But he had never met a young lady of whom he could believe that. He knew what they wanted. They didn’t even bother to hide it.
“Do you want to sit down?” Lady Catherine asked, pointing to a bench nestled amid the rosebushes.
“I thought you were cold,” Hugh said. “Sitting down won’t warm you up. If you’re chilled, it’s better to keep moving.”
“If we sit close to one another, we could keep warm that way,” Lady Catherine said.
Where does she get her audacity?
“Your Grace,” Lady Catherine said, taking him by the arm and pulling him over to the bench so that he had no choice but to join her in sitting on it. “I want you to know how pleased I am to have had the opportunity to meet you this evening. I’ve heard wonderful things about you, as I’m sure you can imagine.”
“Is that so?” Hugh asked, surprised. “What kinds of things have you heard?”
“Everyone says you’re very kind,” Lady Catherine said. “Everyone says you’re very warm and sensitive to others.”
There’s not a chance anybody says those things.
Hugh knew that he could be a kind person, but it was difficult for him to open up to people publicly because he was so suspicious of what they might want from him. Lady Catherine was just trying to flatter him.
“It’s odd,” she continued. “When I learned that there would be a Duke at the Bolton Ball, I neverimaginedthat I would find myself spending the evening with him!”
Of course you did.
This last statement made Hugh feel angrier than anything Lady Catherine had said or done so far. Did she really mean to act as if the time they had spent in each other’s company was pure chance? She had been manipulating the situation from the moment she had laid eyes on him. It had not been subtle.
She must think me a fool, on top of everything else!
He rose to his feet, having had more than his fill of Lady Catherine’s company. “If you’ll forgive me, Lady Catherine,” he said, “I should really go in search of a friend of mine.”
She got to her feet. “I’d be happy to meet your friend, too,” she said, making as if to follow him.
“No,” he said firmly. “I need to speak to him privately, I’m afraid. Perhaps you and I can find each other again later.”
Lady Catherine wilted visibly, but she gave a determined nod. “Of course, Your Grace,” she said. “I’ll be here all evening. Please come and find me later, and perhaps we can have a dance.”
Hugh hurried away, anxious to put some distance between the two of them without promising her anything.
So far, this ball is going just like every other ball I’ve been to. This Season certainly is off to an inauspicious start!
He hurried through the rosebushes, along the path, anxious to lose himself in the garden so that if Lady Catherine did decide to pursue him again, she wouldn’t be successful.
Where on Earth is Charles? If I could find him, engage him in conversation, perhaps I could keep ladies from approaching, at least for a little while.
When hedidfind his friend at last, he was going to make sure to let Charles know how unpleasantly things had gone for him in the time they had been separated.
For goodness’ sake. I’m a grown man. I should be able to get through a ball on my own!
He rounded a corner and saw two young ladies whispering together. They caught his eyes and broke into a fit of giggling, and Hugh knew they had recognized him and would soon be upon him.
Is there nowhere I can go to just get away for a little while? Just to catch my breath?
He knew he ought to have expected this sort of thing when he had come to a ball, of course. Hehadexpected it. He just wished that some of it could be on his terms. He wished he could have a romantic encounter with a young lady, instead of one in which she was obviously seeking social advancement.
He turned away from the two giggling ladies and chose another path, heading deeper and deeper into the gardens, hoping that if he went in deep enough, he would find a secluded spot. If he was lucky, maybe he would come to a place no one else would have found. He would give himself a few minutes to collect his thoughts before returning to the ballroom.
And hopefully I won’t run into Lady Catherine on the way!
He rounded a corner—and ran into someone else altogether.
