“Thank you…” Her voice trailed off as if she was uncertain what to call him now.Especially after Zachary told her to call him by his given name, but Matthew was the one she was engaged to.
He leaned in, lowering his voice so that only she could hear him.
“You should call me Matthew.”He whispered his name like it was a secret, just for them, and for just a moment, it felt like his grandmama and Zachary faded away from the room, and it really was him and Johanna alone.
Matthew.She mouthed his name, rather than saying it aloud, her perfect pink lips forming the syllables in a manner that made his heart beat faster.He might have completely lost his head and done something shocking like kiss her right in front of the others, if not for the supper gong.It jolted him out of his reverie, and both of them pulled back.
Grandmama looked eminently pleased, though she quickly turned to Zachary.
“You’ll join us for supper, of course,” she said.“Unless you have another engagement.”
“Of course,” Zachary replied, smiling.“Nothing that I must rush to, though I am expected at Lady Chesterham’s ball later this evening.”
Which gave Zachary the opportunity to get to know Johanna better, which benefited Matthew as well.Both of them were able to speak with her and Zachary; including Grandmama in the conversation as well meant there were as many stories about Matthew being told as Johanna told of her own childhood.Matthew noted that his fiancée was more than happy to talk of the past during the time her father had been alive and much more loath to speak of anything in more recent times.
Which allowed him to deduce that things had only gone downhill once her brother’s guardian took over managing the estate and the estate’s funds.Tomorrow, he would check to ensure that Drake had sent someone to dig into Mr.Blash.Well, he would flip his coin to see if it was the right day to check in with Drake, in case giving him more time would be more appropriate.
Supper ended, and Zachary excused himself to get ready for his evening.Grandmama had announced over the meal that she’d cried off events for the next few days while they got Johanna sorted.After all, she could not attend a ball without the proper attire.
“The ballgowns will not be ready for several more days,” Grandmama said with obvious regret.
“That is fine with me,” Matthew said jovially.He did not need to go to any more balls anyway, now that he had his bride.Unless he was likely to find Cornwall there, although any of his friends who were still on the hunt could take on that duty.It was unlikely Cornwall would be found in a ballroom, though, and far more likely he’d turn up at a gambling hall.Which was where Matthew excelled, as long as he had not been banned for his uncommonly good luck.
His grandmother cast a gimlet eye at him but did not remark on his response.
“Hyde Park tomorrow,” she announced.“The ladies will want to meet Johanna before your wedding.”
Matthew winced but saw his grandmother’s point.Johanna should be introduced to the othergrande dames,the terrifying array of the older ladies of theton.Socially savvy and occasionally savage, they would be far less harsh if Johanna had been introduced to them before Matthew married her.An elopement out of nowhere would have them out for blood.
Thetonran on talk, and thegrande damesran the gossip.
“Sounds as though your day will be busy?—”
“You are coming too, Matthew.”
“Ah.Right.Of course.”
Damn.
So close.
But Grandmama had spoken, and there was nothing to do but grin and bear it.
At least with Johanna at his side, he would not be mobbed by young ladies, the way it often happened when he or one of the other eligible dukes stepped foot in a ballroom.Matthew was very much looking forward to no longer being surrounded by debutantes eager to make his acquaintance.Being crowded in made it very difficult to flip his coin when he wanted to decide which to talk to.
ChapterEight
Johanna
Hyde Park was beautiful and incredibly intimidating despite that beauty.
As so many things had been since coming to London.The engagement announcement had run in the Gazette that morning, and the number of carriages—and passersby on foot—that crowded around the St.Albans landau was massive.Johanna sat poker-straight beside the duke, a smile on her lips, all while wishing she could hide… but every eye was on her, watching her every move, and some of them were clearly finding her wanting.
She did not blame them.Especially the young ladies who appeared very disappointed that the duke had been poached from their pool, and by someone they’d never met before.Johanna felt very much like an animal in the zoo, on display, although the animals could at least do what they wished, and no one would think twice about it.
Johanna knew that one wrong move on her part in front of such an audience and the gossip would be horrendous.Not at all how she wanted to repay the duke and his grandmother for rescuing her.
“Yes, Lady Astrid’s house party,” Lady Stark said, nodding knowingly at another grey-haired woman, who lowered her lorgnette to study Johanna intently over the wire frame.“They’re neighbors of Falmouth’s, you know.Matthew came back to London without her, but he could not stop thinking of her, and…” Lady Stark shrugged as if to sayhere we are.
