He got to his feet, bid them all farewell, and made his way to the door. The entire family followed and watched as he climbed into his carriage and disappeared down the drive.
Esther turned to face her parents, expecting, if not an expression of pride and an acknowledgement that they had been wrong to doubt her, at least a statement that she was on the right track toward doing what they expected of her.
Instead, her father was frowning. “That was almost a disaster,” he said. “You might have told us that theDukewould be coming, Esther. We would have been better prepared if we had known.”
“The state of your hair,” her mother moaned. “How could you come down that way, knowing that he would be here?”
“I didn’t know!” Esther protested. “How could I have known?”
“Youshouldhave known,” her father said. “Surely you’re aware of the fact that you spoke to him last night?”
“Of course,” Esther said. “But that doesn’t mean—”
“Why didn’t you tell us that?” her mother asked. “Didn’t weaskyou to tell us the names of all the gentlemen you had spoken to? Honestly, Esther, I don’t know what goes on inside your head.”
“Shouldn’t you be happy about this?” Esther asked. “This is the Duke of Hallowbinder. He wants to court me after a single encounter. This is better than anything we hoped for, isn’t it?”
“It concerns me to see how cavalier you’re being about this process,” her father said. “It seems to me that you’ve gotten lucky thus far, nothing more. And if you don’t correct your approach to the events of this Season, you’re going to squander the good fortune you’ve had.”
“I’m not going to squander anything,” Esther said firmly.
“That’s right,” her mother said.
For a moment, Esther felt a pang of hope—was her mother actually taking her side? Did she actually believe in Esther’s ability to do this?
But then her mother continued. “Nothing will go wrong, Adam, because we’ll be right there beside Esther the whole time. We won’t allow her to do anything that might jeopardize her chances.”
“Excuse me,” Aunt Tabitha spoke up. “If you think you’re going to meet with His Grace in my sitting room without my presence—if you think you’re going to shut my daughter out—”
“Tabitha, the Duke was clear,” Esther’s father said. “He’s interested in Esther. He wants to court her. He didn’t come here today for Eugenia, and he won’t be coming back for her. You should be happy. Having Esther spoken for will make it that much easier for Eugenia to find a suitable match.”
Aunt Tabitha sputtered.
“You agreed to allow Esther to spend the Season here,” her father said. “That means that when a gentleman wants to court her, he must do so here. That was the agreement.”
“Really, I don’t know what you’re so surprised about,” Esther’s mother put in. “You didn’t really think that a Duke would be interested in Eugenia, did you?”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake!” Esther took her cousin by the arm and led her up the stairs, with all three of their parents calling after them. She did not slow her pace until she had reached Eugenia’s bedroom, which happened to be closer than her own, and the two cousins went inside and closed the door behind them.
“Can you believe that?” Esther asked Eugenia.
“I know!” Eugenia said excitedly. “The Duke of Hallowbinder wants to court you! I thought he would, but I didn’t think it would happen so quickly!”
“Notthat,” Esther said. “The way our parents are behaving! As if neither one of us has a head on our shoulders.”
“But we already knew they were ghastly,” Eugenia said calmly. “Don’t worry about it, Esther. Your parents won’t ruin this for you, even if they are a bit overbearing. I saw the way the Duke was today. He’s very interested in you.”
Esther nodded. “I just hope my parents don’t put him off!”
Chapter 16
Hugh couldn’t deny feeling a bit nervous as he knocked at the door of Harcourt Manor. Today’s tea with Lady Esther and her family should have been easier than coming over the first time and asking to court her had been, but he felt more anxious, not less.
Her parents were not pleasant.
They had agreed to the courtship, and Hugh was trying to focus on that fact. But there had definitely been something about them that made him feel uncomfortable.
The butler opened the door. “Your Grace,” he said, bowing. “You’re expected. May I show you through to the sitting room?”
