Page 3 of Her Heartless Duke
“Rather unfortunate, indeed,” Isaac muttered. “Has the Dowager Countess of Westmore set her eye upon a candidate?”
“You can be sure she has her heart on several young misses already. Right now, Miles should be at his wits’ end thinking up schemes to evade them.” Daniel laughed as he stepped out the door and winked at him. “We have to be there to show our support.Naturally.”
“Naturally,” he echoed on a hoarse croak, his throat still abominably parched. “And what about you? Should you not be in search of a wife yourself?”
Daniel merely chuckled. “Get some rest and get yourself cleaned up, Langley, or Lady Townsend will never allow you to sully her ballroom.”
It was only after his friend had closed the door behind him that Isaac realized that he had just been cleverly yoked into attending the Townsend ball—one he had not initially harbored any intention of attending, even if it meant disappointing the formidable Countess who insisted on holding them year after year.
But if I attend the ball, then I would get to see Vivian again, he thought.Perhaps, I could even talk to her…
He was not a fool—he knew it would take more than a few, well-placed sweet words to win her heart again, after all that he had put her through last Season.
He let out a hoarse laugh and shook his head. He had to show some appreciation for his friend—Daniel truly was a wily fox.
Very well. It seems that I will be attending the Townsend ball, after all.
CHAPTERTWO
“The first ball of the Season! Oh, are you not excited, Olivia?”
Olivia paused, her fork hovering midair in between her plate and her mouth at her cousin’s query. It was an innocent enough question—after all, she and Fiona had gone to London for the past two Seasons together, and really, Fiona had no reason to believe that this year would be any different. She smiled and set her fork down, quietly avoiding the pointed look her aunt shot in her direction.
“Well, I suppose I am looking forward to it,” she demurred, trying her best to not look like she was aimlessly pushing her peas around her plate. “Itisthe first ball of the Season,” she simply repeated languidly.
Her Aunt Joana nodded. “Quite right and you know how Lady Townsend is—she will certainly take offense if one does not attend her balls. Which brings me to the question,” she huffed. “Where is the Earl? He should have been here half an hour ago!”
“I am here, Aunt Joana,” a carefree voice called out from the doorway. “Please, do feel free to take me to task in my own residence.”
Lady Joana Bennet narrowed her eyes at the sight of her nephew casually striding to his seat at the head of the table. “My Lord, if you had been any other weak-spined dandy with his shirt points holding up his chin, I would argue that a severe dressing down might be just what you needed. Unfortunately,” she gave out a long-suffering sigh, “I believe we are way past that.”
“Indeed,” Olivia chortled as another pea slid away from her fork. Her brother shot her a look and she ducked her head, choosing to focus on cutting a piece of roast beef instead.
“But, really, Daniel, you will have to exert a little more effort. The Season is already upon us, and we havetwoyoung ladies to marry off.Two!”
Olivia sneaked a glance at her brother, who looked thoroughly unperturbed by the concerns of their aunt. Daniel merely proceeded to eat his dinner calmly, pausing once in a while to put on a thoughtful face as he chewed.
“There are frocks to be made, matching gloves and hats…” their aunt prattled on. “Why, as the Earl and the brother of an unmarried lady, you have to show a little more support for dear Olivia with your presence. You know how all sorts of rumors will get out if you do but the bare minimum!”
“Quite,” Fiona nodded like a chicken pecking on grains. “Not to mention that this Season, there are two unmarried Dukes. Two!”
She looked and sounded so much like her mother did, that Olivia had to duck her head once more to hide her giggles.
“Why should we fret about two unmarried Dukes when we have an unmarried Earl ourselves?” Olivia demurred instead with a teasing grin in the direction of her brother, who turned a little pale at the insinuation.
“I shall consider your concern, Olivia, but you had best start looking for a suitable match yourself,” Daniel shot back at her. “And I believe the number is incorrect—there arethreeDukes in search of a wife.”
“Oh.”
“Well, aside from the three Dukes, Lady Kaitlyn Willow has also just announced that she will be holding a dance competition at the end of the Season!” Fiona clapped her hands in excitement. “I heard that she only holds it once every three years and that all the winners eventually find their match before the Season ends!” She turned to her cousin. “Livvy, you simply must attend!”
“Lady Willow’s dance competition?” Olivia breathed. “Has it already been three years?”
“Yes!” her cousin grinned. “And youknowhow Miss Mary Wilton would not stop crowing about how her sister managed to win the heart of Lord Willoughby when she won the competition three Seasons ago!”
“Lord Willoughby!” Daniel scoffed, finally setting down his silverware. “I shall not accompany you ladies to this ball, merely so you can blather on about the likes of one such as Willoughby!”
“But Lord Willoughbyisexceedingly handsome…”