“I’m sure you must have a beau of your own hidden away somewhere, Miss Ward,” Lady Cunningham focused the conversation on Ella.
Ella laughed at the idea.
“I definitely do not have a beau, hidden away or otherwise.”
“But you’re such a pretty thing, and so enjoyable to be around,” Lady Cunningham encouraged.
Ella felt the Dowager Duchess’s eyes size her up again. She hoped that she was growing to make better opinions.
“I honestly never had the time to think of such things. My mother is not always well, and so I did my best to take on both our work at the shop to spare her. I’m sure you won’t be surprised to hear that I don’t meet many potential beaus in the back of a dress shop,” Ella finished with her own giggle.
“I suppose not,” Lady Cunningham said amid a chortle. “But now you are here. We can find you a wonderful match.”
“No, that’s not necessary,” Ella started to say before Lady Cunningham silenced her.
“I won’t take no for an answer, child. You will find us matronly ladies need a project to keep us entertained.”
“I wouldn’t want to get her hopes up,” the Dowager Duchess cautioned.
Lady Cunningham’s countenance fell. It was clear what the Dowager was inferring to. There would be few men in the room tonight willing to sidestep ladies and instead turn their attention to a nobody who earned her keep as a seamstress.
“It’s very kind of you, Lady Cunningham, but I am happy to just enjoy the experience. This is my first ball, after all. I can’t imagine anything more wonderful than sitting here and watching all the beautiful dances,” Ella spoke with her whole heart.
“That’s very sensible of you,” the Dowager Duchess complemented with a nod of approval. “It’s nice to meet a young miss with her head properly on her shoulders. So many get carried away in all those silly books that they sometimes mix fantasy with reality.”
Ella wanted to assure the Dowager Duchess that her only desire was to be a good friend to Lady Pamala as time allowed and then to provide a good retirement for her mother. But before she had a chance to convey such message, a gloved hand appeared before her.
She looked up to see the Duke’s handsome face smiling down at her. She hadn’t even realized the dance had come to an end.
“I’m come to collect on my promise before Lord Melvin contrives a way to steal you away,” he said with a gleeful gleam to his honey brown eyes.
They made their way to the dance floor while butterflies twisted knots in her stomach. Ella was partly glad she had been distracted from the dance, for she would have felt this way the whole time leading up to their dancing. However, pure panic now came over her as she stood across from the Duke, realizing she was about to dance in front of all those watching eyes.
“I don’t know if I can do this,” she sputtered out just before the dance started.
“Of course you can,” he encouraged her.
“What if I trip?” Ella squeaked.
The Duke bowed before her as the first notes of the dance began. Looking up at her from behind his thick brown lashes, he offered her a reassuring smile.
“Then I shall catch you before you fall. Do you trust me?” he asked as he rose to his full height.
Ella shuddered as her stomached flipped for an entirely new reason. She could say nothing, so simply nodded her head before taking his hand for the first section of the dance.
They danced in silence for the first few minutes. She guessed he was allowing her the opportunity to use every ounce of energy and thought on the steps. Realizing this, she knew she would have to be the first to break the silence. Feeling more confident as a section began to repeat, she took her eyes off the floor for the first time and looked up at him.
Much to her surprise, he was watching her most intently.
“See, it’s not so bad,” he said with a teasing smile.
Ella was about to respond when she heard laughter from down the line. Looking over, she saw Lady Pamala enjoying the dance with Lord Melvin.
“It looks like Lady Pamala and Lord Melvin dance well together,” Ella noted.
“They are like brother and sister, I can assure you,” the Duke responded, hearing the meaning she inferred.
“Yes, but I am sure many great loves have started with a close kinship. It would only be natural for it to develop into more.”
She watched as the Duke’s nose scrunched much like his sister’s often did as he seemed to contemplate this for the first time.
“Would you be against such a union?” Ella asked, intrigued.
“I would be elated by it, actually. There are few men I would consider worthy of my sister, but Lord Melvin certainly would make the shortlist. My mother, however…” the Duke’s voice trailed off.
“She wouldn’t be happy for it, even though she clearly likes Lord and Lady Cunningham and has no qualms with Lord Melvin that I can see?” Ella pressed on.
She didn’t know why this subject was so important to her. Perhaps she was just desperate to see her dear friend with someone she knew would be good to her. She feared there was a deeper cause for this conversation in her psyche.
