‘Times are changing, Miss Dorset, and more men are following your father’s example. It won’t be long before they are applauded for their initiative rather than condemned for letting the side down.’
‘Let’s hope you’re right about that.’
‘You were not presented?’ he asked.
‘Goodness, no! I had no sponsor, what with Mama being dead.’
‘Surely someone else, a relative or close friend…’
‘Oh yes, I had the opportunity, but I have already told you that I am an unconventional, contrary individual and most decidedly didn’t want to go through the rigmarole. I was glad of it when I saw all the fuss and bother that Hazel had to put up with. I mean, does it really matter if the train of one’s presentation gown is an inch or two outside of the prescribed guidelines?’ She giggled. ‘I half expected there to be a footman with a measuring stick stationed outside the ballroom.’ She shook her head decisively. ‘It wasn’t for me, and when Papa realised how opposed I was to the idea he didn’t force the issue.’
‘Then I am glad,’ he said softly. ‘It would be a terrible shame if your vibrant character were to be curtailed by convention.’
She laughed. ‘There’s little chance of that.’
His mother cleared her throat, attracting the attention of the ladies before standing.
‘Goodness, I hadn’t realised the time had passed so quickly,’ he said, standing to help Miss Dorset from her chair, wishing he didn’t have to let her go. ‘I have enjoyed our conversation,’ he told her. ‘Thank you for your company.’
‘I’ve enjoyed it too.’ She sounded surprised. ‘But now I must face the music.’
‘Don’t let them bully you,’ he advised.
‘Oh, rest assured, I shall not.’
She walked away without a backward glance. Lady Hazel lingered to wait for her and she cast a glance over her shoulder for Anglesey’s benefit before the girls left the room together. Brin stood watching her until she disappeared from view, then resumed his seat, around which the rest of the gentlemen had already gathered, ready to share the port.
Chapter Four
Farrah and Hazel were the last to enter the drawing room, where the duchess supervised a maid as she poured both coffee and tea. It was a task that all the hostesses Farrah had come across chose to perform personally. She was unsurprised to discover that it was beneath the duchess’s dignity. Nonetheless she frequently found fault with the manner in which the maid discharged her duty.
‘Have a care, girl,’ Farrah heard her exclaim several times. ‘Don’t slop tea into the saucer in such a slapdash manner!’
The constant litany of complaints must have made the girl nervous, but her hand remained steady and Farrah couldn’t detect even the smallest spillage. She became aware of the duchess’s hostile gaze burning into her back as she and Hazel accepted coffee, made a point of thanking the maid for pouring it and then found a seat at the back of the room, a little away from everyone else.
‘I don’t think I am very popular,’ Farrah said in an undertone, aware of Lady Beardsley and Lady Kirkham in particular mirroring the duchess’s disapproval. ‘But really, what did they expect me to do? Even I am aware that declining the duke’s escort would have been a gross breach of protocol.’
‘It’s unfair, isn’t it?’ Hazel whispered back. ‘You did not encourage him, I am perfectly sure of that, but he had the good sense to see that you were quite the most fascinating female in the room.’
Farrah waved the compliment aside. ‘Hardly. Besides, you are biased, since it left you free to enjoy your Mr Anglesey’s smiles.’
‘Oh, Farrah!’
Hazel’s eyes glistened with a combination of happiness and conflict. Farrah felt a vast amount of sympathy for her friend. It was difficult to imagine anyone more comprehensively in love. Daniel Anglesey was a gentleman with impeccable connections, as well as being handsome and personable. Any mother would consider him ideal husband material for her daughter. Any mother other than Lady Beardsley, who harboured higher ambitions. A handsome woman in her youth, she seemed dissatisfied with her lot and wanted to redress the balance vicariously.
It was grossly unfair.
‘Have a care, darling,’ Farrah said softly. ‘I can completely understand why you so enjoyed the opportunity to have Mr Anglesey to yourself for a few hours, but you let your guard down. I think the duke noticed your partiality, which means that others most likely did as well.’ She cast a glance in the direction of the glowering Lady Beardsley. ‘If your mind is made up, then Mr Anglesey should speak to your mother now and get it over with.’
