“It’s perhaps not as dingy as I feared it would be,” Lady Hannah said. “Which is certainly a good thing. I thought we’d get our hands dirty the moment we stepped into this place. I thought the lighting would be so poor that we wouldn’t even be able to see one another. I’m relieved that that isn’t the case. I wonder if the food here will be any good…but I suppose that to have peasant food will be an experience in itself, won’t it? I’m not too good to try things that are beneath me from time to time.”
“I don’t know if I would agree with the idea that any food isbeneathme, exactly,” Lady Eleanor commented. “I know that it’s the fashion to want only the very best on your table, and I agree that fine dining can be a pleasure. But I think that all food has its pleasures.”
“Even bad food?” Lady Hannah wrinkled her nose. “I’m not sure what I think of your taste, Lady Eleanor.”
“Oh, well, I don’t know what you mean bybad food,” Lady Eleanor said. “If you mean food that’s spoiled, then no, of course no one would want to eat that. But if the food is rich and flavorful, and if it hasn’t rotted…well, what would make itbad?”
“It might be ill-prepared,” Phineas commented. He was smiling, and Nicholas could see that he was enjoying the conversation as a mild debate. The two ladies seemed to have taken it a bit farther. It seemed to Nicholas that they were having a real dispute. They were frowning at one another as if the subject truly mattered, and he got the feeling that for them, at least, this wasn’t about food at all.
A fiddler now came out into the inn and began to play. The various guests roared their approval and some of them began to stamp their feet. One or two even got up to dance.
Lady Hannah’s frown deepened. “What a ruckus!”
“This is nice,” Nicholas countered. “I like a little music with my meal! It makes a party of it!”
“So low class,” Lady Hannah said, shaking her head. “It seems downright disrespectful to me. Don’t they realize they have a duke among them?”
“But he likes it,” Lady Eleanor said. “I like it too, actually. It’s not so noisy that we can’t continue our conversation.”
“Well, I wouldn’t expect you to object to a bit of noise,” Lady Hannah sniffed. “You have peasant tastes, I’m afraid, Lady Eleanor. I’m sorry to say it, but it’s the truth. Everything I’ve seen you find favor with in the time I’ve known you has been rather low-class. But you don’t realize the difference it makes being a duke. His Grace deserves the finest of everything. He shouldn’t settle for an establishment like this.” She turned toNicholas. “I know you’re devoted to the ideals of tolerance, Your Grace, but truly, I don’t think anyone would think any less of you if you went to the innkeepers and asked them to keep the place quiet. I think it would be considered a very fair request. They ought to go out of their way to make this place nice since they have such a distinguished guest at the moment.”
The fiddler finished his tune and took a bow. Everyone applauded, and some people whistled and stomped their feet again, and then the guests at the inn returned to their meals.
“Well, there, you see?” Nicholas said. “He’s done now anyway, Lady Hannah, so there’s no need to concern yourself about it.” Perhaps now her complaining would come to an end.
Lady Hannah sniffed. “Thank goodness,” she said. “It’s for the best, I suppose, that we don’t have to complain to anyone. I know you didn’t like the idea of making a scene, Your Grace, but you really do need to let these people know what is and isn’t appropriate to do in your presence. If you don’t speak up, no onewillknow. It’s obvious that Lady Eleanor doesn’t know what’s proper to do in the presence of a duke! Do you want the whole world to be the same as Lady Eleanor?”
“I would hardly object to it,” Nicholas said with a smile. “I find Lady Eleanor engaging and delightful! Certainly more to my tastes than the sound of silence in an inn. I think, Lady Hannah, that what you are concerning yourself with at present may be matters of taste rather than matters of propriety. I’ve seen nothing here today that troubles me.”
Lady Eleanor looked up at him and met his gaze. A becoming blush covered her cheeks, and she looked away quickly, but her gaze had lingered long enough that Nicholas knew thoughts of their prolonged eye contact would stay with her, just as they would with him.
