The smile slid from her face. Her brow furrowed. “She’s not?”
“No.” He shook his head once more.
“Who then?” Delilah blurted.
“Lady Rebecca Abernathy,” he said reverently, his eyes shining with obvious admiration.
“Lady Rebec—?”
“You two are friends, are you not?”
Delilah’s chest ached with the effort to continue to act properly. “Yes, of course. I’ve known Rebecca since we were children. We danced the Maypole dance last year at the Penningtons’ ball, and once we sneaked into Lord Abernathy’s study and—” Now she was babbling. Babbling was never a good decision. She needed to stop.Allow him to speak more. Not to mention the story about the time she and Rebecca had sneaked into Lord Abernathy’s study and imbibed brandy didn’t serve to portray either lady in a good light.
Thankfully, Branville didn’t seem to hear any of that. “I’d hoped you might be able to tell me what sort of flowers she likes, and…”
Delilah barely heard another word. The duke continued to talk, but her mind was spinning. The Duke of Branville fancied Rebecca? All her well-laid plans were ruined. How had this happened? She’d been prepared to fight Lady Emmaline for him. She was completely unprepared to battle Rebecca. As far as she knew, Rebecca wasn’t even interested in him.
“So, as you can tell,” the duke was saying when Delilah began to listen again, “I hoped you’d put in a good word for me with Lady Rebecca.”
“Put in a good word? You are aware that you’re a duke, aren’t you?” It was a crass thing to say, but it was also the first thing that sprang to her mind. With the shock she’d just received, Delilah had obviously returned to saying the first thing that came to her mind. Her back was no longer ramrod straight either, and it felt heavenly.
“Yes, but I… I believe…” Branville blushed and looked away.
Delilah narrowed her eyes on him. What was he trying to say? Why was the duke being so vague? She much preferred men like Thomas, who came right out with what they meant. It made them far easier to deal with. She’d never been particularly adept at guessing at subtleties. “Yes?” she prodded.
Branville cleared his throat. “I’m trying to say that unless I mistake my guess, I believe Lady Rebecca may be more interested in Huntley than me.”
Oh. That.
Thankfully, Delilah caught herself before saying,You’re right.She pressed her lips together and counted to ten to afford herself important moments to gather her thoughts and say something more… helpful.
“Rebeccahasbeen asking after Thomas,” she finally said. There. That was both true and vague enough to afford her more time to think.
“I’ve seen her dancing with him at a few parties,” Branville said. “I’ve hardly had a chance to ask her to dance.”
He’d hardly had a chance to ask Rebecca to dance because he’d allowed Lady Emmaline to occupy all of his time. But pointing that out would not be helpful. Instead, she inclined her head and said, “Perhaps if you made it apriorityto ask Lady Rebecca to dance?”
“Yes, you’re right. I know you’re right.” He leaned closer and lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “See? I need your help. Please agree to help me with your matchmaking advice.”
“You do know I haven’t successfully made myownmatch yet?” Clearly the man needed the obvious pointed out to him.
“Yes, but Lady Emmaline said it’s because you’ve been busy making other matches. She said she had every faith you’d find true love one day and make the best match of all.”
Delilah’s mouth formed anO. “Lady Emmaline said that?” She pointed to herself. “About me?”
Branville nodded. “Yes, she said she greatly admires your skill, and says you and Lucy Hunt are thick as thieves.”
“We are.” Delilah smiled, but she was preoccupied by the notion that Lady Emmaline had been so complimentary. Here she’d been shooting daggers at Emmalineevery chance she got, and Emmaline had done nothing but pay her compliments to the duke. Delilah felt petty and small.
A tug of sympathy for Lady Emmaline shot through her chest. Apparently, Branville didn’t want her any more than he wanted Delilah. There were both in the same unwanted little boat.
“Will you consider it, then?” the duke asked. “Helping me catch Lady Rebecca’s attention, I mean.”
Delilah blew out a breath that ruffled the curls on her forehead. She certainly hadn’t expected this when she’d come down here today, but she saw no point in turning the duke away empty-handed. “Lucy and I are quite busy this Season.” It was true. She’d lost count of how many people they were trying to pair.
“I see.” Branville looked positively crestfallen.
“But with the play rehearsals, we’ve been able to keep a close eye on things,” she continued. “I don’t see why we couldn’t help you too.”
