“Well—my goodness,” his mother said. “It seems I was mistaken. You judged that situation rightly after all, Seth. And thank goodness you did. It might have caused all sorts of trouble for our family, and for our dukedom, if you had been trapped in such a situation by a lady like that. The last thing we want is a scandal.”
“I’m glad you realize that,” Seth said.
“How did you get away?”
Seth hesitated. “I just told her that I wouldn’t be manipulated so easily, and I walked away from her.” There was no reason to bring Lady Lavinia into this tale at all, he decided. No one needed to know about what had happened between the two of them.
“I’m very glad you did,” his mother said heartily. “Forgive me, Seth. I misjudged the situation. You were quite right to handle it the way you did. I only hope you won’t encounter her again during the next two weeks!”
“No, I don’t think you will,” Allan said. “I happen to know that the earl and the countess left this morning, taking their family with them. Lady Genevieve will be home by now.”
“Home!” Seth could hardly believe what he was hearing. “It’s only the second day of the party. Why did they leave so soon?”
“You haven’t guessed? I don’t know for sure, but having heard your story, I’m guessing they did it to save themselves from humiliation and disgrace,” Allan said. “My guess is that Lady Genevieve understood, once she was no longer with you, thatyouknew what she had been doing, and she couldn’t bring herself to face you for the rest of the party. She probably either told her parents the truth about what happened or she made up a story that would convince them to take her home.”
“If that’s the case, it’s the first noble thing I’ve heard of her doing,” Priscilla said.
Seth looked at his mother with a smile on his face. “You’ve changed your opinion of her completely, I see.”
“Well, my opinion of her was based entirely on who I believed her parents to be, and now I think I was quite wrong in my opinion of them. Either they encouraged her to be the kind of lady who would set such a trap for a gentleman or, at the veryleast, they never taught hernotto behave that way. No, it’s for the best that she’s left, and that you won’t be spending any more time in her company during this party, Seth. You’ll find someone more appropriate, I’m sure of that.”
Seth nodded. “I suppose it shouldn’t surprise me that you’re thinking of my finding someone else so quickly,” he said.
“Well, no, of course not,” his mother said. “I had no particular attachment to the idea of Lady Genevieve in particular, and as you know, the purpose of all this is to find you a wife so that you can produce an heir for the dukedom. That’s why you’re here.”
“I’m here because Allan invited me and I couldn’t bring myself to turn down an invitation from my friend,” Seth said. “I knew how important this party was to Allan. That’s why I chose to attend. It has nothing to do with your insistence that I marry, Mother. I’ve already told you how I feel about that, and I don’t want to hear any more of it.”
“Well, of course you came to spend time with your friend,” Seth’s mother said. “That doesn’t mean you don’t have responsibilities.”
“That’s not for you to say,” Seth told her. “It’s not your place to tell me what my duties are.”
“Perhaps it isn’t, but you know what your father would say if he were here. The most important thing you can do is uphold this family, and the only way to do that is by finding yourself a wife and producing an heir to this dukedom. That is what I hope tosee you do. Do you really mean to tell me that I’m no longer allowed to express that hope? I only want your happiness, Seth.”
“You’ve just finished saying that my happiness isnotwhat’s most important to you,” Seth said. “I understand—you want to make sure the dukedom is preserved. I also understand that this is my choice to make, and I’m not going to indulge this discussion.”
“Seth, if you would only listen…”
“All right,” Seth said. “That’s enough, Mother. You’ve had your say, and I’ve indulged it. You know that I’ve always valued your opinion and wanted to hear what you had to say. But as the Duke of Loxburgh, this will be my decision to make in the end. I will determine whether or not I wish to marry, and when, and to whom, and there’s nothing you can say to me that will alter my decision. And now I’ll ask you to leave the subject so that we can enjoy the party.”
He cast a meaningful look at Allan as he turned away. A moment later, Allan came hurrying up alongside him.
“I wondered if you were going to say anything to her,” he said. “She’s pushing quite hard for you to marry, isn’t she?”
“I think she’s begun to realize that I don’t have any interest in marriage,” Seth admitted. “And she finds that difficult to accept. But how could I possibly want to marry after seeing how unhappy she and my father were with one another all my life?”
“Not all marriages are unhappy,” Allan pointed out. “My parents were happy while they were alive.”
“I’m sure you’re right,” Seth said. “But it seems too big a gamble to me when there’s no way to be sure. I know that I’m perfectly happy on my own, so that’s the life I choose to live.”
“And what of the idea of an heir?” Allan asked. “Personally, I’d like someone to inherit my land and my title someday. I would like to have a son. Do you mean to tell me that it’s not important to you?”
“I don’t think so,” Seth said dismissively. “Someone will take over the dukedom someday, and by that time I will be far beyond worrying about it. No, what matters is that I have a good life while this life is mine to live. And that means I need to set aside my mother’s ideas about the importance of marriage, because I’m sure that marriage will only make me unhappy.”
“Well, the young ladies of thetonwould certainly save themselves some time if they knew that,” Allan said with a little laugh. “I very much doubt Lady Genevieve will be the last to seek the pleasure of your company during this party.”
“I have no objection to spending my time with them,” Seth said, and he couldn’t help thinking of Lady Lavinia. It was strange. What she had done last night was so close to being the same thing Lady Genevieve had done, and yet his opinion of it—and of her—was completely different. He found himself thinking that if she had been the one to go home early from the party, he would have been disappointed. She was certainly odd, and her mannersleft much to be desired, but he didn’t think she was conniving in the way Lady Genevieve had been. Rather than feeling anger toward her, he felt pity.
He wondered whether she intended to accept his offer of help in finding herself a suitor. Shewasunusually awkward. That was something he thought he could help her with. He supposed he would have his answer when he saw her tonight.
