But then he smiled at her, and she had to admit that it flustered her a little.
Dinner came to end, and as they retired to the drawing room the duke pulled her to one side.
“Might I have a word?”
“Of course, Your Grace,” she replied, and he led her to some seats on the other end of the room.
“I wanted to explain my behavior,” he began. “Especially at dinner. I saw your face when my mother made that comment. It had nothing to do with you at all, but simply that I was embarrassed to hear my mother speak of me like that. She means well, and is a most loving mother, but then and there I felt like a schoolboy.”
Jackie giggled at him.
“I suppose I can understand that. My father hardly knows enough about me to put me on such a pedestal, so I suppose I only see it as a good thing to receive.”
“Not after twenty years of it,” he laughed. “How are you feeling after today?”
Jacki almost wished that he had not asked.
“It was certainly an experience,” she sighed. “I hardly know Lady Ophelia at all, given that I only ever had one season out, but she was definitely a character.”
“Well, regardless of how she made you feel, I want you to know that I am serious about you and me. I want to give this courtship some real effort.”
“As do I,” she nodded.
“And I have been thinking about how compatible you and I are. I wish to know more about you, be it from promenading together, just you and I next time, or having tea together, or even more music lessons. I want to know you properly, because thus far I truly have liked what I have seen.”
It was exactly what Jackie wanted to hear, but even so there was a lingering doubt that Lady Ophelia could have him back if she wanted.
“As for our guest?” she asked. “I know that the two of you have history, even if I do not know the details of it. I do not want to step on anyone’s toes, so to speak.”
“There shall be no toes to step on,” he assured her. “I am pleased that you and I can discuss this now, because you must know that there will never be anything between myself and Lady Ophelia again. The past is the past, and with all that happened I can honestly say that I do not intend to revisit it.”
Jackie wanted to believe him, and so she did not question his words. She breathed a sigh of relief, her shoulders relaxing as she released all of the tension she had been feeling.
“That makes me feel a lot more at ease,” she explained. “Because I too would like to pursue this courtship. You and I seem to have more in common than we might have thought at first, and I do not want that to end over a lady that has come back for you.”
“And it will not,” he promised.
“Very well. Now, shall we suggest a game of cards?”
“I haven’t played in a while…”
“Well, if you wish to be more at ease with my family, there is no time like the present!”
He sighed, but he was smiling as he did so. He rose to his feet before helping her up too, and then they walked to the others.
“Is anyone interested in a game of whist, perchance?” He asked, to which everyone nodded, and they headed to a table.
“I shall go with the duke,” Jackie explained. “And then Elizabeth, you can go with Lord Greene.”
“Lucien,” the duke continued. “You can go with my mother.”
“I shall join them,” her father said. “So that the four of you can make your own game.”
Jackie gave her father a quick nod of gratitude, and the two groups split off.
“Oh,” Elizabeth said uncertainly, biting her lip. “I’m afraid that I do not know this game at all.”
“You shall be a quick study, I am sure,” the duke smiled. “First of all, you must take a card from this pack. We all will.”