‘Ah.’ Hazel bit her lip. ‘If only it were that straightforward.’
Farrah refrained from asking why it shouldn’t be. No one could force Hazel into a marriage against her will, and her mother would just have to get over her disappointment.
‘The duke is very handsome and imposing and all the other things that Mama warned me to expect, but I could never make such a man happy.’
‘You underestimate your charms.’
‘No, Farrah, I do not. The duke is a complex individual with a mind of his own. That much is already obvious to me, as is the fact that he needs someone willing to stand up to him. Someone who can match his intellect, thereby preventing him from becoming bored rigid. I am not that person. Besides, running a house of this size would be beyond me. And even if I could do it, I doubt whether the dowager duchess would make way for me. That is a battle of wills I could never find the strength to win, whereas you…’
‘Don’t look at me,’ Farrah replied, horrified. ‘I have absolutely no ambitions in that regard. Not that the duchess will believe me, but there you have it.’ Farrah noticed Hazel’s sister hovering nearby, probably attempting to eavesdrop. ‘But there is something you need to know.’
Farrah lowered her voice further and explained about her accidental meeting with the duke that afternoon. Hazel gasped.
‘I am surprised he didn’t take offence at your outspokenness,’ she said, recovering from her shock and grinning broadly. ‘Clearly he did not, since he took you into dinner and very obviously enjoyed your company.’
‘I am the one who ought to have been offended,’ Farrah replied, smiling. ‘He let me run on indiscreetly and embarrass myself. Oh, I realise that I was probably at fault and must learn to curb my tongue—but even so, gentlemanly instincts ought to have compelled him to save my blushes.’
Hazel nodded, still fighting a smile. ‘He probably gets tired of people constantly seeking his approval and found your attitude a refreshing change.’
‘That is what he said, but I remain to be convinced. Anyway, I can see that you have something you are burning to tell me and I am more than ready to listen.’
‘Just as well because I need your help.’
‘Then you are assured of receiving it.’
Hazel hesitated. ‘You don’t know what it is that I need from you.’
‘Whatever it is, if it’s within my gift then you have but to say the word.’ Farrah leaned forward. ‘You had best tell me while you have the opportunity.’ She glanced across the room at Lady Beardsley, who glared back at Farrah as she drummed her fingers angrily on her knee. ‘We shall not be left alone for long.’
‘The thing is, during tomorrow’s shoot there will be a break for refreshments. If the weather remains dry, then the servants will supply a picnic for the sportsmen. Daniel knows the spot and there is a cabin close by.’
‘Lady Hazel, I am shocked…’
‘Oh, don’t say that dearest!’ Hazel clutched Farrah’s arm. ‘He only wants to talk to me in a location where we can be assured of privacy so that we can decide whether he should speak to Mama now or—’
‘Of course he does,’ Farrah said, failing to suppress her laughter. ‘And I highly approve of his determination to have you to himself.’
‘He is purchasing his own estate.’ Hazel’s eyes shone. ‘It’s all arranged, and he wants to tell me about it.
He couldn’t at table, of course, not without setting ears flapping.’
She glanced at her sister, who had been seated across the table from Hazel, escorted by a gaunt youth whose name Farrah had already forgotten. He clearly didn’t pass muster, since Ellen had spent the majority of the meal either sulking or casting covetous glances at Lord Hardy. Farrah was tempted to explain to Ellen that even if one was disappointed with one’s dinner companion, sulking didn’t serve. The table offered a female the opportunity to display her lively wit and conversational skills. Just because the rules precluded her from speaking to anyone other than those on either side of her, they didn’t prevent others from watching her and admiring her performance. There had been little maturity and nothing whatsoever to admire in Ellen’s sullen display.
‘I shall be very sorry to disappoint Mama,’ Hazel said resolutely, ‘but I hope she will come to see how desperately in love I am and put my happiness before her own ambitions, especially when Daniel can prove his ability to support me in style. If she does not…well, we shall just have to wait until I achieve my majority and am free to make my own choices.’
