Miss Hervey’s cheeks reddened at this. “Indeed,” she replied in a soft voice. “It was an honor to dance with the Duke.”
“The honor was all mine, Miss Hervey,” Luke said, meeting her eye with what he hoped was a reassuring smile. Really, it was awful to watch the impact that this woman was having on her, making her so anxious and unhappy. And he didn’t understand much about ladies’ fashions, but even he could tell that Alison’s gown was far more suited to the present modes than Miss Hervey’s, now that he saw them close together. How shocking that her stepmother would go out of her way to make her dress in a way that would draw the wrong kind of attention to her in public, out of some kind of spite or the desire to make her own daughter look better.
He looked back to Lady Margaret and was pleased to see a look of surprise on her face.
“Well, I am glad of it, for Charlotte has so little practice at dancing. When I saw her there dancing with you, I was worried that she might make an exhibition of herself.” The viscountess’s tone was unashamedly waspish, and Luke did not like it one bit.
“My lady, Miss Hervey dances extremely well, so there was no chance of that. Please do not say such things,” Luke said firmly. He had had enough of this woman and her snide comments. Despite his desire to remain civil, the time had come to move things along. “Now, if you will forgive me, I was just about to get some more punch for Miss Hervey.”
Lady Margaret’s eyebrows shot up. “Indeed! I think she looks rather as if she has had too much punch already! Charlotte, perhaps you should go and find Martha, and sit down for a while. We wouldn’t want you to get yourself over-excited in company, now, would we?”
Charlotte shook her head. “I am perfectly well, Stepmother,” she replied. “I do not need to rest. But perhaps I should find Martha.” She looked around the room anxiously. Luke suspected that it was not just her sister that she was looking for, but also that she was perhaps trying to catch the eye of the wretched Lord Harry to see if he would come to her rescue, although it seemed unlikely, based on the events of the evening so far.
“Yes, Charlotte, you must go and find Martha. Indeed, I am surprised you have let her wander off by herself in such a busy ballroom.” Lady Margaret paused for a moment and looked at Alison, who was standing next to her, with her eyes downcast. Luke thought that perhaps she was trying to look demure. He rather preferred the bold gaze of Miss Hervey to this false modesty that Miss Jarvis seemed to be displaying.
Lady Margaret shoved her forward again, and Miss Jarvis almost stumbled into him, then looked up at him again, a flirtatious smile on her face. “Your Grace,” she purred.
He took a step back, then looked around to check that Miss Hervey was still next to him. She hadn’t yet gone off to find her sister, and he was glad of it. He did not want her to disappear off into the crowds, never to be found again.
“Your Grace, perhaps you might like to dance with Miss Jarvis now that Miss Hervey is going to rest for a while?” Lady Margaret said, fixing him with a steely gaze that contrasted somewhat bizarrely with the simpering smile on her lips.
“I regret that will not be possible, my lady,” Luke said, then he turned to face Miss Hervey, very deliberately avoiding looking at Miss Jarvis. He could not quite make out if she was complicit in this awful charade of her mother’s or a cringing pawn in the game. But even so, he refused to be drawn into it.
“Miss Hervey, do you think your sister can bear the lack of your company for a while longer? You cannot have forgotten that we are engaged for the next dance?” He held her gaze, willing her to play along.
She gave a slight nod, her face giving away nothing, although he could see confusion in her eyes.
Lady Margaret gasped, but Luke continued to ignore her, focusing his attention solely on Miss Hervey. “I think the punch will have to wait, Miss Hervey. The musicians are about to begin again.”
He held out his hand, and she took it and followed him to where the dance started without a backward glance toward her stepmother or stepsister. Luke felt his heart begin to swell with an unfamiliar feeling as the musicians started to play an Allemande.
CHAPTERSEVEN
As they made their way through the dance together, Charlotte wondered whether she had been somewhat passive in accepting his invitation to dance. The whole conversation between her stepmother and the Duke had surprised her so much that she had felt that she really had little choice but to go along with it, accept his hand and be led towards the dancing. She knew that many of the young ladies in the room would be filled with envy, watching her dance with the Duke for a second time, but Charlotte felt only confusion.
And now, as they stood opposite one another, holding hands, she could not help but notice the glint in his eye. He had enjoyed his little triumph over Lady Margaret, there was no doubt about it. But she could not stop asking herself the question, why on earth would he want to dance with her again? She knew that she was not considered a desirable partner by any other man in the room, and yet here was the most eligible bachelor in the whole of the ton, dancing with her. And not once, but twice! What could possibly be the meaning of it?
She tried to relax and enjoy the dance, but her mind was whirring. And her anxiety was heightened by the glares of her stepmother and stepsister as they stood to one side and observed the dance. Lady Margaret’s eyes flashed with pure rage at having been not only thwarted but in such a public manner too.
Not to mention that no other gentleman had come along at the last minute and asked Alison to dance. She had to suffer the shame of being rebuffed by the Duke and the humiliation of not having been chosen by anyone else. And at one of the first balls of the year, too, and during her first season. It would be a disappointment indeed.
“Do not feel sorry for her,” the Duke whispered in her ear as they skipped together around the circle of the dance. He must have followed her gaze to where Alison and Lady Margaret were standing. “You know she would not feel a shred of pity if the situation were reversed.”
Charlotte raised an eyebrow but said nothing. She knew that he spoke the truth, but she did not want to be overheard speaking ill of anyone, lest she should cause herself to be the subject of even more gossip. And she also found it somewhat strange that the Duke seemed to be able to read her thoughts. She was not sure that she liked the experience.
“Come, Miss Hervey, do not tell me that you did not enjoy that just a little bit?” the Duke asked. His eyes twinkled with something like mirth as he skipped away from her, then back again, as the dance dictated.
She gave the tiniest of nods but went no further. He was right, of course. Her stepmother and stepsister treated herself and Martha so poorly that she had felt a little surge of joy to see them embarrassed. But she was still perplexed by the whole situation, and this feeling had not dissipated by the time the dance ended.
She felt sure that he would leave her as soon as his obligation to finish the dance with her was over, but instead, he took her arm and led her to the table where refreshments were laid out.
“If you have no desire for more punch, Miss Hervey, then perhaps some lemonade?”
“Punch would suit me very nicely, Your Grace,” she replied, and once he had gone to fetch their refreshments, they returned to the corner behind the flower arch, where he had first approached.
It was she who led the way to the secluded spot, and now that they could not be overheard, Charlotte felt that she could, at last, speak freely to him.
“Your Grace, why do you trifle with me like this?” she asked, perhaps a little more sharply than she had initially intended, but she found that, around him, she was finding it even more difficult than usual to control her feelings.
