Page 6 of A Duchess Disciplined (Dukes of Dominance #1)

CHAPTER 5

T he day was perfect. Warm sunlight flitted through large, white clouds, which moved lazily across the sky. The air stirred with a faint breeze. Flowers and trees bowed their heads and swept their limbs, making a soft symphony of sound that whispered throughout the garden. William closed his eyes and inhaled, letting the sweetness of flowers fill his senses. He caught the faintest whisp of lavender and roses, conjuring the image of Lady Catherine in his mind.

After their kiss, she had gazed at him with wide eyes and startled, parted lips. The lady had appeared flushed and disheveled, much like the flowers when the wind disturbed them. He imagined Lady Catherine on her knees, her lips parted and ready to receive something far more intimate and brazen than a kiss.

“Good afternoon, Your Grace.”

His eyes snapped open. As if his thoughts had summoned her, Lady Catherine stood before him in the gardens. He had wondered if she would be inclined to speak to him again after the events of the previous day. Most young ladies would make themselves conspicuously unavailable. Not Lady Catherine, it seemed.

Her lady’s maid trailed her. The young woman’s face was flushed scarlet, likely because she recalled the episode from the day before. As delightful as that interlude had been, William had spent the previous night pacing his room and wondering if he had made a terrible error. He had anticipated Lady Catherine telling her brother and His Grace raining retribution upon him like an angered god. But there was nothing. William suspected that neither the maid nor Lady Catherine had told anyone.

He straightened his spine and affected an ambivalent expression. “Good afternoon, my lady. Join me.”

Lady Catherine neatly seated herself on the bench beside him. He looked askance at her, observing her delicate profile. Lady Catherine was not a great beauty. There was nothing which made her uniquely lovely when compared with the many ladies of the ton, yet there was something singularly intriguing about her. He found that he longed to let his gaze linger on those fine cheekbones, soft chin, and crystal-blue eyes.

“Are you enjoying your book, Your Grace?” Lady Catherine asked, gesturing towards the discarded volume.

“It is Samuel Butler’s Hudibras ,” William replied. “Are you familiar with the piece?”

“No.”

“A pity. It is rather enjoyable,” William replied. “I found it in your brother’s library and thought to read it again.”

“I am told that you must open books to read them,” Lady Catherine said.

“I found myself distracted by the beauty of these gardens.”

“My mother designed them,” Lady Catherine said. “We have kept them unchanged since her death. Well, as unchanged as one may keep a garden.”

“To honor her?”

“Yes.”

William hummed and fixed his gaze forward, thinking. A change seemed to have come over Lady Catherine. She seemed almost as though she were making an effort to be a polite, young miss. That was promising.

“You have my sympathy,” William said. “I also lost my mother at a young age. My one regret is that my sisters were never able to know her.”

“You mentioned your sisters before.”

“Yes. Hannah and Hester.”

“You must love them very much,” Lady Catherine said, “to sacrifice your own happiness for their well-being.”

“Why would you assume that?”

“You mentioned that you wish to wed for them,” Lady Catherine replied, “so they will have a maternal presence.”

“I would not call marrying a sacrifice.”

“No?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “I cannot imagine that you are particularly eager to wed me.”

“Why would you imagine that?”

“Because I am not the lady who suits you,” Lady Catherine said. “Otherwise, you would not seek to change my nature.”

“Even perfection can be improved.”

“So I am perfection? Those might be the kindest words you have spoken to me.”

William scoffed. “You are far from perfection, as is made abundantly clear by you misinterpreting my words in such a deliberately obtuse manner.”

“And now, you do not wish to admit that you have said something very kind about me,” Lady Catherine said, nodding solemnly. “I understand, Your Grace.”

“Do you?” he asked dryly.

“I do, indeed. You are embarrassed to admit how utterly perfect I am,” Lady Catherine replied. “It makes you reflect more strongly on your flaws.”

Lady Catherine was the most absurd woman he had ever met in his life!

“Do I have my flaws?” William asked. “Perhaps, you ought to make me aware of what they are, my lady. I cannot imagine that you know me so well as to have already made a nuanced observation of my character.”

Her expression became sly and sharp, more closely resembling the fact that she had shown him the day before. “Are you certain that you wish for me to recount them for you? I would not wish to upset you, Your Grace.”

“I find that difficult to believe.”

“You are doubtful,” Lady Catherine said. “You always assume that I have some ill intent, despite having no evidence to the contrary.”

“Is that everything?”

“Hardly. You are hypocritical,” she said. “You insist that I be a proper lady, but you are hardly a proper man.”

