Page 54 of Duke of Emeralds (Dukes of Decadence #2)
They didn’t like her tone, judging by the way their lips turned downwards in unison. “She isn’t very bright,” the blond one said.
“Yes, quite dull indeed,” the other agreed. “Don’t you understand what we’re trying to say to you?”
“I understand quite well,” Catriona stated. Her tone was calm, easily masking the tremor of fury smoldering in the pit of her stomach. “What I don’t understand is why you think I would care about your opinions.”
“Let us enlighten you then,” said the blond. “I am Cassandra Pottinger.”
Catriona blinked, staring impassively at her.
The dark-haired lady grew upset on her friend’s behalf. “She is the daughter of the Duke of Williamshire,” she exclaimed. “And the fact that you don’t know that only further proves our point.”
“And you?” Catriona asked, raising a brow. “Are you her maid?”
She sputtered, eyes wide with indignation. “How dare you! I am the daughter of the Marquess of Harroway, and you will show me respect!”
“I only show respect to those who deserve it,” Catriona stated. “So, perhaps it is because I am dull indeed, but I do not understand why you think that you do, given the way you have been talking to me.”
“You don’t understand yourself,” Cassandra hissed.
“I understand myself quite well,” Catriona responded with ease.
“No, clearly you do not. Don’t you see yourself? You will be standing in this corner for the entire night because not a single gentleman in attendance will look at an uncultivated outcast like you.”
Catriona thinned her lips, feeling her anger come dangerously close to the surface. She had to keep it under control. This was not the time to give in to her emotions—not when she needed to ensure this night went well for her sisters.
But then she noticed Maisie making her way back to where she stood and felt panic rise. She couldn’t let Maisie hear any of this. Her sister didn’t need to have her night ruined by bullies.
“Look at her, Belinda,” Cassandra went on with a bitter laugh. “I think it’s finally setting in.”
“Cassandra,” Belinda elbowed her friend in the side as she whispered, “the Duke of Irvin is walking over to you!”
Cassandra gasped. She twisted towards her friend, her excitement palpable as she gathered herself, no longer focused on berating Catriona any further.
The Duke of Irvin was approaching, his long legs easily eating up the distance between them. The panic rose. She didn’t need both the Duke of Irvin and Maisie witnessing this humiliating conversation.
The Duke reached them first. “Ladies,” he greeted.
Catriona said nothing. She didn’t even look at him. She only bided her time, waiting for the moment the Duke’s full attention went to the two horrid ladies before her so that she could slip away before her sister made it over.
“Good evening, Your Grace,” Cassandra greeted, her voice high and flirtatious. Catriona didn’t need to look directly at her to know that she was batting her eyelashes. “I hope you are having a pleasant time at tonight’s ball.”
The Duke’s response was barely a grunt. Catriona took a tiny step away. They would distract each other, she told herself. They wouldn’t even notice that she’d slipped away.
“Pardon me, miss.”
It took a moment for her to realize that the Duke was talking to her. Catriona froze, looking at him with a slight frown of confusion. What could he possibly have to say to her in a situation like this?
“Would you care to dance?”
It felt like the floor gave way beneath her. Catriona just barely caught herself from staggering back in shock, but she wasn’t sure she’d succeeded in keeping it off her face. “I beg your pardon?”
“A dance,” he repeated nonchalantly. As if he were talking about the weather. Nothing of great importance. “The next set is about to begin.”
“I…” Catriona glanced at the two ladies, but their own surprise kept their attention on the Duke. And the Duke’s attention was focused solely on her.
Unable to find her words, she simply nodded and held out her hand.
The Duke clasped it and promptly led her away without sparing the other ladies a second glance.
Catriona passed by Maisie on her way to the middle of the room, and her younger sister gave her a bright smile of excitement and approval.
And to make matters worse, it was a waltz.
Her heart stuttered in her chest when the Duke pulled her close. He smelled of citrus and cedar, the scent so endearing that she was tempted to lean in and sniff his neck.
“Thank you,” she murmured, her heart still tripping over itself.
She tried not to think about her steps as they began to move back and forth.
She’d practiced the waltz so many times, she was certain she could do it in her sleep.
But being in the arms of a man as handsome as the Duke of Irvin was another matter entirely.
“For what?” He didn’t look at her, his eyes trained above her head. Catriona supposed that was a good thing. Clearly the Duke had no real interest in her and was only being kind.
“For saving me from those ladies. I assume that is the reason you asked me to dance with you.”
There was a beat of silence and then, “I wasn’t aware that I was saving you from anything, but you are welcome all the same.”
She frowned, looking up at him. “Then why did you ask me to dance?”
“Can it not simply be because I wanted to share a dance with you?”
“No,” she answered instantly. At his raised brows, she expounded, “It is not that I think myself incapable of receiving such an invitation from a gentleman such as yourself. It is just that our previous interactions have been less than favorable, and you do not seem particularly thrilled to be in my company right now. So, I find it hard to believe that you truly wanted to dance with me.”
“Well… you are correct.”
“I know I am,” she responded before she could stop herself.
That earned her a glance, one of curiosity. “I needed a moment to talk with you, and I thought that would be the most appropriate time for the both of us.”
“To talk about what?”
“For one, you did not tell me your name.”
“Oh, right.” In everything that had happened, she’d forgotten the basic courtesy of introducing myself. “My name is?—”
“You needn’t continue. I’ve already learned that you are Miss Catriona Wallace, the distant niece of Lord Heaton.”
She couldn’t fight the scowl that overtook her face. It was odd how easily she gave into displays of her irritation when facing this man. “If you already knew, then why did you bother to point it out?”
“I simply thought I would let you know.”
She let out a sigh of frustration. “Is that all you wanted to say to me? If so, then we could have avoided all of this.”
He twirled her with a sudden force, sending her heart shooting up her throat. Catriona looked up to see his icy-blue eyes already boring into her, smoldering with an expression she couldn’t name.
“The truth is, I wish to repay you for the kindness you showed my daughter. Had you not been there, I shudder to think what could have happened.”
Catriona decided not to point out that her being there with Nina had caused Dorothea to fall in the river in the first place. “I need no repayment.”
“I insist.”
“As do I. I only did what any other would in the situation. Your words of gratitude are more than enough.”
“That is not so,” he stated matter-of-factly. The easy manner in which he dismissed her words only grated her nerves. “I am in your debt, and as such, I have a proposal to make.”
“Are my words going through one ear and out the other?” she grumbled, unable to help herself from shooting him an annoyed glance. “I do not want you to be in my debt.”
Which he easily ignored. “That is a pity because I am.”
“Oh, for goodness sake. I am not a?—”
“Do not think of it as charity,” he said, stunning her. How had he known what she was about to say? “I have been thinking of an arrangement that will benefit us both.”
She knew she shouldn’t ask. She should end this conversation and move on before he frustrated her further, but the words were flying past her lips before she could stop them. “What arrangement is that?”
The Duke of Irvin looked down at her, capturing her gaze. “Marriage.”