Page 5

They had been standing facing one another at the base of the steps leading into Almack’s. Now, he crossed his arms and leaned back against the column outside the door. “ She didn’t throw it. She tripped you such that you would spill it, and then she blamed you for your clumsiness.”

Ah. The duke had a sense of fair play. That was good. “The potion had to go on your skin, you see. I was going to pretend to sneeze and splash you with my fingers, but she rightly pointed out that that was repulsive.”

“I should say so,” he commented dryly.

“It wasn’t going to be a real sneeze!” she returned hotly. “Just, you know, a flick of my fingers.” She demonstrated for his benefit. He seemed unmoved. “It’s some herbs in rose water. You wouldn’t have sustained any damage.”

“Why not refuse to participate in the entire charade?”

Kynthea lifted her hands in disgust. “Because she’s sixteen and under enormous pressure to settle the rest of her life in six short weeks!” She glared at the duke, but he obviously had no compassion for the strain society’s rules put on girls. “The second plan was to convince you to drink it—”

“A love potion.”

“Yes! But she realized you wouldn’t be so obliging.”

“She was correct.”

“And so she tripped me,” Kynthea huffed. “She was desperate, and…” She blew out a breath. “And she and I have discussed it. I have forgiven her. And now you must publicly apologize to her.”

“Me?” he scoffed. “Because she’s trying to poison me?”

“Because she needed an outlet for her fears and as ridiculous as it seems, a love potion was a harmless way to distract her.”

“Harmless if you forget the damage to your reputation. You are neither clumsy nor on the shelf. Do you forget that you, as well, need to find a husband?”

Of course she hadn’t. But she was the daughter of a vicar. She knew from helping her father that marriage to a cruel man was much worse than life as a spinster. And even the most well-matched couples grew bitter when there wasn’t any love between them.

“My prospects are already doomed. I have nothing to recommend me on the marriage mart and well you know it.” No title, no income, and no expectation that anyone in the peerage would look beyond that.

Not that she didn’t hope, of course. There was always hope. And his next words reinforced that.

“I know nothing of the sort. As for Lady Zoe, she will find a match because she is young, beautiful, and well dowered. You have the same six weeks as her companion to attract a husband, and she declared to one and all that you are clumsy and slightly daft.”

“She said it was an accident—”

“She said it was all your fault.”

Kynthea winced. Yes, she had. “But I know she didn’t mean it.”

“Perhaps. But everyone else won’t. And if I’ve destroyed Lady Zoe’s chances this season, then what did she just do to yours?”

He had a point. If she’d ever harbored the secret dream of marrying well, then she’d started off on a very bad foot this night.

So she said what she always said when trying to console herself for a life turned hard.

“There is no sense in hoping for something that will never happen. I have no prospects, and therefore will make the best life I can now.”

“And how will you do that?”

“By helping my charge with her ambitions.” She took a step forward. “If I do well here, then perhaps I will find other positions as I chaperone other young ladies.”

“Not if you throw water on dukes.”

“Exactly!” she said with a great deal more enthusiasm than she felt. “That’s why it was better to have tripped than sneezed.”

He shook his head. “Do you actually believe your own nonsense?”

“Absolutely,” she said, a sense of total defeat coming over her. “It makes it easier to convince everyone else.”

“Not me.”

Yes, she could see that. She sighed. They needed to head back inside. The tongues were already going to wag. “My lord, I am not angry with Zoe for tripping me. What gives you the right to punish her so harshly?”

His mouth thinned and his chin came up. It was the look of a man who had become a duke at age eleven. He was not used to being questioned or having his face drenched with herb water. She could not fault him for that, but neither could she allow him to end Zoe’s chances this Season.

Finally, he spoke. “She violates my sense of fair-play. Tripping people and love potions, indeed. She does not have the character to make anyone a good wife.”

“She is sixteen!”

“And on the marriage mart.”

He was right. Of course, he was right! But sixteen-year-old girls were routinely married, and neither she nor he could change that. She huffed out a breath. “So don’t marry her, Your Grace. But don’t ruin her chances with someone else. It’s not fair to damn her future based on a childish game.”

She could tell her emphasis on the word “fair” was having its effect.

He was a duke, and therefore his opinion carried enormous weight in the haut ton .

A debutante was the weakest among all the ton .

It wasn’t fair for him to wield his power without careful thought.

Thankfully, the man heard her. Or perhaps he wearied of the scene they were making in front of…

Oh heavens. The windows of Almack’s revealed at least a dozen faces pressed up against the glass.

“What would you have me do?” he asked wearily.

Success. She felt her shoulders sink in relief. “Invite her to ride with you in the morning. It will be an enjoyable outing, I promise you. She is an accomplished rider and, in truth, it’s your stables that attracts you to her.”

“Did you just say that she prefers my horses to me?”

Well, yes, she had. “Haven’t you said you’d prefer to ride than attend a society event?”

“Not the point.”

She chuckled. He really did have a dry way of speaking.

Why it tickled her sense of fancy, she had no idea, but he did make her smile.

“Given that marriage is a business enterprise, you could do worse than having her expertise. She’s an excellent equestrienne, but more important, she understands their husbandry like no one else.

