Page 16 of A Deal for the Duke’s Virgin

CHAPTER 5

There was nothing to sharpen the temper like a bad night of sleep. Generally, Thalia slept like a log after a party. Jonathan never allowed her to leave early, and so she was always exhausted by the time she finally retired.

Since she woke every morning at half past seven to the very second, no matter how much she would like to sleep later, that meant she woke groggy and thoroughly bad-tempered.

And then, of course, there were the events of last night to think upon.

How could she have been so foolish to proposition the Lord of Scandal, for heaven’s sake? And it certainly was a proposition. She’d backed herself into a corner, make no mistake about that. And his offer, suggesting that she travel to meet him at night… Well, that was out of the question.

Thalia adjusted her spectacles, eyeing her reflection with resignation. It would have to do.

She left her bedroom and hurried to the breakfast-room. Jonathan liked mealtimes to be stately and serious. They never ate breakfast in the dining room, always in the breakfast room, even though the room was damp and particularly cold and dark in winter.

That, Jonathan had assured her, did not matter. It was all about the look of the thing.

She peered into the breakfast room. Sure enough, there he was, turning the crisp pages of the newspaper over his morning coffee.

He shot her a quick, cold look. “Good morning, Thalia. You are late.”

She wasn’t late, but it didn’t seem to be worth arguing over. Instead, she gave a faint smile and slipped into her seat. A footman wordlessly served her usual breakfast: an egg, a slice of toast, and a large cup of tea.

Jonathan rustled his newspaper. “You’ll be pleased to hear that Mr. Pembroke will not be calling on us this morning. I tried to sound him out on the matter last night, and he was most determined not to come.”

Thalia swallowed down her relief.

“Oh, I see,” she said as carelessly as she could.

Her brother glowered at her. “Shall we discuss last night?”

“I am not sure there is much to discuss. I was pleasant to Mr. Pembroke, was I not? As you required.”

He sniffed. “That business with the Duke… I do hope you aren’t setting your sights on him.”

“I am not an absolute fool, Jonathan,” she shot back, reaching for the jam. “I can only assume that he wanted to annoy you and Mr. Pembroke by making me dance with him. Something he achieved very neatly, by the way. He did not speak to me for the rest of the night after all.”

Jonathan seemed faintly mollified. “Very well. Just so long as you aren’t thinking of going after him. The Duke is a phenomenal catch, to be sure, but he isn’t the marrying type. You might waste the entire Season on him and end up with no match and a ruined reputation at the end of it.”

“Then why did you invite him to our party?”

He shot her a baffled look. “Because he is a duke, of course.”

She sighed. “I see.”

“Well, since Mr. Pembroke is not coming, you have the day to do as you please. What do you plan to do?”

She brightened. “St. Sarah’s, I think.”

At once, Jonathan’s face fell. “That wretched orphanage. I don’t like to see you there so often. You know that.”

“Lots of ladies do charitable work, especially unmarried ones.”

“Yes, but they do charitable work to appear kind and good,” he responded sourly. “They don’t let it dominate their lives as you do.”

Thalia sipped her tea meditatively. “That does not seem very charitable to me.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake. Well, you can do as you like, I suppose. But in public, talk about it in moderation. Gentlemen like to know that a lady is kind and charitable, but they don’t want the details crammed down their throats during a waltz.”

“Life, after all, revolves entirely around the preferences of gentlemen,” Thalia agreed.