He held out the chain to her. ‘A token of my affection.’
She arched an eyebrow and gave him a sceptical half-smile, but her eyes sparkled as they looked at the necklace he held. ‘It is lovely. Thank you.’ She bowed her head. ‘Help me with it.’
He draped it over her. Even looping it twice, it still hung low, lying heavy between her perfect breasts. For a moment, he watched it there, fascinated.
‘Are there drops for my ears as well?’ She tapped a finger on his closed hand to make him release the earrings he held. Her touch was warm. He moved slowly, letting her finger stroke his skin as he turned his hand over and opened his fist to reveal the rest of her gift.
She smiled and scooped them up, affixing them to her ears. Then she turned to him. ‘How do I look?’
‘Satisfactory,’ he muttered.
‘Liar,’ she said with a smile. Then she slipped her hand into the crook of his arm. ‘Let us be off. If we are late, I will not take the blame for it.’
* * *
George had never been to a gathering so wonderful, much less one thrown especially for her. The ballroom of the Duke of Westmoor’s manor was packed with the cream of thetonall eager to congratulate Mrs Challenger and her handsome husband. There was but one conspicuous absence.
She’d mailed her father’s invitation herself, enclosing it in her daily letter. She had even bit her lip and included Marietta, though the sight of that woman was likely to spoil the whole evening for her. But she’d received no answer, nor had either of them appeared this evening.
There was probably a logical explanation for their absence. They might have already gone to the country and missed the post. Or it could be what she feared most: a deliberate snub. She tried not to think about that. Even if it was true, she did not want to spoil the evening by focusing on such a negative possibility.
As she stood admiring the dancers, the Duke himself came to her side. ‘So, my friend refuses to dance with his wife.’
For a moment, she could not manage anything other than a wide-mouthed stare at the man beside her. It was not, precisely, that she had never spoken to a duke before. Her father was a viscount, after all. He had, if not exactly friends, at least acquaintances in the peerage. But that was all they had been to her: men who her father had known, who had no time to be bothered with a girl her age.
Even though her husband had introduced them at the wedding and again tonight, she was still adjusting to the fact that a peer was to be considered a close family friend. ‘I am sure he means no offence by it,’ she said. ‘He is most grateful for the honour you’ve bestowed on us by hosting a ball. But he does not like to dance.’ At least, that was what he’d claimed when he’d refused to stand up for the first set.
The Duke, who’d known Mr Challenger far longer than she, seemed surprised by the statement. He gave a slight shift of his head to indicate her husband, who was standing on the other side of the room, giving her a dark look. ‘And yet he lingers near the dance floor to watch your every move.’
‘He is probably waiting for me to do something that disappoints him,’ she said, before remembering that it was not polite to sound glum at a party, especially when one was talking with the host.
The Duke laughed. ‘On the contrary, my dear, the fellow is mad with jealousy over all the attention you are getting.’
‘I seriously doubt that, Your Grace.’
‘Come now, Mrs Challenger,’ he said, touching her arm. ‘I stood up at your wedding. Surely that is cause for us to be familiar with each other. You must call me Jacob, as your husband does.’
‘Thank you?’ The response should not have come out as a question, for it made her look even more naïve than she actually was.
But the Duke gave her an encouraging smile in response. ‘Thank you, Jacob.’
She smiled back, instantly relaxed. ‘Thank you, Jacob. And please, call me George.’
‘A masculine name for such a pretty girl,’ he replied. ‘But it shall be as you wish. George, do not be bothered by your husband’s moods. We must give him time to get used to marriage. Though I did not take the time to say so at your wedding, I am glad beyond words that Challenger has found someone who can breathe some life back into him.’
She laughed at the idea. ‘If you think I am likely to bring about a change in his character, I fear you will be disappointed.’ It was all she could do to maintain her own personality in his continued efforts to subdue her spirits.
‘The fact that he married you is change enough for a start,’ the Duke said. ‘He has been far too proper since his return from Belgium.’
‘You speak as if he was ever another way,’ George said in disbelief.
The Duke gave her a surprised look. ‘Very much so. I am surprised you did not know it already.’
‘I know he is very conscious of scandal,’ she said, trying not to reveal such profound ignorance of his character.
‘Because of his family,’ the Duke agreed. ‘If you have not noticed it already, his parents and elder brother are horrible. When we were at Oxford, his method of dealing with them was quite the opposite of what it is now. His intention, as I remember it, was to outdo them all.’
‘Frederick Challenger?’ she said, doubting. ‘Are you sure we speak of the same man?’
