“Between your father and me? Don’t be ridiculous. Certainly not. We never wanted it or expected it.” She paused. “Is that what has you waiting to marry Miss Prim? Are you waiting to see if you will fall in love with her?”
Was he? Wasn’t he already half in love with her anyway? He didn’t know, because love wasn’t something he’d ever let himself feel.
Over his mother’s shoulder, he saw Mrs. Colthrust coming through the door with Miss Gwen right behind her. His heart started beating a little faster at the thought of seeing Louisa. He watched the two ladies take off their wraps and hand them to an attendant. He studied the entrance. Where was Louisa?
His mother kept talking, and he mumbled some kind of answer, but his attention was still on the door. Mrs. Colthrust and Miss Gwen walked down into the ballroom. He kept staring at the entrance. Louisa wasn’t with them. He had to find out why.
“Are you?” his mother asked.
“Am I what?”
“Waiting to fall in love with Miss Prim before you ask for her hand?”
“Surely you don’t think there is such a thing as love, do you?”
The duchess laughed. “If there is, I never found it.”
“Did you ever look for it?” he asked.
Her eyes narrowed for the briefest time. She seemed to shake off whatever his question had made her feel or remember and said, “If I ever did, it was so long ago that I have no memory of it, and that is probably just as well.”
Bray thought of the Prince and his damned wager. “It would be nice if Miss Prim and I were left alone to make up our own minds about what we want to do about marrying.”
“You can’t, Your Grace,” his mother said in a tone that left him no room for argument. “You lost that right when you accepted her brother’s dying plea.”
“Yes, the vow. How could I forget?”
“Keeping your word is not supposed to be easy. Integrity would have no value if there were no effort associated with it. Now, I’m headed home. Enjoy the rest of your evening, Your Grace.”
Bray watched his mother walk away. There was never a greeting kiss on the cheek or a parting hug between them, because sadly, there was no love. Mutual respect was the strongest emotion they shared.
Watching his mother’s regal, retreating back, Bray realized he’d never seen his mother cry. There must have been times in her life when she’d wept, but Bray knew nothing about them. He’d known Miss Prim for only a few weeks, and already he’d seen her eyes filled with tears twice. When she thought he’d deliberately kept Saint from them and today, when she looked at the area where her brother had died.
Both times, he’d been angry with himself for being the cause of her tears.
Without further thought, Bray knew what he had to do. He placed his glass on a nearby table and went to find Mrs. Colthrust. He was stopped three different times by people to make conversation, but he managed to keep the exchanges short, and by the time he reached the chaperone, she was talking to Harrison, and Miss Gwen was talking with a young Italian count who seemed pleased that she could converse in his language.
After appropriate greetings, Bray said, “You and Miss Gwen are looking lovely this evening, Mrs. Colthrust.”
The woman gave him a dazzling smile and fanned herself. “Thank you, Your Grace. We’re so glad you noticed.”
“I couldn’t help but see that Miss Prim isn’t with you?”
“Oh, I know, and it is your fault, Your Grace.”
“Mine?” he said, feeling a stab of alarm in his chest.
“Yes, she told me that you arrived shortly after Gwen left and insisted on taking her and the girls to the park for an afternoon outing to see a puppet show. Apparently you were not careful, and she spent too much time in the sun. Said she had a headache and felt quite dizzy and wasn’t up to a night of dancing.”
Relief washed over Bray. For a moment, he’d thought Mrs. Colthrust was going to tell him that Louisa was upset over visiting the place where her brother had died.
“I’m sorry to hear that. Please give her my apology and my regards when you return home.”
“Shall do, Your Grace.”
Bray looked at Harrison and said, “If you’ve had enough dancing for one evening, why don’t we head over to White’s for a game of cards?”
“I’m all for that.”
