Luke felt his cheeks begin to grow hot. “She is not inconsequential!”
Mark smiled that infuriatingly knowing smile again, and Luke had to resist the urge to challenge him then and there to some kind of fight. He felt an almost physical urge to defend Miss Hervey against these kinds of unwarranted slights. He decided, at that moment, not to take his friend into his full confidence. His pretend courtship of Miss Hervey would be all the more convincing if as few people as possible knew their secret.
He turned to face Mark. “I apologize for the hotness of my tone, my friend,” he said in as calm a voice as he could muster. “But the truth is that I like her very much, and I would prefer it if you did not say such things about her.”
Mark returned his frank gaze with a look of surprise on his face. “I had not thought you could be seriously interested in her, I confess,” he said in a low voice, looking around to check that no one was close enough to hear their conversation. “You know what people say about her and her sister, and about their mother?”
Luke nodded. “I do indeed, but we are gentlemen, not washerwomen. It is beneath us to listen to such gossip.”
“But Your Grace, it is not gossip to say that her mother was a commoner when she married her father and that she did not behave in – how shall I say it –”
Luke cut him off before he could finish speaking. “I beg that you do not say it at all. A nobleman marrying a commoner is not a sin, after all. I believe it is more common than you might think. And surely a marriage based on true affection, even if it crosses the boundaries of social constructs, is better than a marriage of convenience.”
Mark frowned. “Indeed, and I should know that better than anyone,” he replied. “My father and mother almost plagued each other’s hearts out over the years, you know. I am glad that I at least had the model of your own parents to look to as a young man, should I ever have wondered how a marriage should be.”
“Well, nobody is talking of marriage,” Luke said stiffly. “Not yet, at least.” He did not want his friend to imagine that he and Miss Hervey were on the verge of announcing their engagement; a courtship was enough to serve both their purposes. He remembered, though, at that moment, what Miss Hervey had said about how the arrangement should come to an end. It was very astute of her to ask such a question, and he would expect nothing less of her, but he had not quite worked it out himself. It warranted some sober thought.
Mark’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “So this Miss Hervey. You like her?” He paused. “I am sorry for what I said. I meant nothing by it, you know.”
Luke turned to him with a serious look on his face. “That’s exactly the thing, though, Miller. People in this ton do not think about the impact of their words on others, the hurt they might cause with their stares and whispers. I would ask you, please, as my friend, to rise above it.”
Mark bowed. “I do apologize, Your Grace,” he said, with no hint of insincerity in his voice. He looked out across the ballroom at all the people assembled there. “Do you intend to dance again?” he asked.
Luke followed his gaze to where Miss Hervey was still standing with her sister. “I shall see if Miss Hervey wishes to stand up with me again, but I do not intend to dance with another this evening.”
Mark smiled at this. “It is a serious thing then, indeed?”
Luke returned his smile with a grin of his own. “You shall have to wait and see on that front, my friend,” was all he was prepared to say. “Now, enough of this chatter. Shall we not have some more wine? And you can tell me where I might find some decent shooting around here. I am sorely out of practice and in desperate need of some diversion.”
* * *
Charlotte could feel the Duke’s eyes on her as she stood next to Martha on the other side of the ballroom. They had retreated to a corner, their usual habits returning after the most unusual interlude that had just passed earlier in the evening.
The sisters would normally have been together for every moment of a gathering such as this, and Charlotte had felt some guilt at the moment of the sisters’ reunion, after having spent so much time away from Martha. Her sister, though, seemed only concerned for her own welfare.
“Where did you run off to?” Martha asked. “I have been so worried about you!”
Charlotte met her sister’s concerned gaze. “I am sorry to have made you worry, my dearest Martha,” she said softly. “I had to go and get some fresh air, for a moment, that is all. After the announcement…” She had almost forgotten about it, so distracted had she been by the Duke and his grand plan. But the memory of it now made her heart twist. The humiliation, to have to stand there and hear Lord Harry’s betrothal announced in front of all those people. At least no one knew what had stood between them. But of course, if he had felt able to let people know how he felt about her, then none of this would have happened, and it might be her engagement being announced in a ballroom such as this rather than Miss Thomas’s.
“The announcement, yes, what a shocking thing!” Martha said. “I am so sorry that he has done this to you, sister. But it seems that the Duke has been consoling you.”
Charlotte gave a wry smile. Her sister was not at all capable of concealing her meaning when she spoke, and it was clear to her now that Martha suspected that something was going on between herself and the Duke. She had already decided to confide everything to her sister, and as they shrunk further into the corner, away from any prying ears that might overhear their conversation, she decided that this was the moment to confess it all. She would not want Martha to be shocked, or even upset, when an announcement was made about her supposed relationship with the Duke if she had had no previous warning of the developments between them.
“It is not what you think, Martha,” Charlotte began. “He knows about Lord Harry, of course, since he saw the letter that your wretched dog stole.”
“Rusty is not wretched,” Martha protested. “I keep telling you, Charlotte, that you should take better care of your things!”
Charlotte puffed out an exasperated sigh. “You are right, sister, but that is not the point.”
“What is the point, then?”
“Oh, I am not even sure where to start. He said he wanted to dance with me because he enjoyed the pleasure of my company, which initially I found hard to believe, but then I started to give him some more credit. He does not seem to be the sort of man who would trifle with a lady, I think.”
“Indeed,” Martha said, her eyes wide with anticipation now as to what would come next in the story. “But he danced with you twice, and our stepmother was so green about it! I hardly dare admit it, but it did so amuse me to see her looking so furious, and Alison too.”
Charlotte giggled. “I know. We are very naughty to think it, I am sure, but it gave me pleasure too, especially when he would not dance with Alison but danced with me a second time.”
“But what about Lord Harry and the announcement from Lord Thomas about his engagement to Miss Thomas? Did you have no idea of it?”
