The Duke held her gaze for a moment. “Miss Hervey, I think if anyone can manage such a feat, it is you.”
She said nothing for a moment, thinking through what he had just said. The truth, she told herself, was that she really had nothing to lose at this moment. If she went along with his plan, she was not betraying Lord Harry – indeed, it was he who had betrayed her, and she owed him nothing. And quite possibly, she had much to gain. Being courted by the Duke would elevate her social status considerably. And she found that she was immensely enjoying the thought of how much it would infuriate her stepmother, and how jealous her stepsister would be. And perhaps, in time, it would bring Lord Harry to his senses after all. She was not entirely convinced of this, but it would do no harm to try out the plan and see what happened.
And the Duke. She looked up at him as they stood there in the shadows next to the house, hidden from view by the shrubbery. All she could do was believe him when he talked about his own motivations, strange though they may seem to her. Perhaps he intended never to marry. It would be unusual for someone like him to make such a choice, but it was not unheard of. Or perhaps he just wished to delay the inevitable, enjoy his inheritance, or mourn his father’s death for a while before moving on to the next stage of his life.
He was looking at her rather strangely, and she realized that there had been silence between them for a while now, and the situation was becoming awkward. He would be expecting gratitude, no doubt; he had clearly been anticipating her rapid acquiescence to his plan. But she was not the sort of girl to make a decision like this rapidly. However, she felt she was now finally ready to speak, having thought it through properly.
She took a deep breath. “I have nothing to lose, Your Grace, and so I agree to your plan.” She realized her heart was pounding in her chest as she said the words. This was a great adventure for a woman like her to be embarking on, a great adventure indeed.
His lips curved into a smile, and she saw a sparkle in his blue eyes as he met hers. “Miss Hervey, I am pleased to hear you say that.” He paused, leaned over, and took her hand, then pressed it to his lips for the slightest second before dropping it again. “I promise you, we shall have fun with this, just you wait and see.”
She looked down at her hand, then back up at his face, and felt something inside her flutter. She pushed the feeling away immediately. This was a game, a ruse, and nothing more. But she could not deny that she was looking forward to spending more time in his company.
CHAPTERNINE
Luke watched as Miss Hervey made her way across the ballroom towards her sister. He had, for a long moment, thought that she was going to reject his plan, and he had felt surprisingly disappointed. Then, when she had pondered it for a few moments in the darkness, with each passing second increasing their risk of detection, she had set her shoulders in a most decided manner and pronounced her agreement. Then she had promptly taken her leave from him and returned to the ball.
And that was that. Now, somewhat baffled by the evening’s turn of events, Luke felt himself in need of refreshment once again, and he stood in that same corner where he had placed himself at the beginning of the evening, enjoying a glass of wine and a few moments of calm.
But his peace was not to last for long. He saw his friend Mark approaching him, his face somewhat flushed, perhaps with the effects of all the punch and wine he had drunk or maybe with the exertion of dancing.
“What news, friend?” Mark asked as soon as he was standing next to Luke.
Luke paused for a moment, wondering how much to tell his friend. Mark had always been his closest confidant, but he was not yet sure how much detail surrounding his relationship with Miss Hervey he yet wanted to divulge.
“Nothing of significance,” he replied, playing for time and hoping that his friend would regale him with some of his own adventures while he pondered the question of how much to tell him of his.
“Indeed,” Mark replied, narrowing his eyes and looking at Luke suspiciously. “I am not sure I quite believe you, Your Grace.”
“Well, you shall have to, for now,” Luke bit back. “Now, you look as if you’ve just run a marathon. Tell me about your exploits on the dancefloor.”
Mark gave a bark of laughter. “I would hardly refer to the events of my evening as exploits, Your Grace!”
“Well, tell me though, which young ladies have graced you with their company?”
“I can’t remember all their names, to tell you the truth,” Mark said flippantly.
“You are not at all gallant, are you? Shame on you for not remembering their names! Have any of them taken your fancy? I rather imagine not if you can’t recall their names,” Luke persevered, keen to keep the conversation away from himself for as long as possible.
“I danced with that one whose mother was trying to foist her onto you,” Mark replied. “I felt rather sorry for her, initially, but the feeling began to wear off a little after our dance when her mother pounced on me in much the same way as she had attacked you.”
Luke let out a sigh. It was a problem for men such as him and Mark that these society matrons had such high expectations of them.
“I believe her name is Alison Jarvis,” Luke said blandly. “Her mother is Lady Margaret Hervey.”
“Yes, indeed. I am surprised you should remember such detail,” Mark replied with an arched eyebrow. “I was going to ask your partner, Miss Hervey, I believe? But she disappeared after that unexpected engagement announcement. As, indeed, did you…”
Luke flinched. His friend did not miss much, it seemed. He glanced across the room, looking for Charlotte. For Miss Hervey, he should say. It would not do, not yet at least, for him to become too familiar with her, even in his thoughts. She was standing in a corner with her sister, their heads bent low and close together, deep in conversation. He wondered if he was the subject of their talk, then chastised himself for being so conceited. There were plenty of other men in the room just as worthy of their notice as him, if not more so.
“Miss Hervey…?” Mark said again. “You shocked the whole room by dancing with her twice.”
Luke smiled at that. “I know,” he replied. “That was rather the point.”
“What are you up to, Your Grace? If you will permit your inferior friend such an impertinent question!”
“None of that, Miller, I have already told you,” Luke snapped, then huffed out a sigh. “Although I suppose I shall have to start getting used to it, now that I am the Duke of Seton, with his many estates and responsibilities.”
Mark looked at him curiously. “That is all the more reason, then, for the whole ballroom to be surprised when you stood up to dance not once, but twice, with one of the least consequential ladies in the room.”
