“You are not being serious?” The woman was noticeably surprised by his answer. “Do you really expect me to believe that you did not dance with anyone this evening?”
“Yes,” the Duke shrugged. “I have no reason to lie to you, nor is it in my nature to do so.”
“But…” She struggled with her words. “Why? I am sure there are many ladies there who would love to have a chance to dance with you.”
“Are you trying to imply that I am a most eligible bachelor?” the Duke countered. “I must say that I am quite flattered that you have this opinion of me, My Lady.”
The woman rolled her eyes at him. “I did not say that. You are only putting words in my mouth. And I am still curious to know what it is that makes you so controversial. If it is not your habits with the ladies, then what could it be?”
“I assume you do not keep up with the gossip or else you would know already.”
“I am afraid that I do not.”
“I see,” he noted, impressed. “Well, my father was quite notorious during his life for his… less than ideal choices.”
For a brief moment, Duncan noticed that the woman flinched ever so slightly at the mention of the word father, but she composed herself quickly.
“Now, you have me quite curious as to what those choices were,” she replied.
“Oh, just the usual vices.” Duncan chuckled darkly to himself. “Gambling his life away, no regard for his family…”
That elicited a small laugh from her. He was surprised to see that as his humor was usually too dark for the ladies to appreciate.
“Was there an element of alcoholism thrown together in there as well?” she inquired, playfully. “Surely, that would make it into the holy trinity.”
A loud chuckle escaped his lips.
“What an astute observation, My Lady. Indeed, he was quite fond of the drink. And he made sure everyone else knew of his vices too.”
“I am sure that he must have given the people enough gossip fodder to last the entire season,” she chimed in.
“The season? My Lady, you are aiming too low. It has been many years since he has passed now, and whispers about his life still follow us wherever we may go,” he observed.
“I suppose then you could say that he was a man who liked to live large,” she said with a small shrug of her shoulders.
“For all the wrong reasons…”
He surprised himself by how easily he was able to talk to this woman. Talking about his past was not something he did, even to those that were closest to him. But with her, he felt as though words were flowing freely out his mouth.
He wanted to know more about this lady.
But just as he was about to ask her for her name, both of them turned to look behind them as the sound of horrified gasps and footsteps approached them.
“Duncan,” a panicked voice belonging to his mother called out to him. “Is that you?”
“He is alone with the Scarred Lady,” another voice called. “Oh, the shame!”
“Your Grace, please get away from her before she curses you as well,” Barbara said, sounding very concerned.
Duncan looked back the woman, feeling embarrassed on her behalf. He wanted to give the others a piece of his mind. Surely, they were blowing things wildly out of proportion.
“I am sorry,” he mouthed to her. He noticed her calm expression had slipped, and there was a hint of hurt in her eyes. He felt his guilt double in size, and he instinctively stood before her, shielding her from the crowd of women.
“What is your name?” his mother stepped forward. Her tone was not as angry as the rest, but Duncan still felt protective of the lady.
“Sophia,” she replied. Duncan could not help but notice how her voice sounded more unsure than it had previously. Had the jeers finally begun to get to her?
“I see…”