‘And Mr Anglesey needs to get you alone in a cabin in order to discuss the matter.’ Farrah smiled and nodded. ‘Yes, I can quite see why that would be necessary.’
‘His intentions are honourable, I am absolutely sure of it.’
‘What a pity.’
‘Farrah!’
They both laughed.
‘I assume you would like me to accompany you on a stroll in the grounds tomorrow at about the time that the gentlemen plan to take a break from their sport.’
‘Would you?’
Farrah patted Hazel’s hand. ‘You know I will. There is a possibility, of course, that the duchess will have arranged separate entertainment for the ladies, which will require some ingenuity to avoid inclusion in it, but I am sure we will manage it.’
‘Thank you so much. You are the best possible friend in the world.’
‘Is that Lady Melody, about whom I have heard so much?’ Farrah asked, watching a pretty, dark-haired female in a vibrant red gown prowling about the room and sending frequent darkling glances in their direction. ‘She kept glowering at me during dinner.’
‘Oh, I forgot, you did not meet her earlier. Yes, that’s Lady Melody. I really hope the duke prefers her, but that will infuriate Mama and probably make her withhold her consent regarding Daniel out of spite.’
‘Doesn’t Robert have any say in the matter?’ Farrah asked. ‘He’s now the earl.’
‘He’s still only twenty.’
‘Ah, of course.’ Farrah paused. ‘Someone should tell Lady Melody that she’s too young to be dressed in scarlet. It gives entirely the wrong impression.’
‘Or perhaps the right one.’
‘Hazel!’ Farrah fixed her friend with a look of mild surprise and healthy respect. ‘That is quite the most spiteful thing I have ever heard you say. Well done!’
‘I am starting to realise how unpleasant some people can be. She was really quite impolite to me when we took tea this afternoon. I cannot for the life of me think why. We have never met before and I am absolutely sure that I’ve done nothing to offend her.’
‘She has eyes in her head, darling, and can see that you are ten times prettier than she is. She’s on the hunt for a husband and dislikes the prospect of serious competition.’ Farrah inhaled deeply. ‘She has been indulged her entire life, and is unaccustomed to failure.’
‘How can you possibly know that, just by looking at her? You haven’t even been properly introduced.’
‘I don’t need to have spoken to her. I am acquainted with her type. She scolded a footman at table, did you hear her? She accused him of bumping her shoulder, which he did not. She deliberately jolted his arm when she knew he was there. Some people feel the need to draw attention to themselves by exerting their dominance over servants who are not in a position to defend themselves, which is reprehensible. Lady Melody is a case in point, and that incident told me all I needed to know about her character.’
‘She does seem rather self-aware,’ Hazel agreed.
‘Someone should explain to the duchess that constantly scowling will leave her with permanently wrinkled skin.’ Farrah countered the latest scowl directed at her by their hostess with an elevation of her chin and a demure smile. The duchess’s displeasure intensified when Farrah’s simple gesture implied that she would not be easily intimidated. Her grace, Farrah knew, would be unaccustomed to anyone standing their ground against her. ‘I am almost tempted to encourage the duke’s attentions, if that’s what they were intended as, just to give his dragon of a mother a fright.’
‘Here comes Mama,’ Hazel said, an edge to her voice as she sat a little straighter.
‘I wondered how long she would resist taking us both to task,’ Farrah muttered.
‘Well, Hazel,’ Lady Beardsley said, settling herself in a chair across from the two girls, ‘you did not get off to a very good start.’ She tutted at Farrah. ‘Especially after everything we had agreed.’
‘I did nothing to dissuade the duke,’ Hazel replied quietly and in a commendably firm tone. ‘This is only the first day of the party. There is plenty of time. But I will not put myself forward. It is my opinion that gentlemen don’t like females who make themselves too accessible. It makes them appear desperate.’
‘Nonsense, Hazel! How can the man admire you if you don’t make an effort to display yourself?’ She turned an irate expression upon Farrah. ‘You did rather better, Miss Dorset, although one could argue that your actions hardly supported your friend’s cause. But then, in my experience, friendships are not always what they appear to be, and are sometimes entered into for ulterior purposes.’
