Page 21 of My Secret Duke
I t did not take long for Ivo to hear about the romance novel Vivienne and Annette had written. His sister was hardly through the door before his question was answered and Adelina gave him all the latest gossip on the Ashton family. He suggested they keep this tidbit to themselves, and that the Ashtons had enough to deal with, and he was pleased when she agreed.
The suggestion had been for Olivia’s sake. Earlier, at the park, when he’d called out to her and she’d turned to him, she had a look on her face… As if she expected the worst possible news. He shouldn’t have called out, but when he’d seen her, he’d felt so… well, so happy. In that moment, he had forgotten he could no longer be friends with her. He’d just wanted to look into her eyes and see her smile up at him. All of those memories of other times had rushed back to him: when the first person he had looked for at a ball was Olivia, and all he had thought about was how to have some time alone with her.
Well, times had changed, and he wouldn’t forget it next time. In fact, there wouldn’t be a next time. Enough was enough. He had sworn to keep his distance, and so he would, and eventually these ridiculous emotions would begin to subside.
“You like her,” Adelina said quietly.
Ivo was startled out of his thoughts. “Her?”
“Lady Olivia Ashton. Don’t pretend you don’t know who I mean. It’s obvious you are in lo… that you like her. Lexy and Mother have both commented on it. Mother is not particularly happy about such a connection, but I think if you are happy, then so will she be.”
Ivo shook his head. “As pleasant as your fairy tale sounds, Adelina, I am not about to propose to Olivia Ashton.” Certainly not again. “She has an entirely different future in mind, with a prince of our acquaintance.”
“The prince left Grantham after Annette blurted out her secret. I don’t think he was very pleased by yet another scandal brewing.”
This was news to Ivo, and he wondered for a moment whether the chance of an engagement between Olivia and the prince was at an end. Not that it would make any difference to how he was feeling now. She would no doubt find some other wealthy gentleman to set her sights on, cheered along by her bloody grandmother. When he put this idea to his sister, she pooh-poohed it.
“Girls change their minds all the time, Ivo! You should know that; you have two sisters. I don’t think you should give up on Olivia just yet. Maybe you should invite her to Whitmont.”
Ivo said nothing—he didn’t want to encourage Adelina—but he remembered very well the conversation with Olivia about Whitmont. He had found himself carried away, partly because she was listening with such rapt attention. It had seemed more than mere politeness on her part. Perhaps the wild aspect of his home appealed to her? In that moment, he’d had a desperate desire to take her there and show her his favorite places. To stand with her while the salty wind tossed their hair, and wax lyrical about his boyhood. Ridiculous, really.
Besides, what would Olivia think if she knew Whitmont had been searched by revenue officers looking for contraband? She already believed him a lost cause. She would rightly put even more distance between them in case it damaged her prospects.
No, despite what Adelina believed, he was not going to languish over a girl who did not want him.
The Season continued, still in full swing, and in his role as bachelor about town, Ivo accepted the more interesting invitations. One of them was Justina Ashton’s coming-out, which he only agreed to because his mother and sisters insisted. It would be a test, Ivo told himself, to see if he was finally over Olivia. He was rather pleased that he hadn’t dreamed about her for at least a fortnight.
In the meantime, he put himself at the disposal of his mother, whenever she ventured out into the fashionable world. There were a number of balls where partners were always gratefully received, as well as visits to the theater and late-night suppers. In the past, he would have been busy carousing at his club, but what had once seemed exciting to him no longer appealed. He hadn’t made a reckless wager in quite some time, and he found he didn’t miss them. In the meantime, the formal purchase of Cadieux’s had gone ahead, with papers signed and bank drafts arranged. Gabriel had been more than happy to hand his club over to his best friend, Charles, with Ivo as his partner. And Cadieux’s kept Ivo engaged. He had meant to be a silent partner, but Charles seemed to need his input more than expected, and the nightly antics at the gaming club fulfilled any yearning he had for excitement.
He saw Olivia Ashton at a great many entertainments, smiling and being charming—a far cry from the girl who had struggled to take her rightful place in society. If her grandmother had had any concerns about her granddaughter being openly ostracized when they returned to London, then they should by now have been laid to rest. There were still whispers, there always would be, but Olivia appeared to take them in her stride. Sometimes, at the less formal events, Justina was present, and once he even saw Roberta frolicking at a picnic with some younger girls.
Ivo kept his distance from Olivia Ashton. It was easier, despite what Adelina had said; he had no intention of resurrecting whatever had been between them. And he truly believed that, until one evening.
Olivia was dancing with a young gentleman, who was blushing and stammering out his words—at least Ivo guessed he was stammering from the look of him. Olivia was smiling, but her expression seemed uncomfortable. As the dance went on, Ivo found himself turning to watch them again and again, so distracted from the conversation he had been having with a very pretty lady that she must have thought him a bore.
The dance finished, Olivia curtsied, and the gentleman bowed, but before he could lead her back to her place beside her grandmother, another woman came to take his arm. She smiled at Olivia, but it was so obviously false that it raised Ivo’s hackles. Then she caught hold of the man’s sleeve and tugged him away. Ivo could see the red flags in her cheeks and her mouth moving as she spoke close to the fellow’s ear. It was a disturbing display of bad manners.