Lady Hannah looked as if she didn’t know what to say to that. She turned her attention to the plate of food that had just been placed in front of her, and Nicholas was certain she would find something there to complain about, but to his surprise, she was quiet. Perhaps she had realized at last that she wasn’t going to find favor with anyone by disagreeing with everything she saw. Nicholas was much more charmed by Lady Eleanor, who seemed to find delight in everything around her. She was looking from one thing to the next, taking in the experience of being at the inn, and she really seemed to appreciate what she was seeing. Nicholas had the idea that she had never been to a place like this before, and that she truly valued the opportunity to see everything that was before her now.
He wondered if it was possible for Lady Hannah to respond to things in such a way. Did she find joy in anything anymore, or had she been so poisoned by her own ambition and her family’s social climbing that she could think only about appearances?
He hoped Phineas was noticing her joylessness. He wanted his friend to be able to understand why he didn’t wish to marry Lady Hannah. What Phineas was going through sounded painful, but if he could appreciate how frightfully unpleasant Lady Hannah was, that might make it easier for him to understand why Nicholas’ situation was different—why he couldn’t possibly marry her, even though it would have been the easier choice.Surely, after spending this day with her, he would see that no one could be expected to marry a lady like this.
And once again, his attention drifted to Lady Eleanor.
She really was beautiful. And for a moment, he thought that it was too bad he’d already decided she couldn’t be the mystery lady he kept meeting. She was a delight to be around. She wasn’t promised in marriage to anyone—and in fact, hadn’t she indicated that her father was trying to make a match for her? Perhaps she would be a good choice for him.
He was almost tempted to consider pursuing that. But he couldn’t give up on his mystery lady. She was somewhere at the party, and he had to find her. He had to know who she was and how she had so powerfully managed to affect him. Until he had those answers, he knew, he was never going to be able to devote his attention to anybody else, no matter how lovely and charming she might be.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
“It was a lovely outing,” Nicholas said as they walked up the drive.
He had permitted himself to walk home alongside Lady Eleanor, though it had earned him plenty of unpleasant glares from Lady Hannah. He’d decided that he no longer cared what she thought of him. He had done all he could to try to turn her away gently, to let her know that there would never be anything between the two of them without being cruel about it, but she hadn’t received the message. She was willfully ignoring it at this point, and he could do nothing more for her.
He wished that Phineas would walk with Lady Hannah and attempt to divert her. Jacob was with Lady Marina, which was perfectly reasonable, and the two of them were sharing a laugh, so the natural thing would have been for Phineas to accompany Lady Hannah. But he had declined to do so and had instead fallen back to the rear of the party. Lady Hannah didn’t seem inclined to join him, so each of the two of them were on their own, but Lady Hannah kept turning toward Nicholas as thoughhoping that he would include her in his conversation. He had altogether stopped doing that, since every word he gave her now seemed to be seized upon as some sort of indication that he intended to change his position, that he might want to be with her after all.
“Itwasa lovely outing,” Lady Eleanor said. She was also ignoring Lady Hannah entirely, and Nicholas didn’t blame her, given the way Lady Hannah had spoken to her over their meal. He was actually rather embarrassed about that, even though he knew that he couldn’t and shouldn’t take responsibility for Lady Hannah. “I’m very glad we went,” she added. “Perhaps we’ll have the chance to do it again before the week is up.”
“I would like that,” Nicholas said, thinking to himself that he would like it all the more if the members of the party could be changed for their next outing.
As they made their way up the path, his fingertips brushed her elbow gently. It had been an inadvertent touch, but he felt as if his whole body came alive the moment it happened. Her head jerked up at once, and for a moment their eyes met and it felt as if they were the only two people on the path.
They arrived at the manor, and immediately Nicholas’ heart sank. His mother was standing outside waiting for them, and it looked as if she intended to make a scene.
