“What a very fine observation.” The Duke sounded impressed, and there was something in the tone of his voice that suggested to her most clearly that he was smiling. If only the mask did not cover his face in its entirety, for she thought at that moment that she would have liked to have seen his smile. A smile so often gave away a person; so often it said so much more about their personality than their words did initially. “And a very true and honest one. I must say, I admire your frankness.”
“Ah, but does my frankness exist in its own right, sir, or is it simply a facet of my anonymity?” she spoke in a tantalizing tone, and he seemed to turn towards her just a little more, growing just a little closer.
“I have spoken to many young ladies this evening, and not one of them has spared me an ounce of frankness,” he said and sounded suddenly a little less amused. “And they all wore masks too, so your theory is upended.”
“Oh dear, you do not seem to have had a very promising evening thus far, sir,” Ella said and hoped that his sudden change in demeanor was more to do with the rest of his guests and much less to do with her. Quite why she was finding him suddenly so interesting, she could not say, but it was a fact. “Or at least you do not sound as if you have had a pleasant time of it.”
“You are quite right, my good lady. I have not had a pleasant evening at all.”
“And might a masked lady of true anonymity enquire as to why such a tall and well-spoken gentleman with so fine and fulsome a mask has had such an evening without promise of any kind?” She smiled, and she saw his eyes dart to her lips.
It was the first time that she had really taken note of his eyes, which was curious since that was the only part of his face that was visible. They were very dark indeed, and she knew they must be brown, surely, but they looked somehow black in the light. With such black hair and mask that was fully black, his eyes ought to have seemed a little ominous, yet they did not. There was something wide, bright, and appealing about them.
“This particular masked lady might ask whatever she likes,” he said with a laugh, returning to his original humour. “And in the spirit of frankness, I wonder if I can tell you the entire truth of it all?” And now it was his turn to speak in a tantalizing fashion.
“You have me hanging on a piece of string, sir. You really must tell me the entire truth of it all; you must put me out of my misery.” She laughed and took a sip of the fruit punch as she wondered what could possibly be coming next.
“Well, without wishing to boast at all, it is true to say that there are a good many young ladies here this evening who are very keen to become my wife,” he began in humorous earnest.
“Good heavens, what a sore trial that must be,” Ella interjected, and he laughed in such a wonderfully unguarded fashion that she felt curiously drawn to him.
“You have hit the nail on the head, My Lady, for it turns out to be the sorest trial of my life.”
“Am I to take it that you do not wish for a wife, however many beautiful young ladies seem intent to throw themselves at you?” She was amused and amusing all at once.
“I do wish for a wife, more than anything. But I do not wish that any of the young ladies presented to me this evening turns out to be the young lady I spend the rest of my life with.” He paused and lowered his voice further still. “Does that make me sound terribly ungrateful?”
“No, it makes you sound terribly honest,” Ella said brightly. “But tell me, how is it that a man who is tall and broad and in a position to have so many young ladies throw themselves at him, is not already married to the finest woman in all the county?”
“Because I have yet to find one who is truly interested in me.”
“And how is that possible, sir? Did you not say yourself that the room is crammed with young ladies all keen to throw themselves into your path, under your very own hooves, so to speak?”
“Goodness me, you really are very amusing,” he said with a laugh. “But it is not me that they are interested in, My Lady. They are all interested in what a marriage to me would provide for them.”
“Then you must be a very important man,” Ella said knowingly.
“I suppose it depends on how you judge a man’s importance,” he mused.
“Ah, you make a very good point, sir,” Ella said and suddenly thought of her own father again. “For I was raised to judge a person on their own merit, not on an agreeable face, or even more agreeable status and circumstance.”
“Then you were raised very well, I must say.”
“I was raised by a very fine man, a very fine man indeed.” Her voice dropped to almost a whisper as she fought the old emotion of grief once again.
“And I am very sorry for your loss,” he said, and for an awful moment, Ella thought that the Duke knew exactly who she was.
But of course, he could not, for they had never met, and as far as she was aware, her father had not been at all acquainted with the man.
“But how …?” she said with no idea how to finish the sentence.
“I can tell by the sadness in the voice that you have lost your father. Forgive me, I did not mean to upset you.”
“You did not upset me, sir. I daresay thoughts of my father will always make me a little sad.”
“No, not always,” he said with clear knowledge. “It is clear that it is not long since you lost him. And I can tell by your pretty lips that you are a very young lady, so I am sorry for you that you have lost him so young. But I lost my father young also, and I am pleased to be able to tell you that the pain does lessen as the years go by. And then, one day in the future, you will have a memory of your father, and instead of feeling your eyes fill with tears, you will feel a smile on your lips, and even a little laughter in your heart.”