“I am sure in the end she would be, not that I am suggesting that this is even a possibility,” he amended quickly. “But I expect it would take time for Mother to come around to the idea. It certainly wouldn’t be ideal in her mind.”
“Because he has no inheritance? But he is still titled.”
“But it is only a courtesy title. Their children would have no titles, and though they certainly could live off of Pamala’s dowry and his income, it isn’t ideal.”
Ella looked over at the two who seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely.
“But I’m telling you,” the Duke caught her attention again with a deep chuckle, “they are like siblings and nothing more.”
“And I am telling you, great loves have come of such a thing,” Ella pushed on, tilting up her chin just slightly.
Perhaps others would shy away from disagreeing with a Duke, but she had already done it so often with him, it was beginning to be second nature. She had no fear of losing his approval for disagreeing, in fact, she expected she would lose it if she were to speak only what he liked to hear.
“And what of loves that sprung from enmity at the start?”
“I’m not sure what you mean?”
“Perhaps two people who misjudged each other at the start, but quickly learned that they are very similar.”
“Similar?” Ella asked doing her best to control the heat rising in her cheeks.
There could be no denying that he was referring to the start of their association.
“Well,” he said slowly. “They both can be very stubborn, to begin with.”
“I’m not stubborn!” Ella scoffed back.
“Who said I was talking about you?” the Duke quirked a brow at her.
Ella opened and shut her mouth a few times, completely stunned and embarrassed. He let out a deep laugh.
“And yes, you can be very stubborn,” he replied when she had no answer for him. “I am sure I am not the first to tell you this.”
“Perhaps,” she said, doing her best to sound unoffended. “And who is this man that you think I am so similar to? The one who was an enemy at first and now one I am meant to be falling for. One would think if a gentleman felt as you suggest towards me, he would make his intentions known,” she did her best to speak in a haughty tone.
The Duke gave her a knowing look that quickly replaced her sarcasm with desire.
“Perhaps he has already attempted to make his feelings known but was rudely interrupted,” he said so low only she could hear.
Her eyes widened. She had no idea what to say. Yes, they hadn’t actually said the words, but the conversation was clear. It was also an impossibility.
Before she could say as much to the Duke, however, the dance ended. Letting the topic end, he deftly slipped her hand into the crook of his arm and
guided her back towards his mother. Just before arriving, however, he leaned down and whispered so close to her ear that she tingled from the feel of his breath.
“Don’t worry, Miss Ward, you danced marvellously. Any man would be lucky to be your partner.”
They returned to the small party that still included the Dowager Duchess and Lady Cunningham and now Lord Melvin.
“Lady Clarissa has just been by,” the Dowager Duchess said without ceremony. “She arrived a bit late with her parents but made quite an entrance.”
Her eyes went past the Duke and Ella, and the pair turned to follow her gaze. It took everything for Ella to keep her composure when she finally found Lady Clarissa among the crowd.
The lady was easy to spot with her golden locks that seemed to glow in the chandelier light. But what was more noticeable was her dress. It was nearly identical to Lady Pamala’s down to the same fabric, and the tall stiff collar.
“It’s interesting,” the Dowager Duchess continued. “She was so embarrassed to show up in near-identical gown to another lady, and the guest of honour to boot. When I asked her how she came by the unusual design, she said that Mrs Ward made it for her.”
Ella turned back around to their own party just in time for all eyes to fall on her.
“But that’s impossible. It was Lady Pamala’s design of her own making.”
“Yes, and I understand no one saw it but you and her,” the Dowager Duchess spoke sternly.
Ella looked around the room. She noticed Lady Pamala dancing with another gentleman. She didn’t have the same light and merriment as before. Instead, her brow was creased with worry. Clearly, she had seen Lady Clarissa and was perhaps coming to the same conclusion.
Ella turned back around to find the expectant eyes still on her. They all were wanting answers.
“I promise I didn’t speak a word about the gown to anyone. I would never suggest my mother share it in the store.”
“Unless you thought it would be quite popular after tonight and wanted to be the first shop to have its likeness. Perhaps your mother didn’t realize she had made a rendition just slightly too soon to hide the deceit,” the Dowager pushed on.
It was that word. She felt more than saw the Duke flinch at it next to her. She could only imagine in his mind he was thinking that he had just nearly suggested he had feelings for her when she ended up being just as terrible as the last lady he gave his heart to.
