Without speaking, Jane bobbed a curtsey and made her way to the corner of the dining room, placing herself discreetly on a chair.
Edward stepped a little closer to Kate, the faint hint of his cologne tickling her senses.
‘Are you happy to proceed?’ he asked. ‘I do not wish to make you uncomfortable if you would prefer to wait until my sister-in-law is not indisposed.’
‘If you have other things you need to…’
‘I am not the type of man to offer my time if there is something else I should be doing. I am entirely at your disposal. However, you do not know me well and I can understand if you do not want to spend the afternoon with a strange man.’ He tilted his head slightly, some hair falling into his eyes, which he impatiently pushed back. ‘I am notstrange. I meant only that Iam a stranger to you. If you would prefer Emily to be present, we can wait.’
The air in the dining room seemed to still as his words settled on her. She was aware of her own heartbeat pulsing in her throat, the soft in and out of her breath and the gentle rustle of Jane’s clothes as the maid fidgeted in her chair. No one had ever shown her the level of consideration Edward had just suggested. Not only had he realised the awkwardness of the situation for her but he had offered her a way out. It wasn’t much on the face of it; the basic consideration of another person’s feelings. It shouldn’t shock her, but it did. He’d been stern with her so far, almost as if he were angry with her for some reason, but now she wondered if she had misjudged him. ‘Thank you for your consideration, but I will be more uncomfortable at a dinner, floundering over which item of cutlery to use, than practising with you now. Your family has been very kind to me; I would not wish to embarrass any of you.’
He waved a hand. ‘You do not need to worry about that. We have Christopher and Freddie to bring shame to the Dashworth name.’ He grinned and she smiled back, recognising the brotherly teasing, something inside her relaxing; perhaps his earlier gruffness had been down to something else entirely and not her arrival, the months in Chorley’s household making her more judgemental than she’d been before. ‘Where would you like me to start?’ he asked.
‘Presume I know nothing.’
‘Very well. We’ll start at the beginning then. Imagine you have stepped into the receiving room where we will start the evening.’ He scratched his head, swivelling on his heel and walking a few paces away from her towards the entrance of the room. ‘Other guests will be announced and you will be introduced as a friend of the family. We will make small talk, some of it pleasant,some of it unfortunately dull. Once everyone has arrived, Tobias, that’s my brother’s given name, will lead us into the dining room, because without him showing us how to make it through the wide doors, we would not be able to find our way.’
Seeing a hint of his disarming smile again, she risked, ‘Everyone knows the greater the title, the greater the ability to lead those of us lacking.’
He laughed and a small thrill shot through her. ‘Indeed. And those of us without one are mindless sheep in comparison to their greatness. Tobias will sit at the head of the table, even though he hates hosting duties with a passion.’
‘If he despises it, why is this meal taking place? Surely his name is eminent enough that he does not need to put on a pleasant show for other people in the Ton.’
‘That is a good question and one I am sure Tobias would ask if he were of a more talkative nature. Emily believes we should become more civilised, for our niece’s sake. There are rumours in the Ton that the four of us Dashworth brothers are…’ he scratched his head as though searching for the words there ‘…less than perfect. She is insisting on these meals at least once a month to enhance our reputations. We are to be totally redeemed by the time Charlotte is of an age to marry. Emily even plans to host a ball in the upcoming season and she loathes those with a passion.’ His nose crinkled slightly and she guessed he did not overly care for the idea himself. ‘Tobias cannot argue with the logic of it. Like the rest of us, he would die for our niece and, even though these dinners are probably worse for him than death, he puts up with it because he wants the best for her.’
‘I take it you do not want to be a party to the ball if you can help it.’
‘I enjoy dancing as much as the next man.’
‘Which is not very much.’
He tilted his head to one side. ‘It is not so much that I do not like it; I think it is more the expectation of the situation.’
‘Expectation?’
‘Have you heard the phrase about single men being in want of a wife?’
Her heart leapt strangely. ‘You have readPride and Prejudice?’
‘There is no need to sound so amazed. I have read it, and what’s more, I thought it very entertaining.’ A smile played around the corner of his eyes, the fine lines crinkling slightly, and her whole impression of him realigned itself.
‘I do not remember the wording correctly, but I think there is something in there about a single man who possesses a good fortune being in want of a wife.’
‘I do not recall the exact phrase either, but the author’s acerbic comment was quite correct. Mothers seem to want dukes for their daughters’ hands in marriage and if the duke is not available, then they target his brothers as the next best thing.’ His eyes went comically large and she bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from showing her amusement at his outrage.
‘That sounds like a serious problem,’ she said as straight-faced as she could manage.
‘Hmm,’ he said, crossing his arms over his large chest. ‘I feel you are laughing at my difficulties.’
‘Your suffering is great, I am sure.’
When he smiled this time, her heart fluttered.
‘I am glad you can see the difficulties I face, but I am prevaricating. Where were we?’
‘The exalted Duke of Glanmore was taking his seat, I believe.’
‘Exalted,’ he snorted, before moving towards a seat near the centre of the table. ‘Actually, he has not yet sat down; he is waiting for all the guests to find their places. Emily, as the hostess and highest-ranked female, will take the head of the table.’ He indicated the place with a tip of his head. ‘The rest of us will be seated according to where we come on the social scale.’
