She shrugged and stroked a small white spot on the puppy’s brown head. “Despite what you or my parents may believe, Your Grace, I will not be getting married this season or any season for that matter.”
“You do not have a say in the matter. Your father wishes for you to marry, and he is paying me a considerable sum to house you and arrange a suitable match.”
Miss Alden gave him a rueful smile. “Then I shall do whatever it takes to thwart your attempts.”
Four
The Dowager Duchess clapped her hands and Lady Evangeline began to play the pianoforte, the tune too fast for dancing. At least it was too fast for the dull old maid’s dance that she’d insisted on teaching Isabelle and Lady Victoria.
Lady Hyacinth lounged on one of the couches with a bowl of fruit. “Mama, you must teach them something that the men will surely want to dance to. A reel or the English Country Dance.”
“I will do no such thing. Every young woman should know a quadrille. It is a modern enough dance.” The dowager gave Lady Evangeline a stern look. “Stop this foolery, Evangeline.”
With a sly smile, Lady Evangeline launched into a Scottish reel, her fingers flying over the ivory keys.
Isabelle bit back a smile and caught the book as it slipped from her head. The tome of Roman poetry had tried to make itsacquaintance with the floor more than once and she suspected it would only be a matter of time before it did. She was certain the dowager’s disapproving glare would then turn upon her, as it had only two days earlier, after the show of sneezing she had put on for the marquess.
Lady Victoria smiled and curtsied without losing the book on head. “I have an idea that shall make this a much more enjoyable lesson.”
Isabelle watched as Lady Hyacinth stood and snagged a piece of charcoal from the drawing desk while her mother’s back was turned. She snuck over to Lady Victoria and swiped a line of charcoal over her upper lip.
Lady Victoria laughed and bowed low. “Miss Alden, I would be elated if you gave me the honor of this dance.”
Laughing, Isabelle placed her hand in Lady Victoria’s. “You are quite the gentlemen, Lady Victoria.”
“Miss Alden, prepare to be swept off your feet.”
Lady Evangeline stumbled in her playing, her laughter barely smothered until she could no longer hold it back. She started laughing, abandoning the pianoforte to wipe the tears from her eyes.
The Dowager Duchess looked like thunder personified as she turned to Isabelle. “What is the meaning of this? Your motherdid not send you to me to have you make a mockery of etiquette and proper society behavior, yet here you are, treating this lesson as if it is nothing more than a joke.”
“If Mama truly cared about my posture while dancing, she would have sent me to finishing school,” Isabelle said before she could stop herself.
She sighed and shut her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. Dealing with the dowager had not gotten easier in the few days Isabelle had been under her supervision. The woman was nothing but a stickler for the rules of an older society, always insisting on proper manners, even when the occasion called for some relaxation.
The more time Isabelle spent in her presence, the more grateful she was that she had been raised in America with a mama who was not so stern.
“Miss Alden, you would do well to remember that you are a guest in the duke’s house.” The dowager planted her hands on her hips, looking down her angular nose at Isabelle.
Isabelle stood taller. The book fell from her head and landed on the floor with a heavy thud. “I have not forgotten, and I am grateful to His Grace, but surely you must see that the lessons are dull.”
“Dull!” The dowager scoffed. It was the most unladylike sound Isabelle had heard her make.
Though she was trying to ascertain which battles she could win with the dowager, she felt as if her head was going to combust.I cannot take much more of this loathsome dancing.The poor book would fall to pieces.
The Dowager Duchess jerked her chin in Lady Evangeline’s direction. “You will play, and Hyacinth, you will return to your governess at once or I truly shall send you to a finishing school to tame your wild ways.”
Lady Hyacinth scurried out of the room, the door swinging shut behind her. As soon as her sister was gone, Lady Evangeline was quick to return to the piano, playing the tune for a quadrille once more.
Isabelle did her best to keep her back straight and her head held high as she stooped to pick up the book. She plopped it back on her head. With a deep breath, she took one step forward and then another back before joining hands with Lady Victoria in the middle and turning in a slow circle.
As they parted, the book fell to the floor once more.
“Blasted book,” Isabelle muttered under her breath.
Lady Victoria giggled, her eyes shining with mischief as she inclined her head. Her book also fell to the ground with a loud crash, causing the Dowager Duchess to jerk ramrod straight.
“Miss Alden, you must keep your back taut and your head up, and you must look pleasant while doing so. It is troublesome enough that no man in his right mind wants to marry a woman your age, more so when all she does is scowl.”
