Page 17 of The Duke’s Replacement Bride (The Wild Brides #6)

“ Y ou look lovely,” Levi commented.

Caroline felt heat creep into her cheeks. She ran her hands over the skirt of her brand-new lavender gown, which she was wearing for the first time tonight. “I feel…conspicuous.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“It’s unusual,” she said. “My sisters were always the ones people paid attention to. Arabella has such a commanding presence. She draws everyone’s focus when she enters a room just by virtue of being who she is.

And Prudence is so sweet and charming. Even though my sisters and I were once badly dressed, even though we were poor and couldn’t keep up with the fashions of the ton, everyone always looked at Prudence.

She could always find a gentleman to dance with, right from the very start.

People always gave her their attention.”

“But not you?”

“I was the wallflower. And I was content with it. To tell you the truth, I never thought I would marry at all, so I simply didn’t worry over who was paying attention to me,” she said.

She thought back to those days, surprised to find that she was filled with a sense of fondness.

She had been a bit of a laughingstock, it was true, but her life had been sensible and orderly.

She had known who she was and how she fit in with the rest of society.

I wouldn’t go back. Not now that I know something of what it is to belong to someone—with someone .

That was true as well, and it was every bit as surprising to her.

She genuinely liked the fact that she was married.

She liked being Levi’s wife. The way his gaze lingered on her as she descended the stairs—that made her feel more conspicuous than a gown ever could.

But it was in a good way. She felt like one of the ladies she had so often admired.

She felt like someone people would look at, as she had looked at others, and wonder what it was like to be her.

What is it like to be me? To be the Duchess of Mowbray? To be on the arm of one of the most handsome gentlemen in all of London ?

Would others see Levi that way?

They couldn’t help but see it, she thought. She’d observed her share of men in her life, but Levi was a cut above any of them. His good looks were magnetic. It was impossible for anyone to look at him and not be drawn in.

People are going to wonder what he’s doing with the likes of me.

But was that even true? She had gotten a look at herself in this new gown, and she did look lovelier than she was used to. And the way Levi was looking at her now…well, maybe there was something about her appearance that people would find as magnetic as they did his.

She took his arm and allowed him to lead her out to the carriage, her heart pounding in her chest the whole way.

Buckton Manor was well lit and filled with laughter, and Caroline felt a giddy delight take hold of her the moment they had crossed the threshold.

There was something different about this season.

There was something about attending these functions as a duchess that made Caroline feel significant in a way she never had before.

She had been content, in the past, to be a wallflower because it was what everyone had expected of her.

It was what she had expected of herself.

But maybe that was never who I really was. Maybe I’m really someone who can command a room, who can be full of fun and life when I attend parties, the way my sisters were.

“Your Grace!”

Caroline turned to see Lady Alexandra, an acquaintance she had always gotten along passably with.

The daughter of a viscount, Lady Alexandra was pretty, vivacious, and, as yet, unmarried.

It was a combination of attributes that might have come together to make a young lady insufferable—Caroline had known her share of ladies who had fallen prey to self-absorption—but Lady Alexandra had always been kind and pleasant to be around, and she smiled now as she approached.

“What a thrill it is to see you married!” she exclaimed, embracing Caroline and kissing her on both cheeks.

“I’m so excited! I can’t believe you’re a duchess all of a sudden.

You know, all last season I believed you and I were the only two who weren’t going to be married, and now you’ve left me to fend entirely for myself! ”

Caroline couldn’t help laughing. “It caught me by surprise just as much as anyone,” she said. “But you’re not entirely on your own! There are plenty of young ladies who didn’t find their match last season. I see a lot of familiar faces already, and I just arrived.”

“Well, you’re right,” Lady Alexandra said. “I suppose it only feels as if I’m the only one—but then, I wasn’t ready to marry last season, so I suppose I’m glad to have another one. I won’t marry until I’ve done as you did and found someone I feel truly fond of.”

She hadn’t mentioned love, but Caroline suspected it was what she meant. “I’m surprised to hear you describe my marriage like that.”

“Is it not the case?”

“I just…I was under the impression that the gossip about me was somewhat different.”

Alexandra laughed. “You and I both know better than to listen to gossip,” she said.

“And besides, I could tell when you walked in how much you enjoy your husband’s company.

And who could fault you for that? He is a handsome fellow, isn’t he?

I hope, when I marry, that my husband is as handsome as yours.

