Chapter 2

"Ah, welcome Your Grace. His Lordship has been looking forward to your arrival," the butler standing guard outside the estate cheerfully greeted as Edward approached, tipping his hat and head to him.

"Well, I am flattered to make his acquaintance," Edward responded, nodding to the man's bow. "I do believe I have only met him once."

The butler allowed him to enter, and Edward was greeted by a beautiful display all around him. The robust banquet hall was decorated in the Season's best. Silver balls stuck into the leaves of large evergreen wreaths lined the tops of the walls, with thick garlands branching them all together. Intertwined into the garlands were specks of silver and gold, adding a whimsical glimmer to the hall.

Edward could barely enjoy the sight, before Lord Kilroy, a face all too familiar, approached him, three of his daughters trailing behind. He inwardly groaned at the upcoming conversation.

"Good evening, Your Grace. I hope this evening is treating you well," Lord Kilroy said, his wide smile making his eyes crinkle. He gave a slight bow, and his daughters curtseyed.

It was until you came to me.

"It is, thank you, Lord Kilroy," Edward replied, returning the gesture and bowing. "Do you know where I might find the host of tonight's event, by chance?"

"I wanted to introduce you to my daughters," Lord Kilroy began, seemingly ignoring Edward's attempt at walking away. "Emily is eighteen and shares your love for the outdoors, and Rita is twenty and is the perfect hostess."

Edward raised an eyebrow at the man's boldness. Other members of the ton who'd tried to proposition him had used indirect advances which he'd simply been able to escape by playing the ignorance card.

"That is lovely to hear, but alas I'm not looking for a wife." He smiled politely, even though he was feeling anything but polite.

He tried to move, but the man interrupted him with a hand on his arm.

"Oh," Lord Kilroy said. "But to the best of my knowledge, you're unmarried. Unless… you already have a fiancée."

Edward raised an eyebrow at him, folding his arms.

"Perhaps you have no interest in considering the available maidens because you've finally decided to tie the knot with your lovely ward after all these years," Lord Kilroy went on. "I mean… it's no news we've had our suspicions about your relationship with the girl, considering she stays under your roof and?—"

Edward grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt, not caring if there were eyes on them. It was by far the smallest thing he could do to silence him, even though he'd have much preferred using his fists.

"I say this once to you, but I hope you'll be wise enough to pass my message across to your friends." He glared. "If I hear one more word of slander against my ward or my relationship with her, you will know just how powerful my duchy is."

With that, he dropped his hold on the man and went to get himself a drink. By a stroke of pure luck, Edward's gaze landed on Leonardo Burk, the Earl of Thorne, tonight's host.

He navigated the crowd of people, periodically giving his greetings to the men and ladies he passed who had yet to step on his toes. Even though he hated Society's proceedings, he wasn't a complete harridan.

He noticed a few beautiful ladies he wouldn't have minded getting acquainted with and a few he'd had dallied with. Suddenly, the party wasn't a complete flop.

He tried to keep those thoughts at bay, as he knew some were innocent maidens who would enjoy his attentions for the brief moment it lasted but would sooner try to trap him in marriage once the truth of their indiscretion came to light.

He knew that no matter what, he'd never allow himself to be trapped in marriage, and then the poor lady would have a tainted reputation for the rest of her life, and he didn't want to live with that

Edward would be labeled as selfish by some of those he knew, but he had enough compassion to not purposely ruin a lady's life because of carnal desires.

Still, the thought was not an unwelcome one.

Lord Thorne spotted him and smiled at him. "Your Grace! It is wonderful to see you," he exclaimed, reaching out a hand to shake Edward's.

"It is great to see you too, Lord Thorne. I give you my sincerest condolences and apologize that I could not make it to the funeral of your father," Edward said, wanting to keep the conversation pleasant so that he possibly could weasel his way out of staying longer than necessary.

"Oh, nonsense, I know the journey here is rather tiresome, so I do appreciate you attending tonight's festivities," Lord Thorne assured him, patting their clasped hands before letting go.

