The Forbidden Duke

by Burke, Darcy

  His stepmother exhaled. “No, I suppose you don’t. I’m sorry to harass you, but it is my duty as your mother.”

  His mother.

  She’d been a warm and supportive constant for most of his life, providing just the right amount of discipline and advice when he needed it. She’d been devastated by his father’s death, but Titus had been utterly wrecked inside and out. He could’ve taken a very different path. He could’ve given himself over to his rakish ways and gambled or drank himself into an early grave. But he hadn’t, and he had his stepmother to thank for saving him from the abyss. She hadn’t blamed him for his errant ways and hadn’t made him feel guilty for not realizing how serious his father’s illness had been. Instead, she’d been kind and loving and had welcomed him to share in her own grief.

  “Thank you,” he said quietly.

  She touched his arm. “I’m quite proud of you—whether you take a wife or not.” She gave him the soft, gentle smile that had won him over at the age of five. “And your father would be too.”

  He set his empty glass on the sideboard, then bussed his stepmother’s cheek. “I’ll see you at the ball.”

  Where he would right a nine-year-old wrong and aid the woman he should have rescued. Then he could return to his ordered, mundane life, hopefully freer than he’d felt in nearly a decade.

  Chapter Four

  Nora surveyed herself in the glass, her pulse thrumming with anticipation for the ball that would shortly start downstairs. She turned to the side, admiring the drape of her gold satin gown. She looked elegant and sophisticated, and she felt beautiful for the first time in years. And she owed it all to Lady Satterfield for giving her a second chance.

  Three days ago, following the tea, Lady Satterfield had surprised her by asking if she’d like to have another Season. Nora thought back to their conversation.

  They’d been preparing to go to the park when Lady Satterfield had remarked upon how well Nora had navigated the tea. “You came to life,” she’d said. “You ought to be more than a companion. You ought to have another Season so that you can find your rightful place, perhaps as someone’s wife. If that’s what you desire. Is it?”

  Nora had stared at her, uncomprehending for a moment what she was asking. When she’d finally found her tongue, she’d stuttered. “Y-yes. That is, I haven’t given that much thought in recent years, but yes, I’d once hoped to marry.”

  “Then I’ll help you make that hope a reality.”

  “But don’t you think… Don’t you think it’s too late? Even if I didn’t have a past transgression blacking my name, I’m quite on the shelf.”

  Lady Satterfield had shaken her head firmly. “I do not think it’s too late at all. You are very intelligent, engaging, and attractive. I don’t think we’ll have any problem finding suitors.”

  She’d said “we’ll” as if they were a team. Nora had needed clarification. She’d had a hard time believing the countess’s offer was real. “Are you going to be my sponsor?”

  “Of course, dear.” Lady Satterfield had smiled enthusiastically. “I’d consider it my privilege.”

  Nora had struggled not to cry. Lady Satterfield was the kindest person she’d met in a decade. No, she was the kindest person she’d known since her mother had died.

  Tears threatened again now, and Nora blinked to keep them from falling. It wouldn’t do to go downstairs with a reddened face, not when she was looking so splendid. One of the upstairs maids had performed the feat of wrestling Nora’s waves into a fashionable chignon with curls framing her face. The maid had just run down to Lady Satterfield’s chamber for a ribbon to complete the style. When she returned a moment later, she was accompanied by Lady Satterfield, who looked as polished as ever in a gown of burgundy edged with sleek black ribbon.

  The countess brought her hand to her mouth. “Oh my goodness, you look as lovely as a princess.”

  Nora didn’t bother containing her excitement. “That seems fitting since I feel like one.”

  Lady Satterfield lowered her hand, her eyes sparkling with merriment. “Well, a princess needs a bit of jewelry, don’t you think? I brought you these to borrow.” She held out the palm of her other hand to reveal a pair of gold filigree earrings shaped like butterflies and a matching pendant.

  Nora gasped softly, again overwhelmed by the countess’s thoughtfulness. “They’re beautiful. Thank you.”

  Lady Satterfield watched as the maid fastened the necklace about Nora’s neck. “Are you ready for tonight?”