“What a beautiful thing to say,” Ella said truthfully. “And I cannot begin to tell you how touched I am by that. I cannot begin to tell you how grateful I am.” And, by instinct, and without thinking for a moment, she reached out to take his hand, giving it a little squeeze before releasing him.
When she looked up, she realized that he was staring at her intently. She was sure that she had done the wrong thing, sure that he must think that she was dreadfully forward like almost every other young lady in the place.
“So, how are you to pick through so many young ladies?” she said, suddenly desperate to change the subject.
“Well, I have the assistance of my very oldest acquaintance.” He nodded over in the direction of the grey-haired man with the very minimal mask. “Henry Mercer is my attorney, and he was my father’s attorney before me. He is doing all the hard work, I am bound to say.”
“If you do not care for any of the young ladies in your company, why are you suddenly so keen to marry? If that is not too impertinent question, sir,” she said with another laugh, glad that he had taken her small and inappropriate act in his stride.
“Because I have a duty to perform, even if I do not care for it.”
“What is that duty? What duty is so great that you must make yourself unhappy to fulfill it?”
“I am the Duke of Hillington, My Lady, and it is my duty to marry and secure the Duchy for future generations of the Darnley family.”
“And you sound as if the idea of it makes you thoroughly miserable,” Ella said before she had a chance to stop herself. “But forgive me, for I have been labouring under a misapprehension in our conversation.”
“How so?”
“I have been addressing you incorrectly, and you have allowed me to continue, Your Grace.”
“I allowed you to continue because I enjoyed it. By not knowing who you were talking to, you allowed yourself to speak freely. You cannot imagine what a treat that is for a man in my position. And now, now that all is known, I fear I am to lose you to the herd.”
“No, you need not fear losing me to the herd. I was never part of the herd, and I never shall be.”
“Is that so?” he said, and his voice sounded amused.
“It is so, Your G
race, and I can prove it.”
“Then prove it, by all means, you have my complete attention.”
“I knew exactly who you were, Your Grace, from the moment you first spoke,” she said and was strangely gratified by his stunned silence. “And so, you see, I am not a part of the herd.”
“You most certainly are not,” he said in a deep, low tone. “And now you have me at a disadvantage. Tell me, who are you?”
“Surely that would take the fun out of things, Your Grace?”
“But I must know; I must know you.”
As flattered as she was, Ella was suddenly gripped by the worst panic. She could not possibly announce herself, for all would be lost. The Earl of Dandridge would discover her transgression, and she would be punished beyond her worst nightmares, she was sure of it.
Worse still, as she turned her attention to her family once again, she wondered how long the Earl had been looking over at them. Surely, he did not know her. With luck, he was simply curious as to the young lady who had taken the Duke’s attention for so long.
As she stared surreptitiously over, she realized that the Duke’s attorney was once again with her stepfather.
“Well, I think you might have to wait just a few moments longer,” she said teasingly, her heart pounding with a fear that she hoped he did not sense.
“And why is that? Why are you intent upon torturing me?” he said with a laugh.
“Because your attorney is keen for your attention; I can see it in his very stance.”
“Oh dear, I believe you are right.”
“Well, as you said yourself, Your Grace, you set your attorney to this task. He did not ask for it, and it would seem terribly remiss of you to leave him out there on his own with so many families fighting for his attention, the poor man finding himself suddenly your proxy, as it were.”
“My proxy? How very astute you are. Yes, I have left him in rather a dreadful position, have I not?”
“I am not here to judge you, Your Grace, but yes, you have,” she said in such an open tone that he laughed again.
“Then you will wait here for me to return, will you not? I must have your identity, My Lady, for I shall not rest until I know it.” His coal like eyes suddenly bored into her own, and she felt a flash of warmth in her cheeks that she was glad he could not see beneath her mask.
She smiled at him genuinely, wishing that she really could be there when he returned. How wonderful it would be to take off her mask and introduce herself properly. And how wonderful it would be to see him properly and for the first time. He had such an attractive personality that she would have liked to have seen his face. She felt sure that his smile was very fine indeed, and she knew already that his eyes shone like black opal.
And furthermore, he did not seem to regret at all his former frankness with her, his admission that he was searching for a wife who would value him for the man he was.
