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T he play was Rob Roy MacGregor , an operatic drama in three acts. The duke had his own box, naturally, but in the course of being conducted into it, Sarah began to understand for the first time what a proposal of marriage from the duke might entail, should she deign to accept it.

The role of duchess was a formidable one.

Certainly not one a vicar’s daughter was in any way fit for.

Could he be seriously contemplating offering for me?

Introducing her to his family would seem to indicate that he was.

If she were any other young woman, she would be over the moon at the prospect.

“Mama,” said the duke, bringing Sarah into the box, “I would like to introduce you to Lady Holbrook and Miss Sarah Watson.”

“Your Grace.” Both ladies curtsied.

The duchess, who was shorter than both of them, still managed to look down her nose at them, and Sarah’s heart quailed.

“Lady Holbrook, I believe we have met before. But I have not had the honor of Miss Watson’s acquaintance. Please let me introduce my daughter, Lady Ava Layne.” A younger woman, who was clearly a replica of her mother, came forward and received their curtsies.

Lady Ava smiled, her blue eyes twinkling, and said, “I am delighted to make your acquaintance. Please come and sit by me. I am dying to know all about you!”

Sarah blinked at this effusiveness, and the duke broke in upon it to introduce her to two young men who were taking up more than their fair share of space in the box.

“My brothers, Lord Hereward Layne and Lord Kenrick Layne.” Both were bigger than their elder brother.

Though Kenrick was the tallest, topping both his brothers by several inches in height, his physique was long and lean.

Hereward was of a more solid build and the stockiest of the three.

To Sarah’s way of thinking, the duke’s proportions were perfect.

He is also, she thought, better looking .

They certainly all towered over their tiny mother and equally petite sister.

Hereward gave her a neat bow and Kenrick went so far as to take her hand and smile, and she couldn’t be certain, but she rather thought he winked at her. She smiled in return.

The lights were dimming in preparation for the curtain to rise on the first act, and they all shuffled around to take their seats.

Lady Ava was an expressive talker. She fluttered her hands while she chattered.

“So, tell me,” she said in a confiding fashion, “how did you meet my brother? Was it at a stuffy ball or something romantic?”

“Very stuffy, I’m afraid. Almack’s.”

“Oh lud! Is it as bad as they say?”

“Worse!” said Sarah with a grimace. “The food and drink are appalling, the patronesses patrol the room looking for young ladies committing breaches of etiquette, and the gentlemen are bored stiff.”

“Sounds perfect for Robert, I’ll bet he fits right in!” said Ava with a giggle. Seeing Sarah’s look, she placed a hand on her arm and said, “I must tell you he is not like that in private, but he is rather stuffy in public.”

“Somewhat,” acknowledged Sarah.

“Ah, if you haven’t penetrated the ducal front yet, I pray you, don’t despair, he is not as much of a lost cause as he appears.

In fact, he’s rather sweet underneath, he just lacks”—she paused, looking for the right word—“liveliness, I think. He is rather serious you see, because he has all these boring ducal things he has to do, and he takes his responsibilities very seriously.”

“Yes, that is evident,” said Sarah.

“He is very romantic, you know,” said Ava. “Not that he shows that side to me of course, but I know he has been waiting and hoping to meet the love of his life for so long.”

Sarah digested this in silence. He had told her as much, but she had discounted it because his behavior seemed to give it the lie.

“He is very fussy,” went on Ava. “It seemed no one was good enough for the role. Mama was at her wits’ end, for she has introduced him to countless young ladies over the years. None of them rose to his exacting standards.”

Sarah swallowed the tightness in her throat and gripped her fan so tightly she felt the sticks bend. So, he has lowered his standards to even consider me. Another mark of his desperation . She glanced sideways at him in converse with his mother at the end of the row.

Daphne, she noted, was flirting shamelessly with Lord Kenrick, the one who’d winked at her. Really, she’d had no idea Daphne had such a partiality for younger men. Lord Hereward looked uncomfortable, perched on a seat that was obviously too small for his big frame and bored to boot.

With the first intermission, the box was inundated with visitors, all eager to note who the duke’s guests were. It will be all over London tomorrow that the duke is courting me!

