Page 23 of Song of the Caged Duchess

“Are youmad?” Eugenia hissed as soon as she and Esther were on their own again.

Esther looked at her cousin, surprised. “I don’t know what you mean,” she said. “You’re the one who was falling all over yourself apologizing to that gentleman. For heaven’s sake, you’re not even the one who collided with him. What were you apologizing for?”

“Thatgentlemanwas theDuke!” Eugenia exclaimed. “And you spoke to him as if he was aservant,practically! What on Earth were you thinking?”

Esther felt a flush rise to her cheeks. “That was the Duke of Hallowbinder?” she asked. “Truly?”

“Yes!”

“Why on Earth didn’t you tell me that when we were in front of him?” Esther asked. “How was I to know? I’ve never met him before, and he didn’t introduce himself.” She frowned. “Come to think of it, I wonder why he didn’t introduce himself. That wasn’t exactly mannerly, was it? It didn’t occur to me in the moment, but now that I think about it, it was strange.”

“We didn’t exactly introduce ourselves, either,” Eugenia pointed out. “He picked up our names in conversation. The whole encounter was ghastly.”

“It wasn’t that bad,” Esther protested.

“Esther, you ran into him, spilled his wine on his shirt, and then yelled at him for it.”

“I didn’tyell,” Esther argued.

“You did,” Eugenia said. “Didn’t you see how taken aback he was? He had no idea what to make of you.”

Hehadseemed a bit put off, now that Esther thought back on it. She hadn’t paid it any mind at the time, because she hadn’t registered him as anything more complicated than a person who had gotten in her way.

But now that she knew he was theDuke…

Whathadhe been thinking of her? Was Eugenia right? Had she behaved badly?

Usually, Eugenia was the awkward one. Eugenia was the one who put her foot in things and made a mess of social situations. Esther was the one who acted with grace.

She could feel the regret filling her. “Oh, Eugenia,” she said. “What have I done?”

Eugenia shook her head. “I can’t imagine he’ll want to speak to you again,” she said sympathetically. “And I know you’d hoped he would decide to court you. I’m so sorry.”

“You should have told me it was him!”

“There was no time! When could I have said anything?”

Esther knew that her cousin was right. There had been no time to speak before she had begun to reprimand the Duke. But even so, it all felt disastrous.

“I can’t believe I did that,” she said quietly. “I let my emotions get the best of me. I was just so frustrated.”

“Why were you frustrated?” Eugenia asked. “I know he ran into you, but that isn’t so bad, is it? He clearly didn’t intend to. Andhewas the one who had his drink spilled all over him.”

“Oh, it wasn’t even about him, really,” Esther said with a sigh. “It was about Lord Oxbridge and his friend Lord Kensington. They were vile.”

Eugenia’s voice was sympathetic. “They really bothered you, didn’t they?”

“Why didn’t they botheryou?” Esther asked. “They were very unkind to you, Eugenia.”

“They weren’t that unkind,” Eugenia said. “I know what you mean, Esther. You’re talking about the fact that they expressed a clear preference for you over me.”

“Yes,” Esther said. “You didn’t think that was an abominable thing to do? Both of them standing there fighting over me like that, when they could have graciously asked to dance in turns with each of us? There was no need to be so dismissive of you!”

Eugenia laughed. “It’s sweet of you to be so protective, Esther,” she said. “But I knew this was how it would be for me.”

“You did?”

“Of course,” Eugenia said. “My mother has been preparing me for the disinterest of gentlemen all my life.”