All her animosity had melted away, her former thoughts of judgement evaporated into the ether. He really was just following an instinct of duty, having found that love, for him, could not be gained in the ordinary way. And of course, how could that be anything other than true? She had seen for herself the excitement that the announcement of the Duke’s search had made around their own dinner table at Dandridge Hall.
Two sisters had fought bitterly over the man without ever having met him, so keen were each of them to gain the future title of Duchess.
And Patience and Georgiana were just two out of the many. There was little doubt in Ella’s mind that every other young lady there that night, at least everyone who had been granted an introduction, was of the very same mind as her step-sisters.
The Duke was a prize, an achievement to be made, not a human being with a heart and mind and the desire to be loved. She suddenly felt very sorry for him, a man who had everything and nothing all at once. How she wished she could stay, how she wished she could take off her mask and tell him that not all young ladies were cut from the same cloth.
“Yes, I will be here when you return,” she said, hoping that the regret in her voice did not give her away.
“Then I shall leave you for a moment,” he said and bowed deeply before turning to cross the ballroom to where his attorney stood waiting for him.
Casting a final look at Ronald and her mother, she could see that they were eyeing the Duke keenly as he made his approach. She realized then that the Earl had not noticed her at all, he had simply thought her nothing more than simple competition. Well, it had all been a little too close for comfort, and she realized that she had to get out of Hillington Hall immediately. She could not risk the Duke turning to see her leaving, for that would be a dreadful mistake.
She would have to leave immediately, even though she could barely tear her eyes from his departing back.
Finally, she took a deep breath and turned, hurrying for the immense ballroom doors. When she reached them, she turned briefly, keen to know that she had left the room unnoticed. When she saw the Duke once again in conversation with his attorney and the Earl, she knew she had succeeded.
Hurrying through the entrance hall, she ignored the curious looks of the gathered footmen as she deftly snatched down her cloak and flung it around her shoulders before scampering quickly out through the main door and into the night.
She did not stop to look back, although she was sure that the young men would undoubtedly be watching her.
Instead, she held onto her skirts, lifting them a little as she broke into a run.
She ran hard along the gravel driveway, finally reaching the woodland and the cover it provided. Still, she dared not break her pace, just in case a curious footman had decided to give chase, to see if she was in trouble of some kind, or if there was some other reason that he perhaps ought to stop her.
As she ran, the mask moved up and down on her face, scratching it in a most uncomfortable way. Letting her hem fall, she reached up and pulled at the mask with both hands. It came off very suddenly, so suddenly that she lost her grip on it, and it flew from her hands.
She paused for a moment, staring all around for any sign of it. But she could see none and knew that she must keep moving. She left the mask, wherever it may be, and resumed running, maintaining her pace until she finally reached William and the cart.
Without words, he jumped down and lifted her by the waist, almost flinging her into the cart before jumping in himself and rattling the reins hard until the horse set off at a quick pace, leading her off into the night and away from Hillington Hall.
And away from the Duke.
Chapter 8
“But do you have any particular preference yourself, Your Grace?” Henry Mercer was politely exasperated. “It is all very well for me to keep reading from this list of, if I might say so, extraordinarily suitable young ladies, but I am afraid it will be for you to pick one in the end.”
“Tell me, Henry, did you not see the young lady to whom I was speaking for a little while last night?” Rufus said, suddenly keen to get away from the subject of Henry’s list of extraordinarily suitable young ladies.
“Your Grace, you spoke to a great many young ladies last night.” Henry gave an affable shrug. “Could you possibly narrow it down just a little?”
“Yes, of course,” Rufus said and laughed. “She had very dark and thick hair which was curly all over, and she was wearing a dark coloured gown, the colour of wine.”
“Erm …” Henry Mercer squinted into the middle distance, clearly trying to rack his brain for any memory of the young lady.
“If it helps at all, I was speaking to her when you were speaking to the Earl of Dandridge and his family.”
“I am afraid it does not help at all, Your Grace, for I spoke to that fine family on more than one occasion last night.”
“And you do not remember seeing the young lady I am trying to describe to you at all?”
“Well, can you tell me anything else about her?” Henry had the air of a man who wanted to help but felt
certain that he most likely could not.
“She had very rosy lips,” Rufus said and realized that whilst her mask had not been as complete as his own, it had been full enough that he would probably never recognize her without it. “And her eyes were very blue, very bright.”
“Oh dear, you seem to have described at least half of the young ladies in attendance last night. They almost always have rosy lips and bright blue eyes, Your Grace.” Henry winced comically.
“I suppose I am beginning to sound a little ridiculous.” He laughed.
Dukes to Fall in Love With: A Historical Regency Romance Collection Page 32