Page 53 of Duke of Emeralds (Dukes of Decadence #2)
She walked away without waiting for a response.
Joseph watched as she marched over to where her sisters stood looking rather outcasted by their spot in the corner next to the terrace doors.
One of them reached out to her with a concerned look, and whatever question she asked was met with a shake of her head and a one-worded response.
Then he realized that he, once again, had forgotten to ask her her name.
“You should dance with him!”
“I will do no such thing,” Catriona immediately responded to Ava’s suggestion.
She shifted restlessly, not liking the fact that her sisters had chosen the most secluded spot in the ballroom to stand in rather than mingling with others.
Her uncle, of course, was on the other side of the room guffawing loudly with a group of other older gentlemen.
Since Maisie had not yet debuted, Frederick had allowed her to attend tonight after countless hours of listening to her pleas, and Catriona was happy her uncle had given in, grateful to have both her sisters with her. Not that they were making it very easy to be grateful right now.
“Why not?” Ava whined, fluttering her fan restlessly. “He was handsome! And Uncle Frederic said that he was a duke!”
“So?”
“So?” Ava sighed dramatically, earning a reprimanding look from Catriona. “You haven’t even told us how you know him.”
“Because it does not matter.”
“The fact that you won’t say anything about it suggests that it does,” Maisie chimed in quietly. When she caught Catriona’s eye, she added with a sigh, “It is rather odd, Cat. You have hardly left the house since we’ve come to London, so you have not had many opportunities to meet many friends.”
“No friends at all in fact,” Ava thought it fitting to add.
Maisie nodded in agreement. “So, you must understand our surprise to see that the first thing you do upon arriving at our first ball ever attended is walk straight up to a handsome, brooding duke as if you two have already been in acquaintance.”
Catriona sighed. They had been hounding her about the Duke of Irvin ever since she made it back to them, and she had no intention of telling them anything about the encounter earlier this afternoon.
It wasn’t that she intended to keep it a secret.
She simply knew her sisters. The last thing she wanted was for them to place any of tonight’s focus on her and the Duke when they should be focused on themselves.
“I have no reason to interact with the Duke any longer,” she told them. “At least, not before either one of you have been asked to dance by someone.”
“And if I’m never asked?” Ava countered.
Catriona only shook her head at that. “That won’t happen. You look absolutely lovely. You both do. I’m sure that at any moment one of these gentlemen will sweep up before us to whisk you awa?—”
“Good evening, ladies.”
Ava’s audible gasp drowned out the tiny one Catriona couldn’t stop herself from letting out when a tall gentleman sporting light shadow of hair across his jaw. His eyes skimmed over the three of them, giving them all polite smiles, but his attention rested on Ava.
“Good evening,” they all greeted in unison. Catriona with a broad, welcoming smile, Maisie with a shy one, and Ava with eyes wide and filled with a mixture of surprise and horror—one would think that she’d just witnessed a horrible accident.
“Please allow me to introduce myself,” the gentleman went on, sweeping into a bow. “My name is Harold Renford, the Baron of Wentworth. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss…”
Ava’s lips parted, but no words came out. They simply opened and closed like a fish out of water.
“Her name is Ava,” Catriona quickly informed him. “And I am her eldest sister, Catriona. This is Maisie, the youngest.”
Maisie smiled sweetly but said nothing. She glanced at the dumbstruck Ava with mirth in her eyes.
“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintances,” Lord Wentworth said with a pleasant smile. “I hope I am not interrupting?—”
“Oh, not at all, My Lord!” Maisie immediately chimed in. Her cheeks colored the moment she realized that she’d rudely cut in while he was speaking, but the Baron didn’t seem to mind. As a matter of fact, he chuckled.
When his eyes returned to Ava, who was yet to find her words, Catriona could have sworn her sister lost her breath. She would have been a bit concerned if she hadn’t been so excited about what was about to happen.
“May I have this dance, Miss Ava?” Lord Wentworth asked, holding out a hand.
Ava blinked at him, lips thinning. A few seconds of uncomfortable silence went by.
“She would love to!” Catriona jumped in before it could get any worse. She took Ava’s hand and placed it in the Baron’s waiting one. “She is just a bit shy, you see. I hope you understand.”
