“In case you are wondering,” Lady Everly said, “I favor love matches, but one has to start somewhere when seeking a husband, and this seemed like as good a place as any.”
“And there is no harm in falling in love with a rich man,” the dowager duchess added. “If anything, I should think that doing so would be simpler.”
“As long as he reciprocates the sentiment,” Amelia said without thinking. She immediately regretted the words when everyone paused to stare at her. “It would only lead to heartache if he didn’t,” she added with a shrug. Not that she knew anything about that since she was as out of love with Coventry as she’d been before she’d met him.
He would never make her happy. Yesterday’s argument had confirmed how ill-suited they were for each other. Which was just as well since he no doubt had some duchess-in-training to court at some point or other.
“I suppose that is true,” Lady Everly agreed. “But I can assure you that the worst thing of all would be for him to share your affection and then marry someone else.”
“Why on earth would such a thing happen?” Juliette asked. “I mean, if he were from a good family and you—”
“A family feud could be the cause.” A bitter note had entered the dowager countess’s voice. “One might be surprised by how scheming parents can be and the negative impact it can have on their children.”
“Which is why we all wish to do what is in your best interest,” the dowager duchess hastily added.
“My brother doesn’t insist we marry nobility though,” Amelia said, “so I don’t think we need to limit our choices to titled gentlemen alone.” She’d actually felt bad about doing so even before she’d overheard those women at the ball. Because what right did she and her sister actually have to breeze into Society as if they were just as deserving of an earl or viscount or... whatever... as the ladies who’d been raised to marry such men since birth? The fact that their parents had been gentry was hardly enough when considering their lack of education and accomplishments. Until recently, they hadn’t even known that a fish knife existed.
“Of course you needn’t,” the dowager duchess said. She shifted her gaze to Amelia, eyes bursting with kindness. “But what harm is there in aspiring for greatness? Granted, you must pick a man who you like, one with whom you feel a certain... compatibility. The more you have in common, the easier it will be for the two of you to enjoy each other’s company, to become friends and, in time, grow to love one another. That is how it happened for me and my husband, and we were tremendously happy.”
“In that case, we might be in need of more paper,” Amelia said. She sipped her tea until she had everyone’s full attention. “Names and fortunes are clearly not enough for my sister and I to form a proper opinion of these potential suitors. We shall need to list their interests and characteristics, as well.”
“What about looks?” Juliette asked.
Amelia felt her lips lift at the corners as she glanced toward her. “While they may matter in order to hold a visual interest, they are the least important when it comes to marital bliss. You only need to think of Mama in order to know how true that is.”
“Agreed.” Juliette stood. “I’ll fetch the writing materials so we can start adding additional information.”
They spent the next hour jotting down each gentleman’s preferred pastime activities, the locations of their various estates and whatever else Lady Everly and the dowager duchess were able to recollect. Amelia was just jotting down Mr. Lowell’s skill at whist when Pierson came to knock on the door. “The Duke of Coventry is here,” he announced right before the duke entered the parlor.
His hair was more tame than when Amelia had last seen him, his clothes impeccably tailored to fit around his powerful body. He was every bit the dashing aristocrat he was supposed to be, and for a moment, she forgot how he’d chastised her yesterday and the chagrin she’d felt immediately after. But then his eyes bore down on hers and the edges of his jaw transformed into rigid planes. He had not forgotten their argument, and just like that, the memory of it and all the feelings that had since been evoked tumbled through her on an avalanche.
“Ladies,” he said, following his greeting with a bow. “How lovely you look.”
At least Amelia could agree with him there. Indeed, her appearance was much improved today since she’d chosen to put on a white gown sewn from the finest muslin. It had pretty puff sleeves and a blue silk ribbon tied right beneath her breasts. Determined to make a better impression, she kept her back straight and held her hands neatly folded in her lap. But her heart shook with every step he took in her direction, and it occurred to her then that the only remaining seat was the one immediately next to her on the sofa.
Lowering himself onto it while eels swam around inside her belly, he leaned back, waited a few seconds and then looked straight at her with eyes that demanded her attention. “May I please have some tea?”
She sucked in those words on a deep inhalation. This was her home, and with Gabriella away, her position as the elder sister made pouring tea for a gentleman caller her responsibility. The edge of Coventry’s mouth twitched, no doubt because he’d seen the flush now heating her cheeks. Did he mean to punish her by making a study of all her mistakes?
Swallowing a groan, she picked up the teapot and poured with an elegant turn of the wrist that pleased her. It must have surprised him as well, for he thanked her as if he’d expected her to spill it. Instead, she felt the edge of her own mouth twitch when she handed him his cup. She’d learned long ago that even the smallest of victories ought to be savored, and so she did exactly that.
“We were just about to decide on the most eligible suitors for Lady Amelia and Lady Juliette to pursue,” the dowager duchess explained.
“Ah,” Coventry said with a grin. “I have arrived at a hunting party. Will you be bringing out the hounds, I wonder?”
“They shan’t be needed.” Picking up the list of names, Lady Everly waved it in the air. “When these young men see Lady Amelia and Lady Juliette at Elmwood House on Friday, they will flock to them on their own accord. Mark my word.”
The slight puckering of Coventry’s forehead suggested he wasn’t convinced, but if that were the case, he failed to mention it. Instead he asked, “So then...” He reached across the table, accepting the list from Lady Everly’s outstretched hand. “Which of these is your main mark?”
“You needn’t speak of them as though they’re going to get shot at,” Amelia muttered.
“Does Cupid not wield a bow and arrow?”
Puffing out a breath, she crossed her arms, then remembered that she was supposed to keep her hands folded in her lap, and lowered them once more. She couldn’t say why Coventry was grating on her today for he’d been nothing but courteous so far. But there was something... perhaps the way he looked at her now, as if to say,I know your secret, and I will hold it over you forever.The worst part wasn’t even the fact that she only had herself to blame, it was the realization that he might be the only person capable of helping her. But to ask him to do so... Ugh! She’d almost rather swallow a slug.
Almost.
“We have advised Lady Amelia to consider Mr. Lowell first,” the dowager duchess said. She’d obviously decided to ignore the comment about Cupid.