At the end of the intermission, the seating arrangements were reshuffled so that she was seated beside the duchess, and this time she was subjected to a much more pointed cross-examination.

“I understand, my dear, that you are the eldest of quite a large family?”

“Yes, Your Grace, there are eight of us,” she lifted her chin, uncertain whether there was implied disapprobation in the question, but refusing to be ashamed of her family.

“That must be quite a challenge for your mother. You must be a great help to her.”

“I hope so, Your Grace. I try to be.”

“I’m sure you are. I have six children myself, of course.

I know how much work little ones can be.

” The duchess patted her arm. “It may surprise you to know that Costin, that is Robert’s father, was very involved with his children when they were young.

I expect Robert will be the same. Costin never had much grasp of worldly responsibilities, but he loved his children fiercely.

” The duchess blinked, her face showing a momentary sadness.

“I shall miss him to my last breath, my dear. I loved him with all my heart.”

Sarah, at a loss for what to say, held her tongue as she watched the duchess visibly pull herself together.

“Robert has always aspired to a love match like ours, and I hope that all my children will find felicity in their marriages. Tell me, my dear, do you care for my son?”

The directness of the question took Sarah aback. With the duchess’s blue eyes fixed upon her, she couldn’t lie. “Very much, Your Grace,” she said softly.

“Good. That is an excellent start. But you will have challenges, my dear. Robert is complicated, like and unlike his father. And he will expect you to fill the role of duchess flawlessly. He can be highhanded at times, but if you pull him up on it, he will bend. He’s not as rigid and starched up as he appears on the surface.

But if you hold his heart, my dear, he will do anything for you.

He loves as fiercely as his father did.”

Sarah’s own heart sank at this, for she didn’t hold his heart, did she? It was her money he principally wanted. She looked down at her lap where her gloved hands clenched her fan tightly.

“Robert has six establishments, you know,” the duchess sailed on, oblivious to Sarah’s discomfort.

“Although his principle seat is in Leicestershire—The Castle. It’s no such thing, of course, but the original building dates to the Conqueror, and the name stuck.

The current building is largely Queen Anne with some modifications and additions made in the last century.

We can sleep upwards of forty persons in the guest chambers, more if they share, which sometimes is necessary.

The last house party we held, we had sixty guests.

“Don’t look so daunted, my dear, I daresay you have not had much experience with such things, but I will teach you how to go on, never fear.

“When I married Costin, I too had little experience of managing a large establishment, and my mother-in-law was not welcoming. She wanted Costin to marry Lady Mary Hartley and was not happy that he chose me instead.”

At the end of the second act, Sarah felt quite wrung out and thoroughly convinced that she had failed the test utterly.

What do I know of managing a large establishment and the number of servants that goes with it?

Despite the duchess’s reassurance that she would help her, Sarah felt woefully inadequate to any such task.

Not that she cared, for she wasn’t about to accept him anyway... was she? But still, pride made her feel rather low that she was indeed such a poor match for a duke. I have not a clue how to be a duchess, and I will let him down if I try. Not that I’m going to.

The second intermission was like the first except that they received refreshments as well as guests, and at the end of it the duke himself sat next to her at last.

“I trust you are enjoying the play?”

She suppressed the tart observation that if his womenfolk weren’t such inveterate talkers she might be able to venture an opinion, but as it was, she had heard very little of it. Instead, she smiled vaguely and said, “Yes, delightful.”

He wasn’t fooled. “My sister and mother talked through the entire thing, didn’t they?”

She nodded.

“Don’t despair, they like you,” he said with a smile.

She colored and said, “Good heavens, why?”

“Mama said that while you haven’t a clue how to be a duchess, you were a lady and trainable.” He stopped at her in-drawn breath and then went on with a wider smile. “To which I responded that of course you were a lady, as I wouldn’t contemplate marriage to a woman who wasn’t.”

“This is all rather overwhelming, Your Grace,” she said faintly, plying her fan vigorously.

“And my sister said that you were refreshing, and she couldn’t wait to meet your siblings because they sounded like so much fun.”