  “I am.” Though she was nervous. What if people rejected her? The tea had gone well with only Lady Dunn mentioning her past and just the harpies treating Nora as though she didn’t belong. However, a ball was something else entirely. Would anyone even ask her to dance, or would she be a wallflower? Worse, a spinster wallflower?

  Well, she couldn’t change the spinster part either way, since her advanced age of twenty-seven and unmarried state cast her firmly in that role. But perhaps her state was about to change. The future she’d once dreamed of—a husband and a family—was perhaps possible.

  “I can’t thank you enough for this opportunity,” Nora said as the maid helped her with the earrings. “I find myself asking why I’m so lucky.”

  Finished with the jewelry, the maid moved on to looping the ribbon around Nora’s head and securing it within her auburn curls. When she was finished, Lady Satterfield proclaimed her masterpiece was now complete and dismissed the maid.

  Alone with Nora, Lady Satterfield gave her a wistful smile. “I had a daughter many years ago. I lost her when she was very young, so I never had the chance to watch her grow or to shepherd her through a Season. As I watched you at the tea the other day, I was struck by your charm and poise. I’d like to think my daughter would have comported herself in the same manner.”

  Once again, Nora found herself overcome with emotion in the face of the countess’s praise. “I have no doubt, since she was your daughter.” She considered adding that Lady Satterfield’s daughter would never have behaved as Nora had done, but didn’t want to dwell on the past. She’d done quite enough of that for nearly a decade.

  “Thank you. It’s silly, but even after all these years, I miss her still.”

  Nora didn’t think it was silly at all. She felt the same about her mother. “I think the people we lose are always with us in some small way. At least that’s what I like to think about my mother.”

  “What a lovely sentiment, my dear. I agree.” Lady Satterfield turned toward the door. “Shall we go down?”

  “Let’s.” Nora followed her from the small bedroom located on the top floor of the town house. It was a chamber for an upper servant or a child, but it was all the Satterfields had. The countess had dressed it up nicely with a comfortable four-poster bed, elegant bed hangings, a stuffed chair, and a small writing desk. There was also an armoire and, of course, the glass hanging on the wall. It made for a crowded space, but Nora had absolutely no complaints. She’d written to her sister and her father about her good fortune. Jo had been exuberantly pleased, and Nora had yet to receive a response from their father, who was apparently in the middle of moving to his sister and brother-in-law’s sheep pasture.

  After traipsing down two flights to the drawing room, Nora’s breath caught as she stepped inside. It had been transformed into a glittering ballroom.

  Doors that separated the drawing room from the smaller sitting room at the back of the house had been opened to increase the space. The furniture had been moved out that morning, and the three windows facing Mount Street were thrown open, which would allow attendees to step out onto the small balconies and take a bit of cool night air. Fresh flowers and sparkling candlelight created an atmosphere of elegance and sophistication.

  The back room contained some of the furniture that had been banished from the drawing room, as well as a buffet table that would later be laden with food. For now, there was ratafia, which would be a welcome refreshment as the temperature warmed. Two sets o
f doors opened to the terrace that overlooked the garden below would also provide a reprieve from the heat.

  Satterfield entered the drawing room then, followed by the butler, and shortly thereafter, the ball was underway. Lady Satterfield had explained that dancing would begin early in the evening. The activity would become more difficult as attendance increased and the ball became a crush. She’d also indicated that, as per custom, she and Satterfield would lead the first dance.

  Over the course of the next half hour, Nora was introduced to an astonishing number of people, but had yet to receive an invitation to dance. There was still a little bit of time before the first set started. Perhaps her luck would improve.

  “Eleanor!” Lady Abercrombie’s high voice, coming from somewhere to the left, startled her.

  Or mayhap her luck would worsen.

  Nora turned slightly from her position near the back door, where she’d been enjoying the faint evening breeze. “Good evening.”

  Lady Abercrombie, whose blond hair was artfully woven with luminescent pearls, took in Nora’s dress. Her gaze dipped, and her mouth pursed the tiniest amount, but it was enough to reveal her distaste. “I had a gown that color, my goodness when was it, two years ago?”

