Page 6 of The Truth about the Duke (Whispers of the Ton #5)

Chapter Five

“ A re you quite ready to give up yet?”

Henry glanced to Lord Kendall, then shook his head. “If you are asking me what I think you are asking, then the answer is no.”

Lord Kendall chuckled. “I am asking you whether or not you are ready to admit that your list of requirements is much too long and will never be entirely fulfilled.”

“Then the answer is certainly no.” Henry chuckled wryly as his friend rolled his eyes. “There are many young ladies in London and I have not been introduced to all of them as yet. And those I have been introduced to, I do not know.”

“And this is how you intend to get to know some of them, is it? Standing alone, in amongst a small group of trees while the rest of the ton make their way through Hyde Park?”

A trifle irritated at his friend’s sarcasm, Henry let it wash over him. “I am only observing the young ladies present at the moment.” He nodded his head in the direction of one gentleman standing with another lady. “I can see my uncle, in fact. I did not know he was in London and I must, of course, go to speak with him.”

“Your uncle?” Lord Kendall followed the direction of Henry’s gaze, then nodded. “Ah, Lord Chesterfield. He is an Earl, is he not?”

“He is. I have not spoken with him in some time. I shall certainly have to speak with him this afternoon. But, I do not yet want to make my way down into the crowd until I have seen who else is present. The debutantes in particular, you understand.”

Lord Kendall snorted. “It is the fashionable hour, there is barely going to be grass left to stand on soon enough! You must decide who it is that you wish to speak to and, thereafter, go to do so without hesitation. Otherwise every face will become blurred and you will lose any awareness of who you have spoken to and who you have not.”

A trifle confused, Henry looked to his friend. “I do not know what you mean.”

Lord Kendall flung out one hand towards the slowly increasing crowd. “I mean to say that there are so many young ladies here, you shall find yourself surrounded! Despite your intentions to speak to only this young lady or that young lady, you will be so overwhelmed that you will be quite overcome.”

Henry frowned. “So what should I do?”

“You should decide on one or two young ladies that you intend to improve your connection with and, thereafter, go to do so. Once you decide that they do not bring you all that you desire, then you choose another young lady to replace the first and so on and so forth.” Lord Kendall’s eyes glinted as he attempted to hide a smile. “And then, once you have made your way through every single young lady in London, you shall admit to me that you were entirely unsuccessful, that your list of requirements was quite ridiculous and you shall beg me for guidance and advice. Which, of course, I shall be glad to give.”

“Is that so?” Henry chuckled as his friend grinned and nodded. He considered for a few minutes, slowly coming to accept that his friend was quite correct in his suggestion that he choose only a few young ladies to consider, rather than looking through the crowd and wondering who he ought to speak with on this one occasion or who else he might be introduced to. “Very well, you are right, I suppose.”

“I am?” Lord Kendall’s eyes widened only for him to laugh. “Greater words have never been spoken!”

Ignoring this, Henry shook his head. “Might you come down from your lofty position and be able to tell me who it is that you think I ought to improve my acquaintance with first?”

The smile left Lord Kendall’s face as he considered this, looking around at the crowd near them. Then, he nudged Henry, his eyes fixed straight ahead.

“There, that is Lady Judith, daughter to the Marquess of Kent. You have been introduced to her, yes?”

Henry frowned. “Is it the young lady with the feathers in her bonnet?”

“Yes.”

“Then yes, I have. Though I do not recall any sort of conversation that came thereafter.”

Lord Kendall nodded, seemingly satisfied at this. “Then she is one. And what about Lady Ann? Her brother has recently taken on the title from his late father, the Earl of Gateshead.”

“Very well.” Henry recognized the second young lady at once, recalling how her laugh had sent a shiver down his spine. “Though Lady Ann did laugh a little too sharply for me and – ”

“And she might have been very nervous when it came to speaking with a Duke and you will not base your consideration of a young lady on whether her laugh pleases you or not.” Lord Kendall frowned heavily, though Henry was sure there was a smile still lurking there. “That was not one of your requirements, I am sure.”

