Chapter 14
Jackie wondered just how impolite it would be to have a guest removed from a house that was not hers.
Lady Ophelia was strange. She had been the one to abandon the duke, and yet any fool could see that during her visit she was trying to make the duke go back to her. Why, she wondered, if she had already left him once before?
She certainly did not approve of the way Lady Ophelia clung to the duke, pointedly saying that they were friends once more. Jackie was not stupid; she knew exactly what the other young lady was trying to do, and no matter how much she tried to ignore it she had to admit that it had worked.
“Are you well, Sister?” Elizabeth asked at dinner.
“Yes, quite,” she replied. “I had a fall this afternoon, that is all. I suppose it has made me become rather out of sorts.”
“And it has nothing to do with our guest this afternoon?” She whispered.
“No, of course not,” Jackie hissed. “Besides, she left a few hours ago now. She has had no effect on me whatsoever.”
But she had. Lady Ophelia’s arrival could have meant a number of things for the duke, but the fact that he did not immediately send her away made her feel quite uneasy indeed.
“My apologies,” the duke said suddenly, entering the dining room.
All eyes fell on him. It had been the first time that he had joined them all at a meal, and he had come without his mask. He seemed ill at ease, sitting down beside her in an instant and beginning to eat. She noticed Elizabeth staring at him and nudged her in the side.
Fortunately, her sister knew exactly what this meant and complied.
“It—it is nice to see you, Your Grace,” Elizabeth began dutifully.
“Likewise,” he replied.
“Yes, I was beginning to think that you would not show your face at all,” her father said brightly before realizing just what he had said. “That is to say that I am pleased you can join us this evening.”
“It was time for it,” the duke nodded, and then silence fell.
Jackie was proud of the duke, unbelievably so, for making such a large step, but even so there were still uncertainties about their courtship in her mind. She knew it was only a matter of time before her heart became involved, even if she had been trying to keep her feelings separate, and with what she had seen that day she knew it was a risk. The duke had adored Lady Ophelia from what she had heard, and now that she was back and clearly willing to have him again, the duke could take that offer and disappear.
Was it worth it?
She thought about his kindness, the way he made her feel at the pianoforte, the fact that he sent her flowers every single day of her visit, and that he was now sitting with her family, his scars laid bare, trying to make an effort with them. He was doing everything right, and she appreciated it greatly.
Then again, as far as Lady Ophelia had been concerned, this was nothing compared to what he had done for her.
Jackie took a breath. She was far too late if she had been wanting to save herself from heartache; she had already become emotionally invested in the courtship. Whether she had planned to or not, and admittedly she had not, she really did like the duke.
“So, Elizabeth,” the duke tried again. “Your sister was telling me that you play the pianoforte.”
“Yes, though I cannot say I have ever been exceptional. I suppose she told you that part, too?”
“I said no such thing,” Jackie laughed before turning to Lord Greene. “She plays well, for what it is worth.”
“I would love to hear it, sometime,” he smiled back.
“Jackie!” Elizabeth exclaimed under her breath. “I shall only cause myself a great deal of embarrassment now.”
“No more than I cause myself each and every time I play.”
Elizabeth seemed to understand her sister’s words all too well.
“Well,” the dowager beamed. “Whether the two of you ladies are aficionados or you sound like two mangled cats, I have thoroughly enjoyed your presence thus far. I was never much good with music, not like my son, and so it is not as though I can hold the two of you to such a standard. What matters to me, and this is for you Lady Jacqueline, of course, is how well you treat my son.”
There were murmured laughs around the table, the duke shrinking into himself, and Jackie did not understand why he had done so.