“I find it quite charming, in fact,” Lord Wentworth responded with a broad smile. “I hope that by the end of the night, you will grow more comfortable with me, Miss Ava.”
“I’m sure she will,” Maisie sang as he led Ava towards the center of the ballroom where the other couples were gathering to dance. Ava looked over her shoulder at them with wide horrified eyes and mouthed, What is happening?
“Can you believe it?” Maisie giggled. “Who would have thought that a gentleman showing interest in her would be all you needed to make Ava shy?”
“I never would have guessed,” Catriona admitted.
She watched as Lord Wentworth gathered her sister in his arms, and Ava nearly stepped on his feet.
She must have muttered an apology, but the Baron only laughed, clearly not bothered by her fumbling.
It was an adorable sight, though Catriona couldn’t help the niggle of apprehension that weeded itself between her excitement.
She hadn’t doubted that her sisters would attract the attention of the gentlemen in attendance.
They were utterly beautiful tonight after all.
And she understood the appeal of something new.
They might have been in England for the last two years, but it was their first time attending a Season event.
It lent them an intriguing air that the other ladies may not benefit from.
But Ava was Ava. Even though she was acting rather unlike herself, Catriona couldn’t help the twinge of uncertainty.
Ava knew how to dance and bat her eyelashes like the best of them —Catriona had made sure of it—but who knew when she would decide to say or do anything that the ton would not find ladylike?
“Excuse me?”
Catriona’s heart soared as she turned to face yet another gentleman. And it was obvious who he had approached for. His eyes latched onto Maisie with such intensity that Catriona wouldn’t be surprised if he hadn’t realized that she was standing right there.
It happened as quickly as it had with Lord Wentworth.
The enamored gentleman introduced himself as the Viscount of Lorry and asked Maisie to dance with him.
Maisie blushed prettily at the request and, after seeking Catriona’s permission with a quick look, graciously accepted, allowing herself to be led away by the Viscount.
Catriona was sure one dance would be fine.
And then Catriona was all alone.
Her smile lingered as she watched her sisters.
This was what she’d wanted after all. And despite her nervousness, she had been confident that the night would end with at least some interest shown in her sisters.
She was simply pleasantly surprised to find that it had happened so quickly.
It was only the second dance set after all.
It took a moment for it to hit. The unexpected, soul-piercing loneliness.
Catriona tossed the feeling aside the moment she felt it, but it came rushing back with an intensity she didn’t expect.
She’d been prepared for this after all. At three-and-twenty, with no experience or acquaintances among the ton, she stood no chance of finding a husband, and she had long since come to terms with that.
She had to focus on Ava and Maisie, not the deep-rooted loneliness that seemed to be weeding its way through every crevice of her mind.
Catriona sighed and began searching for her uncle.
He should be the one introducing them to his acquaintances.
He might have been a recluse for most of his adult life, but he was still the Earl of Heaton.
And judging from his boisterous laughter from across the room, he had no issue socializing when the situation called for it.
Catriona spotted him standing by one of the parlor doors, engaged in a hearty conversation with an older couple. She took one step in his direction and was immediately cut off by two ladies sliding in front of her.
She took a step back, taking in their haughty expressions and the superior curves of their lips, and instantly knew that the incoming conversation would not be a pleasant one.
“May I help you?” she asked.
The one to the left, a pretty thing with blond hair and a smattering of freckles across her cheeks, laughed. “I think it is you who needs the help, Miss Wallace. Don’t you think you are a little out of your depth here?”
Catriona tilted her head slightly to the side. “You will have to be more specific.”
She hadn’t said anything particularly funny, and yet the girls laughed. She had a feeling that it was at her expense.
The other lady, dark-haired with an upturned nose that would have lent her rather adorable demeanor had it not been for the mean-spirited glint in her eyes, said, “You’re smarter than that, Miss Wallace. You must understand by now that you do not belong here.”
“I don’t?”
“Look around you. This room is full of highly bred ladies and gentlemen who understand their places in life. Perhaps someone should have told you, but you stand very little chance of securing a husband when you are surrounded by ladies so far above you.”
“Like yourselves, I assume?”