“Then it should have been,” Henry muttered, as a choked exclamation came from his friend. “Come then, join me, if you would.”

Lord Kendall shook his head. “No, indeed not. I have my own bride to find, recall?”

Henry chuckled, a question lifting his eyebrows. “And given that you are so determined I shall fail in my endeavors, what is to say that you will not find delight and compatibility where I do not?”

This gave Lord Kendall pause. “Ah. Yes. You might find Lady Ann’s laugh displeasing but I might find it delightful.”

“Precisely.”

Lord Kendall grinned as he spread out one hand towards the ladies near to them. “Then of course, I shall join you. Please, Your Grace, lead the way.”

With a roll of his eyes and a wry smile on his lips, Henry marched past Lord Kendall and made his way directly towards the young lady with feathers in her bonnet, pausing only to shake his uncle’s hand with a promise that he would return to speak at length with him very soon. He did not think much of the feathers, finding them a little too red and ostentatious, given that she was a debutante and meant to only be wearing light colors given her standing. Though, he reminded himself, that directive was not in his list of requirements either.

“Lord Kent,” Henry muttered, inclining his head as he came closer to the gentleman. “Good afternoon.”

“Your Grace!” The gentleman’s eyebrows lifted though he bowed quickly, seeming to be surprised that Henry had come to speak with him. “Good afternoon.”

“You are acquainted with the Marquess of Kendall, yes?” Henry gestured to Lord Kendall, who was already smiling at Lady Judith and, much to Henry’s irritation, Lady Judith was blushing gently at the gentleman’s attentions. Clearly, Lord Kendall was not going to make it easy for Henry to seek out whether or not a lady would be suitable for him! Perhaps it had been a mistake to ask him to join the conversation.

“Yes, yes, very well acquainted.” Lord Kent gestured to his daughter. “You know Lady Judith, I think?”

Henry looked to the lady and inclined his head, seeing the color rise in her cheeks and feeling himself a little more satisfied that she was now considering him rather than Lord Kendall. “Yes, we were introduced at a ball, I think.”

The color began to fade from her face. “Forgive me for correcting you, Your Gracee, but it was Lord Harlow’s dinner.”

“Ah. Yes, of course.” Henry coughed quietly, a little embarrassed to have made such a mistake. “And tell me, Lady Judith, do you like those feathers in your bonnet?” It was not a question he had meant to ask but given his embarrassment at making a mistake, it had come to his lips without warning.

Lady Judith blinked.

“ I think they are quite lovely,” Lord Kendall said hastily, shooting Henry a glance that was filled with both confusion and frustration. “Is it something that you had purposely made?”

“I – I chose the feathers, yes.” Lady Judith glanced from Henry to Lord Kendall and back again. “And the ribbon, of course. The pink is to complement them.”

Her eyes darted again from Lord Kendall to Henry but Henry, not sure what he ought to say only looked away.

“Which it does beautifully.” Again, Lord Kendall spoke, seeming to reassure Lady Judith though Henry did not quite understand as to why this was necessary. All he had been trying to do was understand if Lady Judith had picked these feathers herself and, if she had, what her thoughts had been in the process. That was all.

“Are you in London for the entire Season, Your Grace?” Lord Kent wanted to know, pulling Henry’s thoughts away from Lady Judith and her feathers. “I hope you have found it a pleasant experience so far.”

“On the whole, it has been enjoyable, yes.” Henry sniffed and looked back at Lady Judith, considering her. She was beautiful, with her blue eyes and fair hair, gently pouting lips and pale complexion but that did not mean that she would satisfy all that he desired in a wife. “I do hope that I will be permitted to come to take tea with you one day soon, Lady Judith?”

This seemed to astonish Lady Judith a great deal, for she stared at him with wide eyes for some moments, her mouth a little ajar – and that made Henry frown. He could not have a young lady by his side who would be so overwhelmed by whatever circumstances came to her!