He bit back the insistence that he was not, for he realized that—from Lady Catherine’s perspective—he did seem to be an improper man.

“It is hardly improper to insist that an agreement be honored,” William said. “I should have been offered a bride from your family years ago.”

“Do you think so?” Lady Catherine said. “If that were true, I imagine that your father would have mentioned something.”

“That he did not doesn’t mean that I am not owed a wife.”

“Believing you are owed a wife does not necessitate arriving as quickly and unexpectedly as you did.”

“But it does,” he replied. “How was I to know that you and your sisters were not already being courted by other suitors? It would be most unfortunate if I had to break the hearts of all the men in the ton by claiming either you or Lady Dorothy.”

Her lips twitched into a small smile. “How can I argue with such flawless logic?”

“You cannot.”

Reeds, Lady Dorothy, and Lady Bridget entered the gardens. Reeds and Lady Dorothy carried mallets, while Lady Bridget held the balls needed to play pall mall.

“Oh!” Catherine exclaimed, her face brightening. “I am quite splendid at playing pall mall.”

“Are you?”

“The best,” she said.

Reeds laughed heartily as he reached the bench where William and Lady Catherine sat. “Did you just tell our guest that you are the best at pall mall?” Reeds asked. “That is a gross exaggeration of the truth.”

“It most certainly is not!” Lady Catherine argued. “When we last played this game, I emerged victorious!”

“You managed to best me once,” Reeds replied. “I do not think that makes you the best at pall mall.”

“More than once,” Lady Catherine replied.

“Twice.”

Lady Catherine scowled. “More than that. I have bested you quite often.”

“I would be astonished to learn that either of you kept a record of every game,” Lady Dorothy replied, smiling with amusement. “Can you both not simply enjoy the game?”

“No,” Reeds said.

“Decidedly not,” Lady Catherine agreed.

William said nothing, silently watching as the siblings seemed to forget his very existence. Reeds and the other ladies had thus far not even acknowledged his presence. It was no mystery why Lady Catherine was such an unusual lady. Her family behaved in an uncomfortably familiar way, even before guests.

“You ought to have anticipated that answer, dear sister,” Lady Bridget said, smiling wryly. “You know how they behave when there is a game.”

“I believe that I will emerge victorious today,” Reeds said.

Lady Catherine leaped to her feet. “I regret to humiliate you, especially before a guest, but I am quite sure that I shall win. Prepare yourself for defeat, my brother.”

“We shall see,” Reeds said. “Will you join us, Sarsen?”

“Certainly.”

William stood, noting that the Leedway siblings had already brought an additional mallet with them. They had anticipated inviting him to join them. William supposed he ought to think kindly upon their hospitality, and he might have, if they were not otherwise so informal in their mannerisms.

Reeds led their journey through the garden path until they reached a flat expanse of grass with the iron loops already placed in the ground. Lady Catherine took a mallet from her brother without one even being offered.

“Excuse you!” Reeds exclaimed in mock offense.

Lady Catherine grinned, her eyes alight. “I hope you are prepared to be defeated.”

Lady Bridget shook her head. “Every time.”

The rest of the mallets were distributed, and William stood awkwardly, leaning against his as though it were a cane. He tried to think of some excuse not to join them, for it was readily apparent that he did not belong. The Leedway siblings were all clustered together, watching as Reeds made his first strike and sent the ball flying over the ground.

He was, admittedly, quite good.

Lady Catherine struck a ball next. It hit her brother’s ball and sent it skipping over the ground and away from the next ring.

“You!” Reeds exclaimed. “How could you?”

“All is fair in love and war,” Lady Catherine declared.

As Lady Dorothy prepared to take her turn, Lady Catherine glanced over her shoulder. Her eyes met his, and she slipped away from her siblings. “Are you going to join us?” she asked. “Or do you intend to stand here and observe us, like a particularly ill-tempered cat?”

Lady Dorothy’s strike was met with an enthusiastic shout from Reeds and a groan from the unfortunate lady. It seemed as though pall mall was not a game at which Lady Dorothy excelled.

Lady Bridget’s strike achieved little distance. She sighed and shook her head. Without hesitation, Reeds prepared for his next turn.

“Do not speak of things that you know nothing about,” William said. “You know nothing yet of my temperament.”

If she did, the young miss might run away screaming.

He could have justified himself to her, but he would not. Why would he, with a woman like Lady Catherine, who treated formality as an inconvenience which need not be followed? Formal behavior was the shield he used to protect himself from everyone and everything. It was why he had survived, while his brother had not.

