Page 58 of Never his Duchess

“Don’t be silly,” Evelyn replied. “You know the purpose of this ball.”

“To find you a suitor. Yes, I know. What a shame. Such a waste of money, when there’s a perfectly good one already waiting.”

“Believe me, the duke is no more interested in me than he is in a case of smallpox. And the feeling is mutual.”

“Is that so? Because you seem to be looking at him rather regularly.”

“Only because he vexes me,” Evelyn said. “As you can see, he’s watching my every move. Making sure I dance until my feet fall off.”

Annabelle chuckled. “I dare say that’s not the reason he’s watching you.”

Evelyn wanted to tell her friend everything. About the long and winding road between her and Nathaniel. About how she had, once or twice, truly believed he cared. About the almost-kisses. About how he had pushed her away each time. About Lord Halston—how Nathaniel had insisted Halston only pursued her out of spite. As if she meant nothing.

But she didn’t say any of it. There was no point.

Tonight, she would find someone tolerable. Someone Nathaniel wouldn’t find as objectionable as he had Halston. Someone she could see herself with—or at least, someone she could imagine being not quite miserable with.

And Nathaniel Sinclair would be nothing more than an unpleasant memory and a scar on her heart that no one would ever see.

CHAPTER 24

“You’re brooding,” Julian observed, appearing at Nathaniel’s elbow with two fresh glasses of champagne. “More than usual, I mean.”

Nathaniel accepted the glass and held it in his hand. His attention remained fixed on Evelyn, who was now speaking with the Hazeltine brothers near the far wall. Both gentlemen seemed utterly enchanted by whatever she was saying.

“I told her about Halston,” he said finally.

“Ah.” Julian followed his gaze. “And how did that go?”

“Poorly.” Nathaniel’s jaw tightened as Lord Hazeltine—the elder one—leaned closer to Evelyn, clearly hanging on her every word. “I may have… misspoken.”

“Misspoken how?”

“I implied that Halston’s interest in her was purely vindictive. That he couldn’t possibly have been genuinely attracted to her. That he wanted her only because of his old rivalry with me.”

Julian let out a low whistle. “Gadzooks, Nathaniel. Even for you, that was spectacularly ill-advised.”

“I didn’t mean it that way.”

“I am certain you did not, but if she understood in that way, then I dare say you are in a bad position now, my friend,” Julian replied.

Nathaniel finally tore his gaze away from Evelyn to look at his friend. “I know it. I only meant that Halston was a bastard who would use anyone to get to me. I meant that she deserves better than to be someone’s pawn.”

“And what you said instead was that she’s unworthy of genuine affection.”

“Apparently.”

“And pray, what happened since? I understand she moved into the dower house for the time being. Your idea?”

He shifted from one foot to the other.

“Yes. It appeared the right thing to quell the rumors, but I fear she has taken it as my pushing her away.”

“I can see why. It seems you are complicating things needlessly, old chum.”

“How?” Nathaniel asked, though he had a feeling he knew the answer.

Julian shook his head. “You already know. And you do realize the solution to this is absurdly simple?”