Chapter Two

CHAPTER TWO

“ L ady Selina, I must say, you are looking more lovely by the day.”

Thalia watched as her younger sister all but rolled her eyes at the man seated across from her. “Thank you, Lord Aughton,” she said with all the warmth and tenderness of a rock.

Undaunted, or unaware of Selina’s disinterest, poor Lord Aughton continued. “I enjoyed the ball last night most thoroughly. Though I would have enjoyed it far more if I had been able to dance with you. What a pity that your dance card was already full.”

At this, Thalia hid a frown of disapproval. She knew full well that this was false. She had seen her sister’s card at the end of the evening, and it had only contained two names. Selina had told the man an outright lie. How many others, she wondered, had Selina cast off with such a fib?

“Oh yes, it was quite full,” Selina murmured, not even bothering to make her lie convincing.

Thalia, standing behind the settee where Selina now sat, shifted a little, twisting her ankles to give them momentary relief. She had been on her feet all morning. Then, forcing herself into motion, she took up the cup and saucer which sat on the little table before their guest. “More tea, Lord Aughton?”

“No, thank you.” The man rose with a small grunt and brushed his hands on his trousers. “I fear I must take my leave. But I hope to come and visit you again very soon, Lady Selina.”

When Selina said nothing, rising only to offer him a curt nod, Lord Aughton turned hesitantly to Thalia. “I may, mayn’t I?”

“You would be welcome any time, Lord Aughton,” Thalia assured him.

A little bolstered by that, the man said his goodbyes and took his leave.

“Well, he certainly knows who is in charge here, does he not?” Selina grumbled, raising an eyebrow at her sister. “He looks to you for approval to come and speak with me .”

“You hardly offered him any encouragement. Really, Selina, the man was desperate for a single kind word from you. Though you made it clear that such an offering was as painful for you as pulling teeth. What else was I supposed to say?”

“Nothing! You were to say nothing and send him away, releasing me from this horrible task. Truly, it is intolerable. I cannot go on,” groaned Selina, sinking onto the settee with an – in Thalia’s opinion – overly dramatic sigh.

“It has been a long morning, I will grant you that.” Thalia took a seat, in the armchair near her sister. “But it would have felt more satisfactory, I believe, if you had made progress with someone.”

Selina closed her eyes. “Of all the suitors that I have been forced to welcome this morning, there is not one that I could have ‘made progress with’ as you say. Even you must acknowledge that there was not a spark of attachment in any of them. Other than their desire for my beauty.”

“But must there be attachment right at the start?” Thalia offered. When Selina’s eyes went wide, Thalia raised a hand to cut off the stream of words soon to come. “I know, I know. You wish to marry for love. But is it not possible that you might grow to love one of them?”

“Love Lord Aughton? The man would not know how to dress himself if someone did not do it for him. And surely you cannot believe that I would fall in love with a man like Lord Grifton? He spoke of nothing else but his failing health. And, when he did pause to let me get a word in, he then continued as if he hadn’t heard a thing I had said.”

“Perhaps he had not,” Thalia mused quietly. Lord Grifton was much older than Selina, she would give her that. And he was not much to look at either. But he was one of the wealthiest bachelors in the ton . As his wife, Selina would be more than provided for: she would be one of the most prominent, respected ladies in the country.

“But the others were good conversationalists,” Thalia added after a moment. As she spoke, Selina stood, wandering to the window overlooking the estate. “Love is not something that can be counted upon to provide happiness, Selina. I am not even sure it truly exists,” she murmured. “People find themselves infatuated with one another, yes. But once that wears off, they must live with the partners they have chosen. They must rely on common ground and shared beliefs to carry the marriage, instead of some mythical feeling that comes and goes as it pleases.”

When Selina was silent, Thalia briefly wondered whether her words had finally landed on attending ears. But, as her younger sister turned away from the windows with a wicked grin, Thalia’s heart sank. “Do not count today a loss, Thalia,” Selina informed her, crossing back to her seat with an enlivened flourish. “Perhaps we may both be satisfied with its outcome.”

Before Thalia could ask what on earth her sister was up to, the butler appeared in the doorway of the drawing room.

Clearing his throat, the older man bobbed his head a little, brow furrowed. Not for the first time, Thalia worried about his health. Mr. Poulter had been with her family for most of her life. He was far too old to be carrying on with the work he had tended to in his youth. However, the family could not afford to hire a new butler. And Mr. Poulter was far too kind to leave them in the lurch.

“His Grace, the Duke of Ravenwood is here, ma’am. To call upon Lady Selina.”

Thalia’s stomach dropped. The butler shuffled back to allow the duke entry as Selina sprang to her feet. Begrudgingly, Thalia forced herself upright as well. Her body ached. She was still exhausted from the ball last night, and all the activity this morning had done nothing to lessen the slight headache with which she had awoken.

