“Good evening, Mother,” His Grace said.
The woman—the duchess?—stepped between us. She was dressed like a queen in gold and blue, her figure slim but strong, and eyes fierce. She leaned in before lowering her voice. “Are you quite serious?”
“Mother, may I introduce my friend Miss Georgiana Wood? Miss Wood, my mother, the Duchess of Marlow.”
“Good evening, Your Grace,” I said with a low curtsey. The duchess sighed, and I wondered if I’d done it wrong.
Her Grace looked at me straight on, and it was the challenge of a lifetime, but I met her gaze as I rose. “Miss Wood, do you have any untoward intentions with my son?”
Her question drew me up short. Then I remembered Maggie’s reaction. What she’d read about me in the papers. And from the duke’s mother, the question was warranted. “Not in the least, Your Grace.”
“Heaven above, let that be true. We have more pressing matters to worry over. Come with me.” She turned on a heel toward the door.
The duke followed obediently, without a thought to me, and I hesitated. Would he truly leave me to stand alone and be sized up by the wolves? Well, I would not be left. Like it or not, he’d signed our contract, and I meant to hold him to it. A nightat his side.
I hurried behind him.
We rounded two bends, then Her Grace stopped us in asecluded corner. She did not hesitate when she saw me, but spoke gravely, “She’s here.”
“Who?” In an instant, the duke’s countenance changed. His usual seriousness turned dark as a winter’s night.
His mother lowered her chin as though delivering a fatal blow. “Miss Newbury.”
And I would swear to it in front of a magistrate that I felt as though I was living out an Ann Radcliffe novel. Miss Newbury, the duke’s intended who’d broken his heart, was here.
“She’s Mrs. Winston now.” The duchess swallowed hard. Her hard edges seemed to soften with concern and compassion for her son. “I shall never forgive the Waymonts for not warning us. I suppose they believe the rumors that you supported their union, but I—”
“Is he here too?” the duke bit out. “Her ... husband.”
“Yes.”
The duke lifted a hand to the back of his neck and closed his eyes.
Everyone had already seen him arrive. The whispers were likely already spinning. His Miss Newbury would have heard, and if he left now, how would that look?
It would look like hecared. And clearly, for whatever reason, my good friend the duke did not want that.
I, of all people, however, knew how important appearances were.
“What can I do?” I found myself asking. If I was right, if he did care and wish for a way out of this mess, perhaps I could help him. And a combined effort of any kind meant more time in the spotlight with him. “Shall I spill my wine on her dress?”
The duke’s eyes opened, and he surprised me with the slightest twitch of his lips. “Would you?”
Pleased that I had humored him, I shrugged. Clearly, I’d done worse. “If you asked me nicely.”
His mother pinched the bridge of her nose. “Everyone will be watching you tonight. They will inject meaning into your every move. Darling, I know you hate the public eye, but with your efforts this evening aimed at matchmaking, I had to warn you. You must show them how you support Miss Newbury and her new husband. It would not do to start a new courtship under the shadow of your last.”
The duke was looking for a wife. That was hisbusiness? No wonder he treated me like such a burden. I had barnacled myself to him at the absolute worst time.
“No, it would not,” I agreed.
The duchess turned her attention to me and sighed. “I thought at first you would be my biggest problem this evening. I hope you prove me wrong. I must hurry back before they wonder where we’ve gone. Follow slowly. And remember—they feed off your reactions.”
And with that, she nearly flew around the corner. A loving mother who cared about her son in the aftermath of his heartbreak—how must that feel? Mine hadn’t so much as written her condolences after I’d scandalized myself.
The duke stood quietly, watching the empty space where his mother had stood.
We were, for the second time in our acquaintance, alone.
