“And I will not,” he resolved. “But of course, perhaps you do not know quite as much about it all as you think you do, since you are not married.”
“That has nothing to do with it,” Diana retorted. “And anyway, even before I had given up on all that and accepted my fate as a spinster, I would never have considered a man like you as a match.”
Tristan raised an eyebrow. “Well, I would never have considered you either, and perhaps that is exactly why you have ended up a spinster. After all, we could never be married.”
She shook her head. “Indeed we will not,” she replied. “And I will never allow you to endanger my reputation. You will never have that chance.” She said those last few words with a sense of finality, then looked away, fixing her focus on the stage.
He felt a strange sense of emptiness engulfing him as the play continued. His plan had not changed, but he felt unsettled, all the same.
As the actors continued to present their story on the stage below, Diana sat back in her seat, her mind elsewhere. Her heart was still racing as she grappled with her tumultuous thoughts.
She could sense Tristan next to her, although mercifully he had turned his attention towards others in the box, and left her alone.
He had said that he had enjoyed their little game, and it became clear to her in that moment that it was only a game to him. Nothing was serious to a man like Tristan. He had all the power and all the privilege and he could simply play with people as if they were puppets, dancing to his tune.
And somehow, she had let herself imagine that there was something in their banter and their arguing. She did not understand how she could veer so quickly from never wanting to set eyes on the man again, to being unable to tear her gaze away from his. How did he do it? What kind of trickery was at play here?
All the more reason to keep Grace as far away from him as possible. She repeated this resolve to herself as the applause and laughter filtered through the audience and the first act began to draw to a close. She would have to remove Grace form the boxfor the duration of the interval, she thought. They would have to go and find some other people to speak to, or go and get some refreshments. She could not resist Tristan reasserting himself on them and refreshing his assault on Grace’s heart.
It had taken all her strength to say those last words to him. The reality of their situation was clear to her, as it was to him. They could not risk a scandal, and he would never marry her.
Of course he would never marry her. She wondered why the words stung her heart so cruelly. It was not as if she would ever consider marrying a man like him anyway. But with those words came back the memories of all the pitying looks, all the whispers following her around ballrooms. The Duke had not wanted to marry her either, and now no one ever would.
She felt a tear threatening to fall down her cheek and she reached up and wiped it away furiously. She would not let Tristan upset her. His words meant nothing. His opinion meant nothing. The thrill of his attention might trigger something deep within her, but she knew that she was a mere diversion to him, a game to be played until he found something else to distract him.
With a deep breath, she shook her head, trying to dispel the dizzying thoughts that swirled within her. She would not become another victim of his charm, and nor would Grace. Soon, her sister would be engaged to be married to another fine gentleman and the Earl of Silvermere and his infuriating ways would just be a distant memory.
CHAPTER 8
“Where do you think the best place would be to buy a new dress for Grace?” Diana asked, turning to her friend Cecelia as they walked through the gardens of Cecilia’s home. The estate at Holloway was very grand indeed, with an impressive array of flowers beginning to bloom as springtime progressed, and Diana enjoyed visiting her friend there as often as she could, even though sometimes it was awkward to see the Duke. But she tried to ignore the memories of rejection that his presence sometimes triggered in her; there was no use dwelling on the past, she told herself.
“Well, I usually go to Brown’s, as you know,” Cecilia replied. “But perhaps if you have a grand gesture in mind, then it would be better to go somewhere else?”
Diana shook her head. “Brown’s will do quite well, I think.” She remembered her anxiety about the state of the ledgers and realized that if she did buy Grace another new dress, it could not be an extravagant one.
The late afternoon sun case a warm hue over the picturesque scene, but Diana felt unsettled as they continued along the path, the gravel crunching under their feet as they went.
“You seem rather distracted, my dear,” Cecila observed. “Shall we sit down, and you can tell me what’s troubling you?”
Diana agreed, and the two ladies sat down on a bench under a willow tree next to the lake, its branches trailing in the water below. The scene was perfect and Diana wished that she could enjoy it more. But until things were resolved between herself and her sister, she knew that she could not feel at east.
“Grace and I have had a disagreement,” Diana explained. “And ever since, she has been very distant with me. I feel that I cannot relax at all, until we have reconciled our differences.
“But you are normally so close,” Cecilia said in surprise. “What is it that has caused such a disagreement?”
“I think that she feels I have overstepped some invisible boundary between us,” Diana explained. “Since our mother died, I have always felt a sense of responsibility for Grace, and now as she navigates the marriage market, she needs more guidance than ever.”
“Bu Grace thinks you are interfering?” Cecilia asked.
“That is exactly it,” Diana replied. “I knew that you would understand.”
“Well, it was just the same for me with my brothers, when I met the duke,” Cecilia replied. “Oh, I am sorry to mention it…”
Diana shook her head, trying to ignore the slight reaction she felt in her chest at the mention of her friend’s brothers. “It is no matter, Cecilia. We have been friends for some time now, and I do not feel any sadness now that my courtship with the duke came to nothing. It is you that he fell in love with, and it is quite right that it is you that he married, and not me.” She paused and looked at her friend, with her deep brown curls and piercing green eyes. “And you are the perfect duchess, of course!”
“You flatter me,” Cecilia replied. “And frankly, at the moment I do not feel a perfect anything.” She placed her hands on her belly, slightly swollen with early pregnancy. “It is all rather exhausting, as you will find out for yourself one day.”
“I am not sure that I will,” Diana said, a little pensively, gazing out over the lake as she spoke.