Olivia had been left standing in the middle of the room, and there were some curious glances sent her way. She seemed deep in her own thoughts, and Ivo knew he shouldn’t, he really shouldn’t, but he couldn’t help himself. He was already strolling toward her.
Just as he reached her, Olivia abruptly turned and almost ran into him. “Oh!” Briefly, he grasped her upper arms to steady her as she blinked up at him. “Ivo?”
He made himself smile politely as he bowed. “Lady Olivia.” The music was beginning again, and the dancers were taking their places. “I think we should move out of the way before we get trampled. Who is your next partner?”
“I…” She fumbled with her dance card. “I don’t have one.”
“How surprising,” he said evenly, “and how fortunate for me. Come and sit with me for a moment.”
She hesitated and then gave a wry smile and a little nod before tucking her gloved hand into the crook of his elbow.
Ivo had meant to take her back to her grandmother, but instead, he found himself leading her past the dowager duchess—who appeared to be dozing anyway—and found one of those semi-secluded alcoves that seemed to abound at social gatherings. The flimsy curtains were fastened to the sides so that it was open to public scrutiny, but it also gave them a measure of privacy. Olivia sat down without a word, and he joined her on the cushioned sofa that was tucked into the space.
“What was that about?” he asked bluntly.
She frowned at him, and then her expression grew haughty. “You mean Lord Hollingsworth? I doubt it is any of your business, Your Grace, but he was asking my permission to call upon me at Ashton House. I don’t think it was a proposal, but he was rather incoherent.”
Ivo’s surprise must have shown, because her frown returned.
“You seem shocked that an eligible gentleman should want to call upon me.”
There was something in her statement that made him want to dig deeper into her feelings and his, but he resisted. “No, not at all. I just…” He cleared his throat. “Was that his mother who dragged him away? It looked as if she was rescuing him from peril.”
She gave an unwilling laugh. “Something like that. I overheard a little of what she said. I am, evidently, an unacceptable prospect for him, and she wanted him to keep his distance in case I ‘ensnared’ him with my ‘wiles.’”
She was making a joke of it, but Ivo knew her too well to miss the distress in her blue eyes. “You’re well rid of him,” he said roughly. “If he needs his mother’s permission to call upon someone—”
“Ivo, I know you are trying to make me feel better, but I understand. I do. I am not an acceptable prospect for many of these people. The Ashtons are scandal-ridden, and we are in debt. I’m not sure my dowry will attract the likes of Lord Hollingsworth or if I even have a dowry. I haven’t discussed it with Gabriel or Grandmama. I suppose I should, in case—”
He had been eyeing her curiously as she gabbled, but now he broke in. “Have you had many gentleman callers?”
“No one I am desperate to marry, if that’s what you mean. One or two rakes who think I am easy pickings.” Her smile turned into a grimace. “Grandmama sent them off with fleas in their ears. I’ve had some widowers who believe I’d make the perfect stepmother for their children, but I think they are probably as desperate as I am. There has been no one I am inclined to marry.”
“The prince…”
“No, he has not proposed, nor will he. That is over.”
He waited a beat. “You are very matter-of-fact about it all.”
“I have learned to be. I know I must marry, and to someone who can help my sisters when they are out, but I am prepared to wait until the right man comes along.”
Ivo felt a wave of feeling crash over him. He wasn’t sure what it was. Hope? The desire to take her in his arms and crush her to him was definitely there, but perhaps he was just feeling protective. “You know,” he said quietly, “you can always seek me out if you need some company.”
Her face brightened. “You mean chat like we used to?” She hesitated. “I didn’t think you wanted to be friends anymore.”
“I didn’t think you did!”
They smiled at each other. Olivia seemed to collect herself, and glanced about. “I should go back to Grandmama.” Then, as she went to rise, “Are you still wagering on everything and anything? I haven’t heard of any of your antics recently.”
“That’s because there haven’t been any. I am busy with the club, and when I’m not there, I am squiring my mother and sisters about.”
“Don’t you miss it?” She was watching him curiously.
“I miss the dares I made with you.”
She dropped her gaze and then flashed him a look from under her lashes. “What dare would you make with me? If you could?”
It was on the tip of his tongue to suggest another billiards match, but then his gaze caught the gangly figure of Lord Hollingsworth not far away. He hesitated, but only for a moment. “I dare you to drop your handkerchief in front of Hollingsworth. If he picks it up and returns it to you, then you win. If he picks it up but doesn’t return it, then I win.”
“Why wouldn’t he return it? It seems rather childish…”
“That’s half the fun of a dare, Olivia.”
She thought about it and then smiled. “Very well. What will I win?”
“The knowledge that you are a beautiful young woman and irresistible even to a mother’s boy like Hollingsworth.”
That made her laugh. “And what will you win?”
“I have already won,” he said gallantly. “I have my friend back again.”
She seemed too surprised to answer, and then her face softened. “Thank you,” she whispered before she turned away.
Ivo sat and watched as she made her way toward the Hollingsworths. She cunningly let her handkerchief flutter just as she passed them, and the young man immediately retrieved it. But instead of returning it, he gave a sneaky glance about him, and when no one seemed to have noticed, he tucked it into the breast pocket of his jacket.
Ivo smothered a snort of laughter. Olivia had taken several more steps, and now she turned and looked across the room at him. Ivo mimed what Hollingsworth had done, and saw her eyebrows rise. Then she grinned at him in a manner he had not seen for months, and continued on her way.