Page 8 of A Duke for Hire (The Devil’s Masquerade #1)
CHAPTER EIGHT
“ U nacceptable,” Mary seethed later on, the carriage taking them home. “Positively unacceptable.”
“I did request he let me go, Mama,” Seraphina insisted. She tried to sound forceful, but instead her words came out meek. She felt exhausted from the night’s events. Not in her body, but in her mind.
Mary let out a sigh, but her glance toward her daughter was not one of disappointment this time, but pity.
“I did see that,” she admitted. “I fully blame the brute. And you are lucky, I suppose. I thought for sure that your dance with him was going to isolate you, but instead you finally filled your dance card. I suppose in a way I owe him thanks.”
Seraphina fought the urge to look away from her mother and frown. She was not going to mention that the other gentleman peppered her with questions regarding the Duke. Nor was she going to mention that none of them had asked her any questions about herself; other than if he was threatening her.
She knew that to lie and say yes would have been best for her own reputation, but she could not bring herself to do it. As much as the man annoyed her, she would not contribute to the spreading of harmful gossip. So she had said no, that the talk was purely casual.
“Well, I told you this would happen, did I not?” Mary sighed, looking around the empty receiving room the next morning.
Seraphina chewed her bottom lip worriedly.
“You did,” she agreed, looking at the wilting bouquets of flowers. It was nearly the end of calling hours, and thus far, only a couple of her previous suitors had shown up as promised. This time, all of them empty-handed, and with little to say to her.
“This is not good,” Mary said, shaking her head. “This will not do at all. We need to do something. Perhaps submit something to the gossip papers stating that your interest in the Duke of Merrivale is false.”
“It is false,” Seraphina replied readily. More or less, she thought with a twinge of guilt. It needed to be false, anyway. Even if a small part of her felt otherwise.
Hugo was annoying, yes. But also, he seemed to be the only man that could look at her and truly see her. Unlike the others, he did not view her kindness as naive or “adorable”, but a trait to be honored. Perhaps even protected.
Seraphina blinked rapidly, forcing such thoughts away, and stood up.
“Perhaps you may be right,” she agreed, fidgeting with one of the wilting bouquets. “Or we could host a gathering here. Not a ball, but perhaps a dinner party. Father could come, perhaps, and some of our friends along with the gentlemen who have been pursuing me. We could create a situation where we are sure that the Duke is not attendance.”
“Now you are thinking, my girl!” Mary said excitedly, hurrying over to her daughter.
“Oh, I am so glad you are starting to see the seriousness of this situation,” she sighed as she took Seraphina’s hands. “I know you try to be kind, but this time it has gone too far. We must exclude him from our lives. We must-”
Mary’s words stopped as a servant entered the room carrying an envelope they both recognized. Seraphina felt a rush of strange loneliness as her mother let go of her hands and rushed toward the message, snatching it excitedly from the servant’s hands.
“It is from your father,” Mary said in a rush, tearing at the envelope.
“I know,” Seraphina replied, forcing a smile. “I recognized the stationery. What does it say? Does he wish you to come to dinner again?”
“Even better,” Mary replied, her smile widening as she read over the letter.
“He has found you a match!”
Seraphina’s lips parted in surprise.
“I- I did not realize he wanted to be so involved,” she stammered.
“Of course he does, darling, he is your father!” Mary replied, her tone growing giddier by the moment.
“He is requesting my presence within the next hour so I may meet him.”
“Just your presence?” Seraphina asked. “Not mine as well? Do you not think I should meet this gentleman as well?”
Mary snapped the letter shut and gave her daughter a scolding look.
“ This is how marital decisions should truly be handled, Seraphina,” she retorted. “A meeting with the parents to gain approval, a discussion of dowry, and a few other things. Besides, I can praise your reputation better than even you can. Let us secure the proposal first, and then we will arrange an introduction.”
“An introduction?” Seraphina asked, feeling a twinge of fear in her stomach, “You mean I have not met this man before?”
“The letter does not mention a name, but rest assured, if he is chosen by your father, he is well-esteemed,” Mary replied dismissively, running to the nearby mirror to touch up her appearance.
“I must be off, I want to get there in plenty of time. With luck I shall be bringing back news of your engagement!”
Mary rushed back to her daughter, gave her a hasty kiss on the cheek, and before Seraphina could say anything else, she was gone. Seraphina stared after her mother, partially in shock. The other part she could not place. A sense of foreboding? Of doom?
She sank to the chaise, unsure of how she should feel.
“What is wrong with me?” she whispered aloud to herself, holding her head in her hands. “I should be relieved.”
To her surprise, an ache formed at the back of her throat, and her eyes began to water.
“Oh, stop it!” She scolded herself, wiping at her eyes as she pushed herself from the chaise. “Stop being so weak!”
“Seraphina?”
Startled out of her wits, Seraphina looked toward the familiar voice, and felt herself pale when she saw Hugo.