You know, my father is eyeing Lord Collingwood, but I think I’d rather remain a spinster. ”

She giggled. Caroline grinned. Alexandra’s good humor was so infectious. “Come on. Lord Collingwood isn’t that bad.”

“He’s ghastly! Look at him! He looks as if he’s been dipped in a vat of oil!”

“Oh, he’s only a little sweaty!” But Caroline could see Alexandra’s point. “At least he’s kind,” she said. “It would be better to have an oily but kind man than to have a very handsome one who was cruel to you.”

“Oh, I suppose you’re right, but I just can’t believe those could be my only choices,” Alexandra said.

“There must be a man out there who is both handsome and kind—well, another such man. You can’t have gotten the last one in London.

” She twinkled. “Now, tell me, where is Prudence? She’ll understand my plight far better than a married lady such as yourself ever could.

You don’t have to worry about these things any longer, but Prudence is still in my boat. ”

Caroline felt a twinge of pain. “Prudence won’t be here tonight.”

“What! Why not? She’s not still hiding away at your aunt’s house is she?

That’s where I heard she’d gone when she ran off.

She was always the life and soul of every party.

I do feel that the first ball of the season almost can’t take place without her presence.

It seems like we all ought to pack up and go home until Prudence can join us,” Alexandra said.

Caroline gritted her teeth. Even now that she was a duchess, even with Prudence not here, her sister outshone her.

The main trouble was that it even bothered her, of course.

It never would have done so before. She had been content with her lot.

It was only now that she was with Levi that she found herself wanting to make any sort of impression at all.

And even now, she wasn’t equal to the task. That was maddening.

“Excuse me.” It was Levi. His hand had come to rest on her shoulder, and the touch grounded her and put her at ease. “I’m sorry to interrupt this conversation.”

“That’s all right,” Alexandra said eagerly. “It’s a pleasure to see you as well, Your Grace. I can only imagine how pleased you must be to have such a lovely duchess on your arm this season.”

“Indeed.” Levi smiled. “Will you excuse us, Lady Alexandra? I believe I hear music, and I would very much like to dance with my wife.”

He took Caroline by the hand and led her away. Her heart beat a mile a minute as they entered the ballroom and took up positions on the dance floor. His hands were firm, guiding her through the opening steps until they found an easy rhythm together.

“I didn’t expect you to want to dance,” Caroline confessed. She was slightly breathless. He was just so handsome, and here he was, holding her in his arms. Dancing with her. Letting everyone at the ball know that she was his.

“I thought you might be growing weary of that conversation,” he said. “She seems very nice, but immediately turning to talk of Prudence like that…I thought it might have the potential to sour your evening, and I’m sure neither of us wants that.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you,” Caroline murmured.

“Was Lady Alexandra a particular friend of your sister’s?

“No, nothing like that. But Prudence has always been everybody’s favorite,” Caroline explained. “Alexandra was right—she’s the life of every party. People won’t know what to make of the fact that I’m here at this ball and she is not. I knew to expect that sort of thing.”

“Does it bother you? The fact that they see you and ask for her?”

She hesitated, wondering whether she should just say that of course she wasn’t bothered. But this was Levi. He always appreciated it when she told him the truth, and in spite of her hesitation, he had never given her a reason not to put her faith in him.

“It does bother me a bit,” she said. “And the fact that it bothers me disturbs me even more, if that makes sense. This would never have affected me before. I don’t know when I allowed myself to become so invested in others’ opinions about me.”

“I don’t believe you are as invested in that as you might think,” Levi countered.

“But on the first night of the season, your first night out in society as a duchess…it does make sense that you would be more aware of what people are thinking. What they might see when they look at you. I wouldn’t judge yourself harshly for that if I were you. ”

“You don’t think I’m being shallow?”

“I’ve never seen you that way.” He grinned. “And my tolerance for shallow people is…not very high. I believe I would have noticed that quality if you possessed it, Caroline.”

Caroline returned his smile. “I do appreciate you ending that conversation,” she said.

“I quite like Lady Alexandra, but at the same time, I heard what she was saying. As happy as she might have been to see me, her enthusiasm for my sister’s presence would have been greater.

Prudence was a light in society that I can never hope to match, no matter how brilliantly I shine. ”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Levi said. He reached up and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, and she felt a shiver of anticipation pass through her, as if his touch was the precursor to something more.

It isn’t. Of course not .

But she couldn’t help feeling that there was something special—something magical—about this night, and about the connection between the two of them.

She didn’t know when it had begun, but somehow, Levi had become the person who saw right through to the heart of her, and who understood her better than anybody else in the world.