“Judith?” Lord Kent set a hand on his daughter’s arm. “His Grace was asking you if he could come to take tea?”

Lady Judith blinked quickly. “I – I did not mean to hesitate, Your Grace. In all truth, you astonish me by your consideration and I feel honoured by your request. Yes, of course, you would be welcome to call at any time preferable to you.”

This buoyed Henry’s spirits a little, seeing that Lady Judith’s reaction to his request came from a clear surprise, perhaps recognizing his standing and considering herself in light of that. Such a thing pleased him, he had to admit, so with that in mind, he gave her a nod.

“Excellent. I hope to call later this week.” After a few more moments of conversation, Henry excused himself and stepped away, leaving Lord Kendall to the conversation. He made his way directly towards Lady Ann, though he then began to slow his steps, recognizing that he was not acquainted with her as yet.

He frowned. Should he wait for Lord Kendall? To do so would mean that he would be drawn into conversation with others and might then miss his opportunity to speak with Lady Ann, would it not?

“Your Grace, good afternoon!”

Henry sighed inwardly, recognizing that his hesitation had led him into the very situation he had not wanted to be in. “Good afternoon, Lady Hampshire. Lord Hampshire, I presume?” Being quickly introduced to the Earl, Henry let his gaze fall to Lady Lydia who, he noticed, was regarding him with a flicker of something – perhaps interest – in her eye. It was a rather strange feeling to be studied so, for she was not looking at him in the way that other young ladies did. There was no flush of heat in her cheeks, no sparkle in her eyes, no demure lowering of her lashes as she smiled gently. Rather, it was with consideration that she gazed at him, as though she were trying to make him out, trying to understand him without a word being exchanged between them.

He did not much like it.

“I hear that you are already acquainted with my daughter and that your friend is acquainted with my son!” Lord Hampshire beamed, pleased that there was a connection of sorts between them. “Is Lord Kendall here this afternoon?”

Henry nodded. “Yes, he is.” He caught the way Lord Hampshire threw a glance at his daughter and let his eyebrows lift in surprise. Did Lord Hampshire think that Lady Lydia might have a chance of catching Lord Kendall’s interest? That made his stomach twist at the thought, for if that were to occur, would it not damage his friendship with Lord Kendall? He could not very well pretend he liked Lady Lydia and Lord Kendall was already well aware of that.

“He will come to join me soon,” Henry told him, being careful to keep his gaze away from Lady Lydia, though the way she continued to watch him made his skin crawl with uncomfortable displeasure. “He is to introduce me to Lady Ann, daughter to Lord Gateshead.”

“Oh, but Lydia could do such a thing if you required it!” Lord Hampshire continued to smile broadly in Henry’s direction, gesturing to his daughter as he did so. “She and Lady Ann have only just finished in conversation and I know she would be delighted to make an introduction. Would you not, Lydia?”

Was it just Henry’s imagination or did he hear a sigh escape from Lady Lydia’s mouth?

“If you should like me to introduce you, then I would be glad too, of course.” Lady Lydia spoke in a dull tone, without a single smile crossing her lips. “She is just a little way over here.”

“And she can take you to Lady Ann, of course.” Lady Hampshire slipped her arm through her husband’s. “It is only a few steps away so we need not join you.” She turned her attention to her daughter, a thin smile on her face. “On you go now, Lydia. Make sure the Duke is properly introduced to Lady Ann.”

Henry frowned, opening his mouth to say that there was no need for such a thing, only to see Lady Lydia turn on her heel and make to walk away from him. There was no chance for him to refuse now, no opportunity for him to say that no, he did not need her assistance. With another glance towards the Earl and Countess – Lady Hampshire with her small smile still present and Lord Hampshire with a wide smile on his round face – Henry nodded and, heaviness in every step, followed after Lady Lydia.

He came beside her, seeing her glance up at him only to then look away again. They walked in silence for a few minutes as frustration began to climb up Henry’s spine.

“I thought you said she was only a few steps away.”

“I think, Your Grace, you will find that the statement came from my mother.” Lady Lydia sniffed and looked up at him again. “It will only be a few more minutes.”

