Page 57 of Winning Her Duke

Determined to move on, she’d attempted to engage the other men she danced with in actual conversation.

Casting off discussions of the weather as Lydia had instructed, Gia smiled up at Lord Peterson. After he finished telling her how skilled he was on a hunt, she interjected.

“Do you have many horses?” she asked.

“Horses? Yes, of course.” His brows pulled together in confusion.

“Do you only have hunters or do you have racehorses as well?”

It was only when his confusion turned to surprise that Gia considered that perhaps Lord Peterson wasn’t speaking of an actual hunt when he’d mentioned the heat of the chase. His gaze flared anew.

“Do you wish to play the lady at the race? Will you drop your handkerchief and I will retrieve it for you and you shall reward my chivalry when you visit me in the stables?”

“Oh. Uh—”

“Should I go now and wait for you in the mews?”

Gia nearly fell over as the man abruptly stopped the dance and walked away.

“Wherever did Lord Peterson go?” Lydia asked when Gia returned to her side.

“He had an urgent matter to attend to,” Gia explained with a frown. There was no way she could explain the man’s behavior to Lydia.

She tried again to talk of her love of horses with the other men she danced with. While those conversations didn’t end with a proposition in the stables, they certainly didn’t end in friendship either. In fact, none of the men cared much for horses outside of exulting over their pedigrees. They all preferred to turn over their care to their grooms rather than be involved themselves.

Gia could only assume they would be equally discerning when selecting a wife and show equal care of them once acquired. Which was to say, none at all.

She once again returned to Lydia’s side with a frown and a shake of her head.

“Might I have your next dance, Miss Landon?”

Gia smiled at Lord Duncan. While the man didn’t make her pulse quicken, he was a steady man who had yet to propose anything indecent.

“Thank you, my lord.”

On the dance floor, Gia tried once again to engage in conversation regarding her interests with a potential suitor.

“Do you have many horses, my lord?”

He seemed surprised for a moment, but then answered. “Why, yes. I enjoy riding immensely though I prefer to do so in the country rather than here in the park.”

“And what of racing?”

Again, his eyes showed his surprise.

“I do not wager large sums on horses, if that is what you are asking.”

“No. I enjoy taking in the races. I only wondered if you did as well.”

He smiled. “Yes, in fact, I do.”

While she enjoyed their conversation, Gia didn’t feel at ease enough to tell Lord Duncan of her hobby of training racehorses. She didn’t think he would approve.

He returned her to Lydia and went on his way. She could not say she was sorry to see him go. He was pleasant enough, but there was something missing.

Or maybe it was just that he wasn’t Hale.

The worst of it was that neither her father or Lydia even acted surprised that Hale had stopped calling on Gia. As if it was expected that she’d have scared him off at some point.