Page 29 of Courting Scandal With The Duke

A s usual, Xavier hid his distaste for the man who gripped his hand a little too long and smiled a little too much.

All his life he had been subject to the sort of ingratiating bonhomie displayed by Lord March.

It was why he limited his circle of friends to those who were not impressed by his wealth and his title.

Like Barbara, apparently.

The words he heard her speak before he entered the room had given him pause.

It was with reluctance that he had come here this morning to tell of her of his plans to speak with her father about making her an offer.

Reluctant because she was not at all the sort of woman he had intended to wed.

A woman who made him feel more alive than he had for years.

Alive to the point of recklessness. Though he was sure he could control it better than his father had.

Certainly, if he had to marry someone, why not Barbara? She had more of a brain than most of the other young ladies he had met, and she made him laugh. Not to mention her other attributes.

Xavier, however, unlike his father, would not be led by the nose, or any other part of his anatomy.

After much thought in the dark reaches of the night, though, he had conceded that perhaps, as long as she was prepared to behave as a proper duchess should, they could make it work. After all, he was a man as well as a duke, and there was much he enjoyed in their relationship.

Now, hearing her adamant declaration that she did not want to wed anyone had made him think again. He wasn’t so sure he had come to the right decision.

He hadn’t given any thought to her family connections either.

March was a man who would do anything to advance his career.

Xavier knew this about him from his conversations with Castlereagh after his return to England.

The foreign secretary had disdained the career diplomat.

But March wasn’t the only one Castlereagh had complained about, and Xavier hadn’t taken a great deal of notice, glad only that peace was being actively discussed.

At the time, Castlereagh had not mentioned March had a daughter.

‘Oh, Vienna,’ March said with patently false modesty. ‘It was little enough I did. Though I must say a couple of the clauses in the agreement gave a great deal of trouble until I discovered the wording that saved the day.’ He puffed out his chest, no doubt to draw attention to the Order he wore .

‘Your country has shown its gratitude, I see.’

‘Yes indeed. The King. Most gracious. And what of you, Your Grace? I hear your stables have been producing some of the finest racehorses in the country?’

He made the difference between them sound stark. One man serving his country and the other indulging in fast horses and gambling.

‘We do our best,’ Xavier said.

‘I am a good judge of horseflesh. If you wish for advice, I would be happy to give it.’

Xavier almost laughed out loud. He raised an eyebrow instead. Never before had anyone had the nerve to offer him advice on his racehorses.

Barbara gave her father a glare of such loathing, it took Xavier aback.

She turned got up and went to the bell. ‘Shall I ring for tea, Aunt?’

‘Oh, yes. Yes, please do, dear.’

When Barbara turned back the expression was gone, replaced by a smile of amusement.

Perhaps that look had been imagined. Certainly neither March nor Miss Lowell indicated that they saw anything amiss.

The butler came and took the request for tea.

‘Do you plan to remain long in London, March?’ Xavier asked, filling a pause that seemed rather longer than usual.

‘I return to Lisbon in a week or so. I have reports to make, meetings to attend with the Cabinet.’ He gave Xavier a sort of knowing smile. ‘And other more personal business.’

The butler arrived with tea and Miss Lowell hovered over the tray, pouring from the teapot and passing the cups around.

‘You must have been disappointed to leave Paris, Father,’ Barbara said and sipped at her tea. ‘Such a beautiful city, and of such importance.’

‘Hah. Paris! A political hotbed. Wellington is welcome to it.’ There was a touch of venom in his voice and a touch of triumph in Barbara’s eyes at his response.

‘I visited the Embassy in Paris not long ago,’ Xavier said smoothly. ‘The Embassy was most impressive. An hotel extraordinaire . Wellington is a lucky man.’

‘It is magnificent,’ Barbara said. ‘Father and I stayed there briefly, before I came to London and he went to Portugal. How do you find Lisbon society, Father? Equal to Paris? Are there a great many beautiful ladies anxious for your return?’

‘Do not talk nonsense,’ March said. ‘Lisbon is an important ally.’

‘Albeit a very small one,’ Barbara said. ‘Well, I am sure you find plenty to do there.’

The Ambassador’s neck turned red and the colour flushed upward into his face. ‘I do my duty, daughter, as should we all.’

Barbara gave him a blank stare accompanied by a small smile, as if she had no idea what he was talking about.

