Looking at him didn’t make her feel the way the Duke of Hereford did.
He was part of the other group.Kalina was not going to look over at him.She was not.
Nathanial
Lady Kari and Lady Nichole were exactly the kind of young ladies he should be courting.Rich.Connected.Trained to run a household.Spotless reputations.
So, why did his eyes keep shifting to the side every time he caught a glimpse of pink?
Why did his ears strain to hear the conversation in the other group, rather than attending to the young ladies within his own?He knew the answer; he just did not want to admit it.
Her very presence in thetonis scandalous.
She’s not an appropriate guide for my sisters.And Juliette is going to need a firm hand.
Her family not only does not have the required connections to assist our reputation, but her grandfather has also cut their branch from the family tree.
None of which was her fault, but the truth remained.
Miss Little was lacking on multiple fronts when it came to the kind of bride he required to shore up his family’s reputation, which was as important to him as their fortunes.He had three sisters to marry off.Juliette should have debuted this year, by all rights, but he’d put her off so that she would not feel the same pressures that he was burdened with.
He was determined that when it came time for his sisters to marry, they would be able to do so without any consideration other than who theywantedto marry.Which meanthehad to marry, with the many considerations of how to elevate their family back to the position in Society they’d held before his father’s ruinous behavior.
There were times he was grateful to whoever had murdered his father, an emotion that was immediately followed by guilt for his friends who had lost their fathers at the same time.Some of them truly mourned the previous titleholder.Nathanial did not.However, he was as determined to find the perpetrator as his friends were, if only to ensure the safety of his sisters.
Several clues had recently revealed themselves… but that was not what this excursion from the capital was about.They would have to investigate further when they returned.In the meantime, appearances had to be maintained and ladies considered.It was not the past he needed to focus on, but the future.
“Have you seen the latest play at the Globe?”Lady Kari asked, fluttering her fan at him.
“Unfortunately, I have not had the time,”—he’d had the time, just not the funds—“but I heard Keane is a revelation.”
“Oh, he is so talented!”Lady Kari brightened, obviously a lover of the actor, just as many within thetonwere.
If Nathanial did get a chance to see the man on stage, it would be from the box of one of his friends.Using the Hereford’s usual box when he’d not been able to pay his subscription to the theater since he’d attained his title—and it had been years since his father had done so—did not sit right in his stomach.
Using one of his friend’s boxes also did not feel right.
Pride was one of the few vices he had left.When he did return to the theater, it would be in triumph and to his own box, his wife on his arm and Juliette in tow.
Listening to Lady Kari chatter on about Keane’s talents, Nathanial was hard-pressed to keep his mind from wandering.Despite her other qualities, he probably should not marry a woman he could not keep his attention on.He did not want to be a cruel husband, after all.
Not like his father, who had paid their entire family no attention at all, other than to try to beget a second son upon their mother.He’d given up after three daughters, then commenced becoming King of the Wastrels.
Sebastian chimed in to Lady Kari’s observations, quickly followed by Lady Nichole, who batted her eyes at him.Emboldened by his responses, Lady Kari refocused her attention on the Duke of Bolton.Nathanial barely noticed, because Miss Little was now laughing at something Matthew had said, and Nathanial’s stomach suddenly felt curdled.
He looked over.
He could not help himself.
Her laughter was quiet, almost surprised, as if she had not expected to find herself doing so.Matthew appeared very pleased with himself.Miss Little’s jewels gleamed at her throat, but they did not shine nearly as brightly as her smile or the spark in her dark eyes.Both of which were currently directed at Matthew.
Nathanial jerked his gaze away.
Flexing his suddenly tense hand at his side, he tried to refocus his attention on the conversation of the eligible ladies.Perhaps a change of topic was in order.Something he could participate more fully in.
Before he could think of how to turn the conversation, there was a small stir at the door—a late arrival and a very prestigious one.
“Lucifer appears,” Lady Astrid muttered, barely bothering to keep her voice down as her fiancé greeted her parents.As she was standing directly behind Nathanial, he also heard her nearly inaudible sigh before she brushed past him to go greet Drake, the Duke of Ormonde and her betrothed since childhood.His mother was with him, and the Duchess greeted Lady Blackstone with the delight of long-time bosom friends who had not seen each other in far too long.
