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She turned to see the Duke of Emerton smiling at them, with two other gentlemen in tow. They were both handsome and tall like her husband, with a severe aura about them.

“Emerton.” Her husband scowled. “It is nice to see you.”

“It doesn’t look as though you are happy to see me,” the Duke of Emerton drawled and then turned to her. “You are more beautiful than a spring flower, Duchess.”

She smiled at him. “And you are as charming as ever, Duke.”

“Only with a beautiful damsel such as yourself.”

“Mayfield,” one of the other gentlemen said. “Won’t you introduce us to your wife?”

Her husband groaned, putting a hand on the small of her back.

“Eveline, may I present my friends, the Dukes of Blackmore and Gillingham. Magnus and Edwin,” he said. “Blackmore, Gillingham, this is my Duchess.”

His friends bowed respectfully.

One moved closer to them, with a young girl in tow, smiling regally. Eveline wondered if she was the gentleman’s wife.

“Your husband did not introduce us correctly,” he commented. “We are his closest friends and comrades from the Army. I am the Duke of Blackmore, but you can call me Magnus.”

“Then you must call me Eveline,” Eveline insisted.

“You must call me Theo also,” the Duke of Emerton interjected. “You have known me longer than them, and you would find I am more pleasant to be around.”

She giggled behind her fan as she remembered it was because of him that her husband had gotten upset. Not that she minded, since it had ended up in them sharing a delicious kiss. Perhaps she would attempt to rile him up again so he would repeat it, but when she looked at her husband, there was no hint of anger in his eyes.

Pity.

“In that same spirit, I would love to introduce my sister to you,” Magnus added, pulling the shy girl forward. “My sister, Cecilia, has just debuted. It would be an honor if you took her under your wing.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Cecilia,” Eveline offered. “Might I add, you look very lovely this evening.”

“Thank you, Your Grace.” Cecilia curtsied.

“Call me Eveline, please.”

Cecilia nodded.

Eveline noted that the other Duke was more quiet, watching her as though determining whether or not she was a dangerous creature. He did not join the others in their conversation but rather watched her. Her husband noticed his gaze and shot him a glare, but the man was undeterred.

She turned her attention back to Cecilia, who looked content to be uninvolved in the festivities around her.

“Are you not interested in dancing, Lady Cecilia?” she asked, eyeing the girl’s empty dance card.

Cecilia shook her head, her eyes wide. “I am, but it seems to be more for political reasons than enjoyment, so I shy away from it,” she answered.

“Oh. How so?”

“My brother has not allowed me to dance with any of the gentlemen that have approached me, stating that they were too far beneath me and that he would only allow it at balls,” she explained.

Eveline smiled, nodding in understanding. Ava had been much the same with her, and at the time, it had annoyed her endlessly.

“My sister was the same with me,” she admitted. “But it was because she wanted to protect me.”

“And now you’re married to a duke, and not one that is impoverished,” Cecilia added.

“Indeed.” Eveline nodded. “But I would hardly say it is because of my efforts. It was just sheer fate that things happened as they did.”