  The subtle affront wasn’t lost on Nora, but she ignored the jibe. It would take far more than that to unsettle her.

  Lady Abercrombie’s gaze moved past Nora, and she gasped softly. “It’s him.”

  Nora turned as Kendal walked in from the terrace. The Forbidden Duke. He must have come up the exterior stairs to the terrace—but why enter in such a clandestine fashion?

  Garbed in unrelenting black, save his snow-white cravat and shirt, he looked exactly like his nickname—an impenetrable fortress you could never hope to scale, and wouldn’t even bother trying.

  As with yesterday at the tea, his eyes found hers, and now Nora was unsettled.

  But in the best possible way.

  He looked at her with frank interest, his gaze burning over her with precision and then resting on her with…approval. She’d been a trifle warm, hence the reason she was standing near the doors, but now heat suffused her flesh.

  “Do you know the duke?” Lady Abercrombie whispered. She stared at Nora in disbelief.

  “Do you?” Nora uttered the question with a measure of sarcasm and immediately regretted it. Not because Lady Abercrombie didn’t deserve it, but because Nora knew better than to fall prey to the harpy’s goading.

  “I met him years ago, during my first Season. You were out at the same time, but I suppose your circle didn’t extend to him.” She ceased whispering. “I wouldn’t have thought it would’ve extended to Haywood either.”

  Nora stiffened.

  “I wonder if he’ll be here tonight,” Lady Abercrombie mused. “I’m sure he’ll be certain to pay his respects to you.” She didn’t bother with sarcasm but went straight for outright malice.

  Nora knew for a fact that Haywood wasn’t coming, because Lady Satterfield hadn’t invited him. Nora offered a bland smile and straightened, which only accentuated her height advantage over the several-inches-shorter Lady Abercrombie. “Just as I’m certain he will not be in attendance. This is a rather exclusive event, you see. In fact, I find myself wondering how you were invited. I’m confident that mistake won’t be repeated.”

  Lady Abercrombie’s nostrils flared, but before she could mount another attack, the duke swept in and offered his arm to Nora. “Miss Lockhart, I believe I have the honor of the first dance?” His deep baritone rustled over her skin like the silk of her gown when she’d donned it earlier.

  “Indeed,” Nora murmured, thrilled by his opportune attention. She didn’t bother glancing at Lady Abercrombie as they turned toward the dance floor. Nora didn’t need to see the other woman’s shock in order to appreciate it.

  Oh dear. She’d behaved dreadfully. Such lapses in judgment were precisely what had thrust her into trouble in the first place. And right under the Forbidden Duke’s nose. “I shall apologize to Lady Abercrombie later,” she said.

  “Why would you do that?” he asked.

  Nora blinked up at him as they made their way through the throng. It seemed to part as if by magic as they entered the drawing room. “I was rather rude. I intimated that I had a say in who Lady Satterfield invites to her ball. I must also apologize to her for my presumption.”

  “There won’t be a need. My stepmother would applaud your response, and even if you hadn’t informed that shrew that she’d no longer be welcome at Satterfield House, I would’ve ensured she wasn’t.”

  Nora stared up at him. “Lady Satterfield would applaud my behavior?”

  His eyes were intense, his answer equally so. “Enthusiastically. As do I.”

  Nora suppressed a shiver. Not only did she have the complete support of Lady Satterfield, now she had the endorsement of the Forbidden Duke. Vindication rose within her, but she cautioned herself to keep her wits about her. However, she was finding that rather difficult in such close proximity to the attractive duke.

  “We need to take our place,” he said, guiding her to the dance floor, where Lord and Lady Satterfield were already at the top of the line that was forming. Kendal positioned Nora to stand beside Lady Satterfield so that they were second. The musicians, set in the far corner of the makeshift ballroom, began to play, and panic seized Nora’s chest. Would she remember the steps? Would she make a fool of herself or, worse, of him?

  She felt like an imposter in a scenario she’d mistakenly stumbled into. Surely someone would point her out and tell her she needed to leave. She was a pariah, an outcast. She had no place being here, let alone dancing with a duke.

