“Me?” the girl replied, flushed. “Your Grace, how can you say that? You do not know anything about me to be making a claim as tall as that. I would wager that counts as defamation if anything…”
“So, you agree that it is unfair to make an assessment like that about someone who you do not know anything about?” he countered.
The girls were speechless. They knew that he had a fair point, and they had just been made to look stupid.
“I suppose…”
“We should probably get going. The dances must be about to start again.”
The three women who had been so emboldened in their words just moments ago now shrunk away like little terrified cats, scrambling away back towards the ballroom.
When they finally left, the Duke directed his attention to the woman who had been the subject of those brutal tongue lashings.
“Madam…” He turned to her. She had kept her head down this whole time, so he did not yet get a chance to see her face. “I must apologize for their behavior. It is clear that none of them had an ounce of class in them.”
“It is quite all right, Your Grace,” she replied, finally looking up at him.
Duncan was immediately taken aback by her appearance. She was dressed in an emerald green gown and had her hair pinned to one side, proudly displaying the scars on her face that he had only heard about up until this point.
Even so, he could not help but notice how beautiful she was. Under the pale moonlight, she appeared to be akin to a vision. And though her beauty was not conventional due to her scars, she was stunning in every way.
“I do not think it was all right,” Duncan replied, snapping himself back to the conversation. “I would not have stepped into the conversation otherwise.”
The woman smiled at him.
“I am sure that it must look quite awful to you on the outside, but I have gotten quite used to it by now.”
The Duke could not hide the surprise on his face.
“But… that is awful. No one should have to get used to something of this sort.”
“Well, do you have a better solution?” she shrugged her shoulders. “I cannot control what they have to say about me, only how I react to it.”
Once again, Duncan felt impressed by her maturity — so much that for the first time that night he did not feel the immediate urge to flee the conversation after only a few moments.
“I can say that I admire your strategy.” He nodded in her direction. “I am quite used to having my life being discussed by the ton as well.”
“Is that so?” An amused smile danced on the corner of the woman’s lips. “That must signal that you’re quite the controversial character yourself, are you not? Is it due to the ladies?”
Duncan let out a small chuckle.“The ladies?”
“Yes, what else could a man of your age be notorious for? I assume that you must be a rake.”
“You are quite forward in your assumption, My Lady,” he replied, her boldness making him even more curious about her.
“I am merely just telling you what I am assuming,” she shrugged. “However, I do take your point about not making assumptions about people we know nothing about, so you may attempt to convince me otherwise.”
“Pray tell, My Lady, how is it that I should be convincing you?” he asked.
“Well, for one, I would like to know how many women you have danced with already tonight,” she mused.
“Take a guess?” he chuckled. She seemed to be convinced that he was a rake when in reality he was the exact opposite of one.
It was not as though he did not like women. It was more so that he did not want to deal with the gossip that came with them.
“Well…” She looked at him once over, pushing her eyebrows together as though she was making a really important finding. “I would wager at least four.”
“You are off only by four,” Duncan shook his head, laughing.
