Then again, if the horrible exhibition of bad taste that someone decided to call a hat as a practical joke started to melt, it would be an excellent opportunity to ridicule the Duke more, which would surely hasten the end of their outing and perhaps give up on his plans.
They entered the park, and Arabella all but clapped to see that practically everyone was there, the paths riddled with couples and companies walking slowly under the sun. If one is to throw a performance, the bigger the audience, the better.
The moment they made their way down a path, all eyes turned to them, to her gown, to her hat. They took a path by the Serpentine, and she walked with her chin up, straight back. By her side, he too was unaffected, spine straight. And too darn good-looking.
“Miss Marriot,” Lady Whitemore and her husband approached.
Arabella smiled and pulled the Duke to meet the couple. Lady Whitemore was earnest and always spoke her mind, not in malice, but sheer naivety.
“Lady Whitemore,” she said in glee. “Lord Whitemore,” she greeted the stunned man, too.
Lord Whitemore, in a perfect opposite-attract situation, was a sharp individual, clever and perceptive. And he looked at the Duke with a look of openly conveyed condolences.
“Miss Arabella,” Lady Whitemore said in her shrill voice, “Your hat is… eye-catching.”
“It is my first promenade with His Grace, and I wanted to look at my best,” Arabella said with a wide smile.
“And decided that this,” Lord Whitemore looked at her with dread, “is your best?”
For sure, the Duke would be embarrassed to be seen with her like this. Ruse or no, she was nevertheless exposing him to public ridicule.
“I find,” the Duke said in his dry manner, “that Miss Arabella looks particularly charming.”
Arabella’s eyes widened. That was not the reaction that she expected. And obviously neither did Lord Whitemore, wholooked at the Duke as if he was expecting an inevitable ‘but’ to be added to the claim that she was ‘charming’. But none came.
The Duke guided with a short bow away from the couple, who were left stunned, looking at them. She looked up at him as he guided them slowly and tried to see what was going through his brain.
“You are staring, Miss Arabella.” He said, looking ahead.
“I am trying to see if you are feeling alright, Your Grace.”
“I am feeling wonderful, thank you for your concern.”
“So, you do find me charming today?” Arabella pushed.
The Duke didn’t even miss a step, but his face shifted to what seemed almost like a smile.
“I do find your attempts endearing.”
“Endearing. Such a nice word to use when one is mocking the other.”
“I do assure you, Miss Arabella, that I do not mock you. On the contrary, I find your commitment very inspiring. Tell me, Miss Arabella, was this hat purchased especially for me?”
“Do not flatter yourself, Your Grace.”
“I rarely do.”
She looked up, only to find him looking at her with a slight smirk. This was not going as planned. Arabella knew they made quite a, objectively, ridiculous. spectacle. And yet the mere fact that he, the notorious, Cruel Duke, was walking by her side as if he accompanied a queen made looks of mockery less inclined to rise in people’s faces as they crossed them on the path.
Arabella saw her plan not only failing but completely backfiring. She wouldn’t be surprised to see the most fashionable of ladies walking around with various shades of yellow and fruits on their heads. Instead of making the Duke embarrassed, the only thing that Arabella had managed to do was to create a new fashion trend.
Thankfully, Arabella was prepared and had more arrows to fire. So she decided to go to the next step. As they turned to a new path, he saw a group of friends that she knew and happily recognized that among them was the greatest gossip of the whole ton, the Duchess of Basset.
“Oh, Gerald,” she said with surprising familiarity and a little whining voice, “I do not like uneven paths.”
She could almost taste victory. Upon hearing his first name with such ease and the little whiny addition, she saw a little crack in the mask. Finally, she had coaxed a reaction out of the Duke. For sure, he would chastise her for being so familiar with him, calling him by his first name. The Duchess would hear, and the embarrassment would ensue.
“I thought you would enjoy the rose garden, Arabella,” the Duke responded.