“I promise,” Ella turned to the Duke, pleading him to believe her. “I would never do such a thing to Lady Pamala. I don’t know how it happened, but I had no part in it.”
Chapter 21
The Duke studied those wide blue eyes for a few seconds. He wasn’t sure if he just wanted to believe her because of how he felt towards her, or if she really was sincere. The silence was only a second, two at the most, but already he could see the tears pooling in her eyes.
In that instant, he knew he would rather trust her and be proven wrong then misjudge her and be proven wrong. He couldn’t bring himself to inflict that wound on her. If that meant he was just as ridiculous as he was all those years ago, then so be it.
He gave just a slight nod, but he saw the relief that washed over Miss Ward’s face at the action.
“If Miss Ward says she had no part in it, then that is the case,” he announced to the group.
He could almost hear the sigh of relief from Lord Melvin and Lady Cunningham. Clearly, the two of them had considered it an impossibility as well.
“How else could it have happened? It was commissioned by her mother,” the Dowager pressed on.
He was sure that any good progress made between his mother and Miss Ward up until this point had all but dissolved.
“I don’t know,” the Duke said flatly. “I trust Miss Ward, though. It doesn’t matter how it happened. It’s just a silly dress anyway.”
All three ladies, including Miss Ward, scoffed at this assumption.
“Alright, perhaps it is a bigger issue than I thought. But nothing can be done about that now. What we should be focusing on is how to fix the problem.”
The Dowager Duchess stood in quiet contemplation for a few seconds. Then it was as if a candle was lit as the idea came to her.
“Go and ask Lady Clarissa to dance,” she urged the Duke.
He stammered for just a moment, “How could that possibly help?”
“Look around, dear. Everyone is whispering and sensing discord between our two families. Go and dance with her and show that everything is alright.”
The set ended, yet the Duke hesitated to go over to Lady Clarissa. Instead, he waited for his sister to be escorted back to their party. He felt his top priority was to ensure she was not crumbling under the apparent fiasco.
“My dear,” the Dowager Duchess reached out for her daughter’s hands. “I can’t imagine how this happened.”
“Did everyone notice then?” Lady Pamala asked nervously.
The Duke could almost feel Miss Ward crumpling next to him. He was sure there were few things in life that would make her shrink, but the suggestion that she could be so cruel to her friend seemed to be one of them.
His eyes met Lord Melvin’s for just a second, pleading for his best friend to understand that Ella needed to be removed from the situation as the Dowager Duchess pressed for the second time to ascertain how the mix-up could have happened.
“You know Lady Clarissa said she got it from Mrs Ward’s dress shop. How do you suppose it got there?” the Dowager Duchess pressed on her daughter.
Lady Pamala looked over at Miss Ward with miserable eyes. He had a sudden desire to shield Miss Ward behind himself and proclaim her innocence.
The clear torture she was feeling was proof enough that she would never sink to such a level. He looked to Lord Melvin again, willing the man to understand what was needed.
“Miss Ward,” he said as if the thought had just come to him, “you promised me a dance if you had one free. Could I press upon you to take it now?” he asked with a hopeful smile.
She nodded in agreement and together they left.
“Tell me the truth, Pamala,” the Dowager pressed the moment they were out of earshot. “Is it possible that Miss Ward might have passed on your design to her mother?”
“Not at all.” Lady Pamala almost seemed startled at the idea. “I know exactly who is to blame and it isn’t Ella,” she finished with finality.
Before she could explain further, however, the Dowager insisted for the second time that the Duke go and smooth things over with Lady Clarissa. Seeing that his sister was not defeated, he reluctantly agreed.
It was on his way to Lady Clarissa’s party that he was intercepted by another.
Lord Malcolm Southworth was the third son to Viscount Rothbard and a distant cousin to the Duke of Winthrope. Though they were similar in age, they were vastly different in demeanour.
Where the Duke strove to work his hardest to improve his estate and the country, on the whole, Lord Malcolm seemed to enjoy living the life of a gentleman off the generosity of his father. Lord Malcolm had been set to take a commission in Her Majesty’s Royal Navy but seemed to have no intentions of actually doing so. Instead, he lived on his lavish allowance and liked to pretend he had close connections with influential lords.
Mending the Duke's Heart: A Historical Regency Romance Book Page 20