Chapter 5
“Dorothy,” Honora said, staring out the window that overlooked the road. “The Duke of Henshaw is here.”
“What?” Abigail dropped her book and jumped to her feet. “He’s here again? Do you think he’s here to see Dorothy?”
“Well, he must be, mustn’t he?” Honora said. She turned to face Dorothy. “You told us that he had only come to return your glove,” she accused.
It had been a weak lie, Dorothy knew, but it had been all she was able to come up with in the moment when her sisters had questioned her about Nathaniel’s visit to their house. She could feel her face growing hot. “I’m sure he’s here for some other reason,” she murmured.
“Well, I can’t imagine what it would be!
” Abigail said. “And, you know, I never believed that story about the glove. I always thought that sounded like something you had made up. Now I think so even more strongly. That’s not why he sent us out of the room when he came to visit last time.
You two discussed something secret. Something you didn’t want anyone else to hear.
But you might as well tell us, if he’s going to keep coming around. ”
“Is he courting you?” Honora asked eagerly?”
“No.” Dorothy placed her book firmly on the table beside her and got to her feet. “Nothing like that is happening. I’ll go and talk to him.”
“Dorothy, maybe he does want to pursue a courtship,” Abigail said. “You should be open to the possibility. It would explain why he keeps coming around here.”
“This is only the second time he’s been here,” Dorothy countered. “And I don’t want either of you to start thinking that there’s going to be a courtship. You shouldn’t get your hopes up for that, because I can assure you it isn’t going to happen.”
Her sisters looked at one another.
Dorothy knew what they were thinking. They saw her as a problem to be solved.
They were probably already trying to come up with ways to convince her that she should consider a courtship with Nathaniel.
But Dorothy knew perfectly well that it wasn’t going to happen, and that she was only going to disappoint them if they allowed themselves to believe a match was going to be made here.
“I’m going out to see what he wants,” she said.
“No, don’t do that,” Abigail protested. “He should come in to collect you, not wait for you to run out to him.”
“Abigail is right,” Honora said firmly. “You don’t run down to a gentleman, Dorothy. Sit down. He can come up if he wishes to see you. That’s the way a real gentleman ought to behave, and I won’t have you going out of the house with him if he can’t show you that much respect.”
Dorothy sighed and sat down. “There’s no reason to think he wants me to leave the house with him at all,” she said. “He might just be here to talk about something.”
“About what?” Abigail asked, lifting an eyebrow. “If he wants a conversation, he ought to come inside, and if he can’t do that I don’t know how he can expect that you would rush out to him.”
“Well, I’m sure he doesn’t expect it,” Dorothy said, beginning to feel exasperated. “After all, we don’t even know if it’s me he’s here to see. He might well be here to talk to someone else who lives in this part of the city.”
“No, he’s approaching our door now,” Honora said, peering out the window. “Remain in your seat, Dorothy. I’ll go to the door and show him in. Abigail, wait with Dorothy, will you?” She turned and disappeared into the hall.
Dorothy sighed. “She’s left you here to keep watch over me,” she told Abigail. “I think she believes I’ll run off.”
“She doesn’t know what to make of your behavior, and nor do I,” Abigail told Dorothy severely. “I would have thought you’d be excited by this, Dorothy. A duke is interested in you. You ought to be thrilled. I know you never thought this would happen. You might end up married, for goodness’ sake.”
Dorothy sighed. She wanted nothing more than to get up and run from the room, to ensure that she wouldn’t have to speak to Nathaniel in front of her sisters.
She didn’t want to inflate these ideas the two of them seemed to be forming about her being involved in a courtship.
They would be heartbroken when they learned they had it wrong.
Honora opened the door and led Nathaniel into the room. He inclined his head to Abigail in greeting before turning to face Dorothy. “Lady Dorothy,” he said.
So they were back to formalities. Well, two could play at that game. “Your Grace,” she returned, and saw his eyes widen slightly. She smiled with satisfaction. “What brings you here today?”
“I thought you and I might have a discussion,” he said. “About the…matter we spoke of the last time we saw one another.”
“Perhaps it’s time you let us all in on the secret,” Honora spoke up, a weightiness to her voice. “I am Lady Dorothy’s eldest sister, Your Grace, and as such I am responsible for her and for her well-being. If you wish to engage in any sort of relationship with my sister, you’ll need my approval.”
“Not that she won’t give it,” Abigail spoke up. “Dorothy has been nothing but delighted by your visits to us, Your Grace, and we want nothing more than to see Dorothy happy. But we would like to know what your intentions are.”
“Of course,” Nathaniel agreed as Dorothy burned with embarrassment. “It’s a very reasonable thing to ask, if I’m going to be spending time with your sister.”
“You are going to be spending time with her, then?” Honora asked quickly.
“I suppose it’s entirely up to Lady Dorothy,” Nathaniel said. “I came here today to invite her to join me for a promenade.”
“Oh, but of course she would like to go,” Honora said.
