The boy nodded and rested his chin on his knees as he looked up at the sky with her.
Seven
Not long after Lady Selina left his side, Dominic was accosted by ambitious mothers, just as he feared.
“Your Grace, it is lovely to see you tonight!” One of them said, “You must dance with my daughter, Lady Jane. Isn’t she beautiful?”
Another one waved to catch his eye. “Good evening, Your Grace. My daughter, Lady Tiffany, is right over there. I believe you met her last Season?”
Neither Jane nor Tiffany could meet his eye. They looked so young compared to Lady Selina, and they were both very afraid of him. So were the next three ladies forced to stand in his line of sight by ambitious mothers.
He rarely enjoyed dancing on a good day. He certainly didn’t enjoy it with a dance partner who practically trembled at the sight of him.
When he saw yet another mother try to drag her daughter to him, he turned and walked away. Behind him, someone muttered, “Cold as stone indeed.”
He gritted his teeth. He should announce his engagement to Lady Selina soon, if only to save himself from this torture.
Dominic looked for a friendly face to save him from the ambitious mothers and scared debutantes. However, his grandmother was busy talking to her best friend, Lady Eliza. Hopefully, she was not regaling her scheme from earlier that day. His best friend, Austin, was surrounded by three ladies and looked like he was thoroughly enjoying himself.
He heard someone whispering behind him. “Is it true what they say about his wife? About what he did to her?”
He closed his eyes, feeling exhausted. He should have known better than to let his grandmother talk him into attending the ball. He left before someone else could bother him.
Needing some fresh air, he went to the garden and started walking down a path. He took deep breaths, and his mind drifted to Lady Selina, who was supposed to be his future wife.
Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t seen her in the ballroom for several minutes. Perhaps she had retired early to her room. He wouldn’t blame her if she had.
He walked to the fountain in the center of the gardens. As he did so, he heard a quiet female voice. He frowned, knowing he should turn back now, before he got caught alone with a young ladyagain. But it sounded like she was talking to herself.
“The full moon is beautiful, isn’t it? But I always preferred the crescent shape myself. However, it is just nice seeing the moon go through its cycle, isn’t it? It decides when we see it, and how much we see. Isn’t that fascinating?”
There was silence for a beat, and then a giggle.
Unable to overcome his curiosity, Dominic turned the corner to see Lady Selina sitting on the bench with Percy. Shock ran through him at the sight. How on earth were they here, together? Did she seek him out? To what end?
He stared at Percy, who was gesturing wildly at something in the sky. But as he did so, he locked eyes with his father. Percy gasped softly, stood up, and immediately ran away, into the darkness. Dominic clenched his jaw. Sometimes he wondered if even his own son thought he had a heart of stone.
Selina stood up and looked in the direction of where Percy ran off before looking at Dominic. “Your Grace,” she said, sounding surprised to see him there.
“What did you think you were doing?” he asked.
“What do you mean? Do you know that boy? Do you know where he went?”
“Of course, I know him. You are the stranger here. Not me.”
Her expression hardened. “I do not know why you are lecturing me, but it should wait. We need to go after him, before he gets lost.”
“Percy knows the grounds like the back of his hand. He’s going back to the manor.” He stepped closer to her.
“There’s a child allowed to roam free on the grounds?” She frowned. “Who is he?”
“He’s my son!” He was feeling agitated from the conversation. He didn’t like the thought of any of the guests bothering Percy, especially Lady Selina of all people.
But he was also reluctant to admit that Percy looked relaxed with her, more relaxed than he ever was with him. That infuriated him.
Her mouth opened in surprise. “You have a son?”
He sneered. “Do not pretend that you didn’t know. Everyone in the ton knows about my family.”