March put down his cup and pulled out his pocket watch. ‘Oh, my word. Is that the time? I will be late for my meeting if I do not hurry.’ He got to his feet. ‘Perhaps you would care to walk with me to Whitehall, Duke? There are a couple of matters on which I would like to seek your advice.’

‘I am sure His Grace has better things to do than advise you on which horse will win at Newmarket,’ Barbara said. ‘Indeed, I can tell you that if you would like a sure thing, you should simply make a wager on his horse.’

‘Nonsense, Barbara. It has nothing at all to do with horses. Excuse my daughter, Your Grace. She has nothing in her head except foolish nonsense.’

It looked like a family squabble was about to break out. And for all that Xavier wanted to speak to Barbara alone, clearly now was not the time.

It would be better to wait for their assignation on Wednesday. ‘I shall be delighted to accompany you, Lord March,’ he said calmly. ‘If I can be of assistance, it will be my pleasure.’

Miss Lowell got up and rang the bell. ‘The gentlemen are leaving,’ she told the butler, and he escorted them downstairs and let them out of the front door.

‘Well!’ Aunt Lenore said the moment the gentlemen left the room. ‘What on earth were you about, Barbara? Such disrespect to your father. And in front of the Duke. What must he think?’

‘I do not give a fig for what either of them thinks.’

Not true. Barbara had realised when she’d got home from the theatre the real reason why she had not used the perfect opportunity to reveal their affair to all and sundry.

True, the box had been crowded, and there had been no member of the royal family present, but many members of the ton had been there, as well as her father.

It would have been so easy to create a scandal.

She just hadn’t wanted to put Xavier to such embarrassment, when it was quite obvious, he had been doing his best to protect her reputation by inviting all those other people.

Though marriage was out of the question, she could not deny that she liked him too well to embroil him in a scandal, no matter how little damage it would cause him.

There was something else she really did give a fig about. Those hints dropped by her father just now. The fact that he thought her claim to the Lipsweiger jewels was tenuous made her stomach twist in knots.

Because the more she thought about it, the more she thought that was what he had actually been saying.

She went to the window and looked down into the street. Her father and the Duke were nowhere in sight. Two men disappearing together without a care in the world. Typical.

She would like to strangle her father. Now what was she to do?

She paced to the fireplace and back to the window.

‘Stop,’ Aunt Lenore said, covering her eyes with a trembling hand. ‘You are making me dizzy.’

She opened her mouth to say something cutting and closed it again. None of this was Aunt Lenore’s fault. It was Father’s.

She sat down on the sofa. ‘He makes me so angry.’

‘My dear girl. He is your father. He does the best he can for you.’

No. He did the best for himself. He always had. It had taken her years to admit it to herself, but now her eyes were fully open. There was no one to take care of her interests. Except herself.

And she was done letting Father walk roughshod over her life. Using her as a pawn to further his own ends.

And to have Xavier arrive right when they were talking about him. What a horrible coincidence. But at least he had heard the truth. When she brought their idyll to an end on Wednesday, it would not come as a surprise.

‘I think it is time I left London,’ she said.

Her aunt’s mouth dropped open. ‘In the middle of the Season? When you have such an opportunity to… I mean the Duke… The—’

‘As I said, dearest Aunt, I have absolutely no intention of marrying him or anyone else. What I need to do is find a place to live where I can live out my days peacefully. Far away from London, from Society.’ And from Father.

‘And how will you accomplish this?’ her aunt asked, with surprising force for one usually so vague.

‘Who will keep you in the style you have so far enjoyed? It is no easy matter for a woman to depend on herself. I know this only too well. There are men who will take advantage of your lack of knowledge of the world. And what if you do not have sufficient income? Will you take in washing? Hire yourself out as a housemaid?’

Her aunt painted a very grim picture indeed. ‘I will sell the jewels.’

‘You know, living alone can be lonely when you are older. I think you should reconsider this aversion you have to marriage.’

‘You seem to manage very well.’

‘That does not mean I would not have preferred a husband and children. I was never asked.’ She dabbed at her eyes with her handkerchief.

Barbara put an arm around her aunt’s shoulders and gave her a quick squeeze. ‘You can come and live with me.’

‘That is very kind of you, Barbara. Indeed it is. But it is not at all what I would wish for you.’