Dorothy forced herself not to shoot a glare at her sister.
“Actually,” she said, “I’m not sure it’s appropriate for us to go out in public together like that.
We’re not engaged in any sort of formal courtship, and if we are seen out together—even with a maid as a chaperone—people will talk.
That’s not the sort of thing we want. If you would like to have a discussion, Your Grace, perhaps we ought to do it here. ”
“Oh, don’t be silly,” Abigail said. “We’ll all go out for a walk together. All four of us. No one will be able to make any comments about that, Dorothy.”
They’ll find a way. But Dorothy wasn’t really concerned about what people would say. The ton had enough to say about her, given that she had never married or even shown interest in it. She was used to gossip and cruel comments.
But she didn’t want to go walking with Nathaniel today.
She didn’t want him to hear what people would no doubt conclude about the reasons they were spending time together, and with her sisters along, things would be that much worse.
She was sure that Honora and Abigail would let everyone who would listen know that the Duke of Henshaw had taken an interest in her.
Before long it would be the talk of London.
And while Dorothy was comfortable with people gossiping about her, there was something about the idea of Nathaniel hearing that gossip that didn’t sit right with her.
“I think we should stay at home,” she said, but everyone else was already up and moving toward the door.
Her sisters were arm in arm, and Honora was chatting with Nathaniel about the weather today.
“You couldn’t have picked a better occasion for a walk,” she was saying.
“The sun is bright and the sky is clear, and I’m sure we’re all going to have a marvelous time. ”
Dorothy was less sure. They walked through town on their way to the park, Honora at the front of the group beside Nathaniel. Abigail walked at the back with Dorothy, but the two sisters didn’t speak, allowing Dorothy to get lost in her own thoughts.
What had been the point of this?
She had assumed, when Nathaniel had asked her for this promenade, that he would want to talk about their plan to find him a wife.
But they weren’t talking at all. He was talking to Honora, who was no doubt spending all her time and energy on trying to convince him that it would be a good idea to pursue a courtship with Dorothy.
That wasn’t something that was going to happen, so wasn’t this a waste of everyone’s time?
At last, Nathaniel slowed his pace so that he came alongside Dorothy. Noticing what was happening, Abigail winked at Dorothy and then hurried forward to walk with Honora.
Although it was obvious what they were doing and why, Dorothy didn’t mind. It was a relief to have her sisters’ eyes off of her for the moment. “I’m so sorry about them,” she said to Nathaniel.
“I wouldn’t worry too much about it, Lady Dorothy,” Nathaniel said. “They’re just trying to do what’s best for you. I completely understand.”
“I did tell them that there wasn’t anything between the two of us,” Dorothy said. “That you hadn’t expressed any interest in me like that.”
“Nor you in me, for that matter, Lady Dorothy,” Nathaniel said with a smirk.
Dorothy sighed. “Why are you doing that?” she asked. “You and I have so many friends in common, we know one another by our given names. There isn’t any need to act formal when it’s just the two of us here on our own.”
He looked at her. “I only meant to be respectful,” he said. “But if you prefer, I’ll simply call you Dorothy.”
“I would prefer that,” she said. “It’s best we go on treating one another as we always have—as friends.”
“Is that what we’ve been to one another?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “It’s a surprise to me, I must say. I wouldn’t have thought we knew the first thing about each other—and how can we call one another friends if we know nothing about each other?”
She looked at him. “Is that the reason you wanted us to go out together today?”
“Yes,” he said simply. “If we’re going to be spending more time in one another’s company, we would do well to familiarize ourselves with each other.
It’s not enough that I know you’re the friend of the ladies my best friends married.
I need to know that I can trust you, and for that, I need to know more about you. ”
“I never asked you to trust me,” Dorothy pointed out. “This whole scheme was your idea.”
“Am I keeping you from somewhere you would rather be?” he asked her. “Is there someone you’d want to be spending your time with if you had the choice? Another gentlemen. A true suitor?”
Dorothy stared at her feet. He was mocking her. She was sure of it. He’d said that because he knew for certain that there was no other such person in her life. It had been a cruel thing to say, and she judged him for having done it. But at the same time, she couldn’t deny that he was right.
“No,” she said quietly. “There isn’t anyone else I would spend my time with.”
He nodded. “Then you can afford to pass the day in my company,” he said. “And while we’re here, perhaps we could look at some of the ladies we see around us—perhaps the one I’m looking for is here with us at this very moment.”
He slowed his pace and watched her expectantly.
Dorothy’s heart quickened.
This, she realized, was the true reason he had brought her here. He expected her to point out ladies who would make ideal brides.
Well, the quicker we settle into that task, the sooner this will be over and done with, she thought, lifting her chin and summoning her confidence. She had thought this activity might be enjoyable, but now that they were here, she realized she had been wrong to think so.
It would be nothing but an ordeal in which her sisters were led to believe something more was happening than ever would.
For their sake, if for nothing else, she needed it to end quickly.