Henry’s jaw tightened, a little frustrated that Lord and Lady Hampshire had, in their own way, determined to place himself and their daughter together. “I did not think that we would be walking together, Lady Lydia.” He could not quite keep the frustration out of his voice and caught the sharp look she sent him, seeing the hint of red in her cheeks.

“Your Grace, I am well aware that you do not wish to be in my company but be assured that I feel the very same. I have no desire to be in company with you for any longer than I must and am doing this only because my mother and father made it impossible for me to refuse.”

Her clear way of speaking and her somewhat sharp tone made Henry’s eyebrows lift, utterly astonished that a young lady of quality would speak so to him. “Is that so?” Doubt flooded through his tone, his head held high as he inwardly set aside all that she had said, not certain he believed her. Despite her clear disinclination towards his company, surely she still took some pleasure in being seen in his company?

As though she had heard his thoughts, Lady Lydia responded quickly. “No doubt you will wonder why a young lady such as myself is not delighted to be in your company, given that you are a Duke,” she began, the edge of her lip curling. “However, you will find that I am a young lady who is not inclined to lose her head simply because she is company with a Duke.”

“I can see that.” The words tumbled out of Henry’s mouth before he could prevent them, her sharp tone and blunt remarks injuring him in a way he could not quite understand. “Though mayhap you ought to consider a little more just who it is that you are in company with?”

This did not bring the expected response for Lady Lydia did not glance up at him with worry in her eyes, did not look back at him with any sort of concern. Instead, he heard her make a quiet exclamation, something between a snort and a laugh.

That made his face heat, the blood in his veins beginning to burn.

“You are unlike any young lady I have ever met,” he told her, brusquely. “I think your mother and father ought to be ashamed of your behavior.”

“Oh, they already are, Your Grace,” came the reply, a lightness in her tone that did not speak of any sort of upset. “You may well have ascertained this by now, but I am, completely and utterly, a bluestocking. I love all manner of learning, I find it deeply fascinating to discover new things and I am certainly not going to be bound by what society expects of me. So yes, you may well state that my parents ought to be ashamed of my behavior but the truth is, Your Grace, there is nothing but frustration and upset at my decision to pursue such interests. So I do not think that my dislike of being in a Duke’s company will cause them any great upset, for they have a good deal of that already.”

Henry did not know what to say, finding himself caught between something like shame at how he had spoken and a lingering irritation that nothing he had said had, in any way, affected Lady Lydia. He did not have the opportunity to respond further, however, for the lady drew close to a small group of gentlemen and ladies, and within moments, Henry found himself introduced not only to Lady Ann but to one or two others that he was not acquainted with.

“A pleasant day, is it not, Your Grace?” Lady Ann spoke gently and with a warm smile on her lips but Henry did not find his heart or mind pulled towards her in any way. Instead, he found himself considering Lady Lydia all the more, his thoughts still stirred up over all she had said and revealed to him.

“A fine day, yes.” Managing to stumble over his words, Henry cleared his throat and forced a smile, looking around the small group and trying to push all thoughts of Lady Lydia from himself. “Though it is quite busy, is it not?”

This sent a murmur of acknowledgment around the group and, much to Henry’s relief, pulled the conversation from him. He was able to take a few moments to regain his sense of composure, glancing this way and that to ascertain where Lady Lydia was… only to realize that she was gone.

No sense of relief filled him. Instead, his brows pulled together in a heavy frown as he considered all that she had said to him, struggling to understand why his own thoughts still lingered on the lady.

Remember what Lord Kendall told you, he reminded himself. One or two ladies at a time. That means I do not need to concentrate on anyone other than Lady Ann and Lady Judith for the time being. The edge of his mouth crept upwards. And it is not as though I would ever consider Lady Lydia! With that planted firmly in his mind, Henry lifted his chin, took a breath, and reentered the conversation with a fresh confidence and determination within him, quite certain that, in time, he would be able to fully forget Lady Lydia entirely.