It is thanks to her that their family’s stable has managed well these last ten years. ”

“Ten years!” he scoffed. “That would have her managing things when she was six.”

Kynthea grinned. “You should ask her about that. It’s quite the tale of her squaring off with their stablemaster.”

He stared at her hard, clearly wondering if she were joking. She wasn’t. And in time, his expression softened. “Miss Petrelli,” he said with a voice that carried. “Would you do me the honor of riding with me in the morning?”

Oh, excellent—wait, what? “No, no,” she whispered in surprise. “You’re supposed to ask Zoe!”

His brows rose. “Was I? My apologies.” He didn’t seem the least bit apologetic. “Are you able to sit a horse?”

“Of course, I am. It was Zoe’s primary requirement in a companion.”

“Then I should like you to enjoy the sweetest mare in my stable. She is docile when needed, but has a mischievous quirk to her spirit I find endearing.”

She stared at the man. He spoke with such a flat tone that one might miss the humor beneath the words. “Did you just compare me to a horse?”

“Did I? Hmm, no I don’t believe so. I said that I believe you will enjoy my peculiar horse.”

He was teasing her. At least she thought he was teasing her, and the idea was so absurd that she giggled. Imagine, a duke teasing her, a nobody miss companion. But she was not one to let such an opportunity pass. “You know that where I go, Zoe must follow.”

“If she can find a companion to join us, then I shall provide mounts for them as well.”

An excellent idea. “What about Lord Nathaniel?” He was the only gentleman who had managed to make Zoe laugh.

The man snorted. “Awake before noon? I doubt it.”

Oh dear. Well, there were any number of men who would stir themselves out of bed if it meant more time with an heiress. “I do hope she finds an accomplished one. She’s very particular about her riding companions.”

He extended his arm out to her. “She sounds like a remarkably difficult charge.”

She sighed. That was not the impression she meant to convey. “She’s the privileged daughter of an earl. I challenge you to find one who is not.”

“No, thank you. I am perfectly content doing without.”

She chuckled. “I do not believe your mother would agree.” And here she scored a true hit.

Indeed, everyone knew how keen his mother was to see him married and busily filling his nursery.

And just to underscore her point, who was waiting at the top of the stairs?

His mother…looking like she wanted to murder them both.

She squeezed his arm to commiserate. “I apologize for taking up so much of your time.”

“And there you go apologizing for something that was not your fault. I chose the exact length of our conversation. My mother’s annoyance will not fall upon you.”

She doubted that was true, but she didn’t argue.

It wasn’t until they were three short of the top step that she caught sight of Zoe’s anxious expression.

The girl was waiting a step behind the dowager duchess with hope and terror written in clear lines upon her young face.

Kynthea suddenly remembered her promise.

“Damnation, I forgot!” Kynthea cried.

The duke paused and looked down in concern. “What is it?”

“There isn’t time now.” She was an idiot for forgetting.

“What?”

“Nothing. Simply tomorrow, please indulge us if Zoe asks you strange questions.”

He sighed. “Part of the love potion, I imagine.”

“Yes.”

“And shall I be subjected to another deluge of herb water?”

“Most likely. She’s quite determined.”

He sighed. “Very well. But don’t shower me with it. Put it on a handkerchief. I shall wipe my face with it.”

“Thank you.” She peeked up at him. “You are being most generous to endure it.”

“Yes,” he drawled. “I am.”

Well, that was rude. His answer implied an excessive sense of his own importance, as if a slight wetting in the face and an impertinent question were too much to bear. But when she drew breath to respond, he winked at her.

She nearly missed it. They were starting to climb the steps again, and her attention had been on making a graceful entrance. But she had looked at his face and saw the wink, clear as day. It startled her enough that her response was forgotten as she gaped at him.

He was teasing her? More than that, was he poking fun at his own vanity? She couldn’t credit it. And yet, the way his lips quirked at her shock made the truth absolutely clear. Beneath that stuffy exterior, the duke had a wicked sense of humor. And he didn’t mind ridiculing himself.

“Your Grace—” she began, but he cut her off.

“Miss Petrelli, I look forward to our morning ride. I shall come for you at seven.” His words were loud enough for everyone to hear. And if they didn’t, the sight of him bowing before her as he kissed her hand surely painted a picture. Especially when her cheeks burned crimson at his attention.

Damnation, she had been trying to get him time with Zoe, not create a stir around herself.

But there was nothing to do now except curtsey as was proper and pray that Zoe understood the truth of the situation.

Either way, tomorrow morning promised to be an interesting opportunity, if only Kynthea had the wit to manage it right.

And more importantly, if Zoe managed to act like a lady twice her age. As for the duke…

Well, what did she hope for the duke?

Goodness, she didn’t want her thoughts to wander in that direction. Because, truth be told, she already had too many exciting thoughts about the man. By God, the memory of his wink set her belly aflutter. And that smile of his? Parts of her were tightening in a way she’d never felt before.

What was wrong with her? And damn it all, she had to throw the man at Zoe. Sometimes the life of a companion was horribly unfair.