  But it was far too late to run away. The dance had started, and the line traveled the length of the drawing room. This dance would last quite some time, during which Nora would be the center of everyone’s attention and the source of everyone’s gossip. She could hear the exchanges now, imagined them starting up and spreading like a freshly ignited fire.

  “Look at whom he chose. Who is that Nobody?”

  “Don’t you remember? She ruined herself nine years ago.”

  “How dreadful.”

  Lord and Lady Satterfield started, dancing their way between the lines. They were rather spry, given their age.

  Nora looked nervously over at the duke. “Lady Satterfield is an excellent dancer.”

  “Indeed.” The rich tone of his voice soothed her rioting nerves. “She always insists on calling the first, though it’s the only set she’ll dance.”

  Nora nodded. Dancing was typically reserved for the young.

  She tried not to stare at her partner, but it was difficult as he was situated directly across from her and she should look at him. Look, yes, but not gape. And he was gape-worthy. His reputation suited him, for he seemed forbidden, otherworldly almost. Not in an ethereal way, but in a rustic, rough sort of manner, as if Society couldn’t possibly contain him.

  Despite that or perhaps because of it, he wore his costume with ease. However, she suspected he was more comfortable in riding breeches and boots as he galloped his horse across the Lake District—she’d ascertained that was where his seat was located—his powerful thighs hugging the animal’s sides as they moved as one.

  Goodness, where had that astonishing image come from?

  And then it was their turn to traverse the line. She prayed she would remember the steps and focused on the music as they moved toward each other.

  “You look as if you’re headed to the guillotine,” he said just loud enough for her alone to hear.

  “Do I?” She tried to laugh but was afraid she sounded like a wounded bird. She longed to ask why he’d chosen her and immediately wondered if Lady Satterfield had put him up to it. She decided she didn’t want to know.

  “It’s just a dance.”

  The superbly absurd comment coaxed a genuine smile to her lips and alleviated some of her discomfort. “With the ‘Forbidden Duke’ who only dances once each Sea
son. Yes, you’re quite right to characterize it that way. Thank you for putting me at ease.”

  He chuckled, and like his speaking voice, it sparked a tremor that seemed to start in her bones and move outward, making her flesh tingle and her chest warm. “Don’t be nervous. And certainly don’t be nervous on my account.” He said the last with a tone so dry, she feared it might curl up and blow away in the breeze.

  “That is easy for you, a duke, to say. I am just a simple girl who’s been away from London a long time.”

  “I daresay you aren’t ‘just’ anything, but I shan’t debate you. Arguing in the midst of a dance is the height of boorishness.”

  She laughed easily this time. “Indeed it is.”

  He curled his arm around her waist as they passed the midpoint of the line, and they joined hands above their heads. Like his voice, his touch enthralled her, transported her to another place. A place where she wasn’t a pariah or a spinster, but a woman.

  When he released her hand, she felt a stab of disappointment and knew it would only deepen when he let go of her waist. But when he removed his arm, he wrapped his other one around her front and moved behind her. His gloved hand slid around her as he circled her. He came to a stop at the end of the line and faced her, his hand leaving her waist before taking her by the hand and escorting her back to her position in the line. Then he resumed his place across from her.

  The move had happened quickly, but she relived it in half time—the glide of his hand, the whisper of his breath against her ear, the dark promise in his gaze when he’d faced her and taken her hand.

  Silly, silly featherbrain! There was no promise—dark or otherwise. As he’d said, it was just a dance. A glorious, spectacular, delicious dance that she would recall at least ten thousand times.

  “What do you hope to do in London this Season?” His question surprised her. She didn’t know what she’d expected from someone called the Forbidden Duke, but it wasn’t normal conversation.

  I hope to comport myself admirably, was the first answer that came to mind, but she didn’t wish to expound on that. “I imagine we’ll ride in the park, pay calls, and I’ll likely adorn the wall of a few dozen balls and parties.” She’d meant the last in a bit of jest, but also feared it might be true.