Farrah had fully intended to withstand the criticisms that she knew would be forthcoming stoically, but it was not within her nature to absorb such unfounded accusations without retaliating.
‘Does your ladyship enjoy any long-standing friendships and speak from personal experience?’ she asked sweetly.
Lady Beardsley gasped. ‘There is no occasion for incivility.’
‘And there is no occasion to accuse me of disloyalty to Hazel, if that was your intention,’ Farrah responded in a low voice that vibrated with suppressed anger. ‘I did absolutely nothing to encourage the duke’s attentions.’
Lady Beardsley huffed indignantly and folded her hands in her lap. ‘Perhaps not intentionally. In which case you should try harder to remain in the background.’
‘It seems to me that every single female here has her sights set upon the poor duke.’ Farrah’s gaze lingered upon Lady Melody. ‘Has it occurred to your ladyship that he may not be ready to take a wife, and that selecting a dinner companion whose advances he would not have to spend the entire meal fending off seemed like a safer course to take?’
‘Not ready to take a wife?’ Lady Beardsley gasped. ‘What nonsense! Of course he must marry. His mother is quite determined that he will have made his selection by the end of this week and have his duchess installed in the abbey before Christmas.’
‘But it does not follow that the duke shares her determination. Has she bothered to discuss it with him, or has she just assumed…?’
Lady Beardsley dismissed the duke’s opinion about his own future with a casual flap of one hand. ‘Men can be inordinately stubborn and drag their heels over such matters. But if a pretty, well-bred gal were to attract his interest, here beneath his own roof…’
‘Let the poor man make his own decisions,’ Farrah said quietly. ‘I have just spent the last two hours conversing with him and I can assure you that he will not be coerced into doing something he would prefer not to. If the duchess thinks otherwise then she does not understand her son’s character at all.’
‘You appear to have made yourself an authority on the subject after a very short acquaintance,’ the countess replied imperiously. ‘Somehow that does not surprise me. However, Hazel, from now on I expect you to take every
opportunity to let the duke have a proper look at you. He will not be able to help being impressed once he realises just how sweet and obliging you are.’ She sent a sideways glance in Farrah’s direction. ‘You will not answer him back or give him a moment’s trouble. The card tables are being placed, as you can see. The duchess will ensure that you partner the duke.’
Hazel swallowed. ‘I see.’
‘Use the opportunity, Hazel. After all I have done to bring this situation about, you owe me at least that much. The duchess still favours you as the duke’s wife, but if you fail to exert yourself then she will support Lady Melody’s cause instead.’ Lady Beardsley fixed her daughter with a stern look. ‘I was acquainted with her father, Lord Kirkham, when I myself was a girl.’ A faraway look in the lady’s eye made Farrah suppose that it had been more than a mere acquaintance on her part, and that she had somehow been disappointed by Kirkham. She’d had expectations that came to nothing, leaving her bearing a grudge against the woman whom he eventually married. ‘I shall not be best pleased if she beats you to the spoils. Indeed, I could not bear it.’
Hazel and Farrah shared a dismayed look but Hazel was spared the need to respond by the arrival of the gentlemen.
*
Brin sat back and savoured his port, allowing the men’s conversation about the prospect of a good day’s sport to flow around him but taking little part in it. He dwelt upon the past couple of hours that had followed so close on the heels of his stroll in the gardens with Miss Dorset. Their second meeting had revealed a little more of her character, and she had managed to surprise him. She was a breath of fresh air—as unconventional as she was intelligent, witty and highly opinionated. Her conversation had kept him on his toes and thoroughly entertained him.
He hoped that his determination to exert himself had not made her more unpopular with his mother than she already thought herself to be. He allowed himself the suggestion of a smile as he leaned his elbow on the table and absently rubbed his lips with the side of his index finger. Miss Dorset was one of the few people he knew who would be capable of standing up to his domineering mother, simply because she didn’t care if she gave offence.
Never Dare a Duke Page 6