke. “I am pleased to announce that Lady Selina and I are engaged,” he said, his deep voice echoing through the open air.
“We shall be married in three days’ time, and Lady Selina will be the new Duchess of Greystone. ”
Selina wondered if he knew that he looked anything but pleased. His voice was full of anger as he made the announcement, and she felt the urge to disappear from everyone’s staring eyes.
Instead, she forced herself to stand tall and put a happy smile on her face. At least one of them should pretend that this was a happy occasion.
The dowager duchess stood up, grinning as the rest of the guests stared at them in stunned silence. “That is so wonderful!” she said. “I am so happy for both of you!” She approached them and hugged Dominic and then Selina. “Congratulations to both of you, and welcome to the family, Lady Selina!”
She turned to face the guests. “On that note, I would like to announce the main event, where another lady can find a chance at love: the Duke Hunt!” She gestured at a footman, who stood at attention off to the side. He nodded and produced a small basket.
“Everyone, take a slip of paper from the basket, then find the person with the matching colored paper. That will be your partner for the event.”
Relieved that the engagement announcement was over, Selina turned to return to her seat, but Dominic grabbed her hand. “You will sit at my table now. After all, you are my betrothed.”
She nodded, feeling her cheeks burn. However, she couldn’t resist looking at Lady Gillray, who looked shocked, her mouth comically wide open. Next to her, Christine gave Selina an encouraging smile.
Austin was still sitting at Dominic’s table. He smiled at Selina as she took her seat. “Congratulations, my lady,” he said. “When I introduced myself to you yesterday, I did not know I was speaking to my best friend’s betrothed.”
She glanced at Dominic, whose face was carefully neutral as he avoided eye contact with her.
She found it hard to believe they were best friends because she couldn’t think of a more unlikely duo.
But she smiled at the Velvet Duke, wondering how much he knew about the circumstances surrounding their engagement.
“Everything happened quite fast,” she said.
He chuckled. “These things often do.” Then, with a mischievous gleam in his eye, he leaned a little closer. “But if you change your mind, there’s still time. I’m perfectly available.”
Dominic’s hand stilled around his brandy glass. It was a small movement, but Selina caught it, and so did Austin, who offered a knowing smirk.
The Stone Duke’s expression remained composed. “Best you don’t test our friendship, Austin.”
The Velvet Duke’s confident smile flickered.
Dominic’s jaw tightened as he finally looked at Selina; directly, intently. There was something in his eyes she hadn’t seen before, something that made her breath catch. She wasn’t sure why she was so startled.
The dowager approached the table with two slips of blue paper. “My gift to the happy couple,” she said, handing them to Dominic and Selina. “The two of you will lead the hunt.” She smiled and walked away.
Selina looked at her piece of paper. It said The Misunderstood Duke on it. “I don’t know what this means,” she said.
Austin held up his own slip of paper. It said The Vain Duke. “I hope this isn’t supposed to mean I’m vain. I think I’m quite modest.”Dominic grunted. “You are certainly not self-aware if you think you are modest.”
Selina smiled while Austin made a sound of mock offense.
“If you two will excuse me, I must go find my partner. Perhaps I will make a love match today as well.” He grinned as he stood up to hunt for the person with the same slip of paper as him.
Selina had a feeling his definition of a love match did not end with an engagement.
She turned to Dominic. “So you really intend to marry me?”
“I thought I made my intentions clear last night,” he said. He still wouldn’t meet her gaze, instead staring off into the distance.
“I had hoped you reconsidered.”
A muscle twitched in his jaw. “I will not. You will marry me in three days’ time, and I suggest you get used to the idea.”
She glared at him. “Then I suggest you at least pretend not to be completely furious with me all the time.”
His brow furrowed. “I am not angry at you. What gave you that impression?”
“You mean aside from the way you glared at everyone as you forced out the engagement announcement through your teeth? How about the way you cannot even look at me right now?”
His striking blue eyes met her own. “Apologies,” he said.
She glared at him, still not satisfied. “If you want me to come to terms with our engagement, then I suggest you do the same. Stop acting like this is the worst day of your life.”
“Believe me, my lady. This is far from the worst day.” He said it softly, with more sincerity than she thought possible from him. She wondered what he was thinking about. What did the Stone Duke consider the worst day of his life?
After a moment of silence, he spoke again. “I meant it when I said I am not angry with you. I was angry with your godmother. I heard what she said to you, loud enough for everyone to hear, too.”
Selina looked down. So that was why he abruptly announced their engagement to everyone. “Yes, we have never seen eye to eye,” she said. “It is not the first time she has spoken to me that way. You didn’t need to come to my rescue.”
“Of course I did. You’re my betrothed.” He stood up and held out his hand to help her to her feet. “I believe everyone has found their partners now. It is time to find out what this mysterious Duke Hunt really is.”
All the guests gathered at one end of the park, near the manor. The tables and canopies were quickly cleared away by a small team of footmen, leaving a wide, open grassy area with some woodland behind it and the gardens on the left and right sides.
“Bring out the dukes!” The dowager duchess called.
Everyone looked at each other, bewildered, until faint barking could be heard in the distance.
A small parade of footmen came out, each of them walking two energetic cocker spaniels.
Everyone laughed at the sight of them, with a few “aws” heard among the crowd as well.
Selina grinned when she saw them. They were so cute! Of course, Dominic appeared unaffected by the sight of them. She wondered if he was even capable of smiling.
All of the dogs had brightly colored pieces of paper tied around their necks, matching the paper they had in their hands. Selina saw the dog with the blue paper at the front of the line. She couldn’t read the writing on the paper from this distance, but she knew it said The Misunderstood Duke.
“The Duke of Greystone and Lady Selina will lead the hunt today,” the dowager said, grinning at them.
“At their command, the dukes will be released. The first couple to find their duke and bring him back to the manor will get a special prize: the first dance of tonight’s ball!
” She looked at Selina and Dominic. “At your command,” she said, grinning, before stepping off to the side.
Selina glanced at Dominic, who nodded at her. She stepped forward, smiling with her head held high. “Release the dukes!” she called, trying to mimic his grandmother’s theatrics.
The footmen all kneeled down and released the dogs.
With their newfound freedom, they all started sprinting in every direction, barking.
Selina saw their puppy make a beeline for the woods.
“Hurry, Your Grace!” she called, starting to jog as much as her shoes would allow.
However, when she looked behind her, she just saw Dominic walking toward the manor.
She sighed. She should have known he wouldn’t participate. He was hardly the type of man to have fun. It looked like she would have to look for the poor little puppy herself.