“My turn!” Lady Catherine exclaimed.

She turned away from him and hurried to the game. William grimaced. He could make her recognize the importance of being a proper lady. It would take some time and effort, but she was an intelligent woman. She could surely learn.

Lady Catherine struck the ball and yelled in delight as it swept through the remaining hoop. “Guess who is winning?” she asked.

“You,” Reeds said. “For now. I cannot simply demolish you from the start, Cat. I must give you at least the chance to score a few points.”

“Oh, please!” Lady Catherine exclaimed, waving a dismissive hand.

Lady Dorothy shook her head. “Be nice, children.”

“Yes, Mother,” Reeds said.

“I am only returning his behavior in kind,” Lady Catherine said.

Lady Dorothy approached her ball and prepared to strike.

“Oh, wait! You have not yet had a turn,” Lady Catherine said, turning to William.

“I am enjoying myself sufficiently by watching,” William said dryly.

“Are you certain?” Reeds asked. “You have only missed a single round.”

“Quite certain.”

Reeds shrugged. “Very well.”

As the game resumed, Lady Catherine swept to William’s side once again. “Very strategic,” she said. “You know that I would defeat you, and you would be embarrassed. It is a pity that my brother has not yet learned that lesson.”

He clenched his jaw to keep from smiling.

“Haughtiness does not befit a young lady,” he said.

“Do you expect me to be made of ice?” Lady Catherine asked. “Like you?”

Lady Dorothy’s strike was passable. Lady Bridget took her turn next.

“Do you believe me to be made of ice?” he asked, lowering his voice. “You did not seem to believe that in the garden yesterday. I recall being quite warm to you then.”

She flushed and glanced at her siblings, as though afraid they might overhear. William, of course, was careful not to speak that loudly.

“You were warm,” she conceded softly. “But only in some attempt to humiliate me.”

“You attempted to humiliate me first ,” he said.

He recalled her kiss all too well, the heat of it and how she had consumed his senses. When he lay awake in bed that night, she haunted his dreams. No woman had ever kissed him like that before. He kissed them .

“You deserved it,” Lady Catherine said.

“What an interesting assertion.”

She bit her lip, and William thought about how delightful it would be to bite that lip himself. Lady Catherine’s mouth was as soft as kissing a rose.

“You grabbed my wrist,” Lady Catherine reminded him. “I only reacted to what you had already done.”

William searched his mind for another retort, and with every passing second it took him to find one, Lady Catherine’s smile grew wider.

“Have you accepted defeat, Cat?” Reeds asked jovially.

Lady Catherine started and turned to look at her brother. “What?”

“It is your turn,” Reeds said. “Were you and Sarsen engaged in such a diverting conversation that you forgot the game?”

“Oh!”

While Lady Catherine hurried to her ball, Reeds cast William a startled look. “You and my sister are enjoying one another’s company?” Reeds asked.

“Very much so,” William replied.

Even if Lady Catherine’s behavior was odd, during the game, the young woman had seemed more like the lady he knew. She was too informal and always prepared with a sharp remark. He could not forget her behavior in the garden, though. She had seemed peaceful and almost ladylike.

Something inside him softened when he thought of how she gazed at him when he mentioned his mother. They were two very different people, but it could not be said that they had no commonalities between them. Lady Catherine had lost her mother, too, and she loved her family. Even if she did not yet behave like a duchess ought to, William could not deny that her devotion to her family was admirable.

Lady Catherine’s ball swept over the grass, and she grinned widely. “Another excellent stroke!” she declared.

“Adequate,” Reeds said.

Lady Catherine’s smirk widened. “Do you feel the cold grasp of defeat approaching?”

“Not yet!”

“Honestly,” Lady Dorothy said. “You act as though it is a matter of life and death who will win!”

Lady Bridget laughed. “They do!”

“Because it is ,” Reeds said.

“Indeed,” Lady Catherine agreed. “Do not worry, my dear brother. I shall ensure that everyone remembers you fondly.”

She returned to William’s side. Lady Bridget leaned towards Lady Dorothy, murmuring something low in her ear. Both ladies glanced at William, making him wonder if he was the topic of their whispered conversation.

“You are formal when it benefits you,” Lady Catherine said in a lowered voice, “or when it gives you feelings of superiority. When it does not—when you want something—you are entirely too eager to abandon all sense of propriety.”

“Would you like me to be the perfect gentleman all the time?” William asked in a low voice. “Are you certain?”

Her breath audibly hitched, and William had his answer.