"Well, I figured I should answer one of your invitations." Edward laughed. "It felt it rather rude to not attend one of your impressive parties at least once."

Lord Thorne laughed as well and beckoned someone over that Edward could not see.

Oh dear, I hope he is not trying to introduce me to any debutantes.

"I cannot remember if you have met my sisters or not," Lord Thorne continued. "Do not worry, one of them is married and the other one seems to have no interest in tonight's options."

In other words, he was not trying to sell his sisters to him.

Edward couldn't help but smile a little bit at the joke and appreciated the Earl's understanding.

A woman who looked no older than twenty-and-five made her way over to them with who Edward assumed to be her husband.

The woman was quite beautiful. If she was not already married, he would have asked if he could sign her dance card and enjoy one dance with her. She had light brown hair, dark brown eyes, and a skin so pale and perfect that she could have been a porcelain doll. Not to mention that the light blue ruffled dress she wore complemented her features subtly.

"Your Grace, allow me to introduce my sister Sarah Harris, the Duchess of Ridlington, and her husband Richard Harris, the Duke of Ridlington," Lord Thorne announced.

"It is a pleasure to meet you both," Edward said, reaching for Sarah's extended gloved hand and placing a gentle kiss on the back of it.

"The pleasure is all ours, Duke," the Duke of Ridlington said, bowing his head slightly.

Edward returned the gesture.

"Sarah, where is our dear sister?" Lord Thorne asked, almost sounding displeased.

"No need to worry, Brother, she is in the powder room, freshening up," the Duchess said with a glimmer in her eyes. "Oh, look, there she is now."

Edward and Lord Thorne turned around to look in the direction that Sarah was pointing in.

Perhaps coming there sincerely was a mistake. When Edward laid eyes on their sister, it took everything in him to control the raging flow of sinful desire poisoning his brain. The woman, who looked to be a few years younger than her sister, was easily the most divine creature at this party.

She wore a yellow, babydoll-styled dress (which was a rather uncommon color to see at such parties) that left much to the imagination, although Edward could tell she was a bit more curvaceous than other young women her age. Her dark brown hair was curled in tight ringlets that hung just above her collarbone, and her skin resembled that of her sister's, though it was slightly more tanned. Perhaps she enjoyed the outdoors.

As she made her way to the group, her eyes never left Edward's. He attempted to read her, but her bright blue eyes made it hard for him to come to any conclusions. She seemed almost playful with him in the way her eyes roamed over his body, and it did nothing to quell the burning heat in the pit of his stomach.

"Your Grace, this is my younger sister, Lady Arabella," Lord Thorne said. "Arabella, this is the Duke of S?—"

"Soulden, I've heard," Arabella interrupted with a small smile. She bobbed a deep curtsy for Edward and bowed her head.

Lord Thorne sighed. "I apologize for my sister's impertinence, Your Grace. She did not learn that from me."

Edward let out an amused chuckle and reached for Arabella's hand. "I find humor is a good quality in a lady."

He made eye contact with Arabella as he pressed a tender, lingering kiss to her gloved hand, shocking her somewhat, as a gesture this tender was usually kept between engaged couples.

Arabella's cheeks turned rosy-red, and it was not from the rouge she had clearly just put on.

"Thank you, Your Grace," she murmured, bowing her head again.

Edward was confused by the mix of emotions flooding his system. The primal, animalistic part of him wanted to take her to his bed and ravish her in ways she had probably never experienced before. But the proper side of him wanted the chance to get to know her. He didn't often feel this way with most women he interacted with, but something about the look in Arabella's eyes told him that she is worth getting to know, even if it was only for tonight.

He noticed the dance card tied to her wrist by a pale, yellow ribbon. He pointed at it and said, "I sure hope that your card is not full yet."

Arabella gave a near-mischievous grin and opened her card for him to see. "If you would like, you could be my first dance for the evening, Your Grace."

"I would be honored, My Lady."