Page 46 of The Duke’s Matchmaker

She hesitated. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea, Nathaniel,” she said. “For me to be the only lady you dance with two times tonight. People notice things like that.”

“Don’t people already think you and I are courting?” he asked. “What is this going to change? If they see us together now, it will only fuel a rumor they already believe, isn’t that true?”

“It’s not a good thing for you that they believe it, Nathaniel,” Dorothy told him harshly, the smile dropping off her face. “You understood this, I thought. This is why we don’t want too many gifts exchanged. You want a lady to think your interest in her is special, not that you might also be interested in me.”

“Well, let me worry about that,” he said. “I’ve heard your concerns, and thank you, but it sounds as though our spending time together does you no harm, and you’re only worried about the impact on me. Is that right?”

“I suppose,” she allowed.

“I’ll accept whatever fallout might come my way. I’d like to dance.” And once more, he held out his hand.

She sighed, and Nathaniel knew that he hadn’t convinced her this was actually a good idea. But she allowed herself to be led out onto the dance floor anyway.

It was more crowded this time than it had been during their first dance. People were starting to join in on things. The added crowds meant that, counter to what Nathaniel would have expected, it was easier to have a conversation without being listened to. The chatter around them disguised their voices. And while there were some people looking around to see who was dancing together, it seemed as though most people were paying more attention to their own dance partners than to what was going on around them.

Feeling insulated by that fact, Nathaniel dared to say something that had been on his mind for a few days. “You ought to come pay a visit to me at home,” he said.

She stared at him. “I ought to do what?”

He cringed inwardly. He had phrased that badly. “What I mean is, you ought to come and see Colin,” he amended. “He’s been asking about you.”

“I wasn’t sure he would even remember that I’d been there,” Dorothy said, her features softening. “He’s asked about me?”

“Yes. He definitely remembers the time you spent together,” Nathaniel said. “I think he was very reassured by the idea that someone was with him. It made the illness easier for him. But now he wants to know who it was sitting with him that night. He’s asked me several times whether you’re ever going to come to the house again, whether he’s going to go on seeing you. It would be good for him to have a visit from you in a situation that wasn’t so dire, so that he’d be able to form a clear picture of who you are and what kind of relationship he can expect going forward.”

She hesitated for a moment. “What kind of relationship can he expect?” she asked. “I mean…when I came to your home the night he was ill, it was a spur of the moment thing, not something either one of us had put any thought into. It’s not as if I’m going to be doing that regularly.”

“Well, yes and no,” Nathaniel said. “I mean, you and I are friends, right?”

“Is that what we are?”

“I think so,” he said. “You’re helping me with all these things; that’s something a friend would do. And besides, we were always going to be each other’s friends to a degree, given the fact that all our friends are married to one another. Even after I’ve met my wife and married her, you and I will be a part of one another’s lives.”

“I suppose you’re right about that,” Dorothy agreed.

“Which means you’ll be able to go on seeing Colin,” he concluded.

“Nathaniel…do people not know that you have Colin?”

“I’ve asked Gabriel and Jonathan not to tell anyone,” he said. “I haven’t wanted word to get around until I sort out the question of a mother for him. I don’t want ladies chasing me because they’re enamored of the idea of having a poor little orphan boy to raise.” He shuddered at the thought. “Colin deserves better than that.”

“I understand,” she said, her eyes warm and sympathetic. “I haven’t said anything to anyone. And I won’t. Not until you’re ready for people to know.”

“Thank you,” he murmured, surprised that she had noticed this, grateful that she had troubled to keep quiet about it. The secret would come out soon by necessity, but it meant a lot to him to be able to control when and how that happened.

“I’d be grateful for the chance to come and see Colin under better circumstances,” Dorothy told him, the smile returning to her face. “I thought he was a lovely boy, Nathaniel. I’d like to be able to get to know him a little better. Thank you for offering.”

“Of course,” he said, tension leaving him now that she had accepted. “Colin will be thrilled.”

He couldn’t help feeling that this ball had been a resounding success, in spite of the fact that he was no closer to his goal of marriage. Even though he had bungled things with Lady Isabelle, he had ensured that Colin would get to see Dorothy again.

And he’d been able to see her in that beautiful gown, too.

All in all, he thought as the music ended, it had been a good night.

CHAPTER 24

“It’s a picnic, Lady Dorothy!” Colin enthused as he ran up to Dorothy in the entryway of the house.