The duke, however, seemed untouched by the previous evening’s activities. Perfectly broad shoulders tapered down to a strong waist as he stood tall, grinning at Selina. As he sauntered into the drawing room, Thalia could not help but notice how his light brown hair fell slightly into his face, framing perfectly sky-blue eyes. “Lady Selina, I hope you will spare a little time for me this morning. I know you must have been busy with countless suitors already. After all, with your beauty, you must be the most sought-after woman in the ton . Indeed, you have somehow grown even more beautiful since I saw you last.”

His satisfied grin told Thalia that he did not doubt that his overt praise would be met with anything but rapt delight. She shook her head, marveling at his arrogance. She was about to tell him that Selina was too tired to receive guests when she caught sight of the look on her sister’s face. She felt a pit form at the bottom of her stomach.

Selina beamed at the duke with more life and interest in her eyes than Thalia had seen all morning. “Your Grace, I will always have time for a man like you,” she replied coyly.

“I was hoping you might say that,” he replied, pulling a bouquet of flowers out from behind his back. They were exquisite. The delicate scent of them wafted through the room as he crossed to present them to Selina. The younger woman took them eagerly, pressing her nose down to savor their scent.

Plucking one single rose out of the bouquet, Benedict twirled the stem between thumb and forefinger. “I wish these were more befitting of such a fine young woman,” he mused. Then, to Thalia’s astonishment, he moved and gently traced Selina’s cheek and chin with the flower’s delicate petals. “Soft though they are, I have a feeling they hold not a candle to the sumptuousness of your cheek.”

As he did this, Thalia knew she should intervene. But, for a moment, she was caught off guard by how large his hands were. As he replaced the flower, flexing his hand a little as it fell back at his side, Thalia was suddenly overwhelmed with a vision of what those hands might be capable of.

Of how they might feel against her bare skin.

Utterly taken aback by the heat that raced through her, Thalia cleared her throat. She reminded herself that she did not like where this conversation was headed. No, she did not like it one bit.

“I spoke with Lady Wright last night,” Thalia mused, taking a step forward so that, once again, she was just a little closer to the duke, and Selina was just a little further from his reach. “It seems that my sister was not the only woman to enjoy the receipt of your kind attentions last night.”

Indeed, Thalia had watched him shamelessly flirt with at least seven other women the night of the ball. And that was only what Thalia had seen. She could only imagine what other sensual indulgences the duke had enjoyed in the more private, secluded corners of the estate.

She narrowed her eyes at him in frustration. Though all Thalia wanted was to send the duke straight from the room, she knew that courtesy would not allow it. She would have to get rid of him another way.

But Benedict merely laughed at her words, shaking his head. “It is true. I was introduced to her daughter last night just as I arrived.” His gaze moved to rest once more on Selina. “Then I found myself reacquainted with an even more enchanting lady.”

“Your sister and I have met before; did you know Lady Thalia?” he continued, still looking at Selina. “At the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Bancroft. I recalled the introduction immediately. Though it was not difficult to remember a face like Lady Selina’s. I think I should have remembered her if I had but spied her from across the room.”

His grin brought forth a delighted giggle from Selina. “You are too kind, Your Grace.”

“Lady Selina, tell me, how did you find the rest of the ball?” he continued. Casting the briefest of glances Thalia’s way, he added, “I wish I could have enjoyed more of your conversation last night, but as your sister made it clear, you were needed elsewhere.”

“Hardly,” Selina laughed. “My sister claims that I am more inclined toward the dramatic, but she is just as fond of the sensational as I am. We had no great matter to attend to. My sister simply wished to greet some of our father’s friends.”

“Indeed?” Raising an eyebrow, the duke watched Thalia with renewed interest and no small hint of triumph. “She led me to believe that you had urgent matters to attend to.”

“Sometimes the urgency in a matter lies in what you are running from, rather than what you are running to,” Thalia replied through gritted teeth.

“Ah, but perhaps you do not yet know the pleasure that may be found in running away from something,” he countered, his voice low and taunting. “Danger may sometimes be an exceedingly pleasurable thing.”

While the heat of his scandalizing words shot through Thalia, Selina – who seemed unaware of the darker meaning in his words – offered the duke a cup of tea.

“I would happily accept,” he replied. “But, if you will indulge me, I would like to make a different proposal.” He gestured toward the windows behind them. “It is such a beautiful day. It would be a shame to ask you to spend any more of it cooped up inside, Lady Selina. Perhaps a walk? A stroll through the park might be just the thing we need to get to know one another a little better.”

That was the last thing that Thalia would allow to happen. Her sister, alone on a walk with one of the ton’s most notable rakes? “I am afraid that cannot be permitted,” she said, keeping her tone level.

“Whyever not?” Selina turned a confused look upon her sister.

“You are a young lady,” Thalia reminded her. “It would be most unsuitable for you to join the duke on such an outing unaccompanied.”

“She is not unaccompanied.”

Thalia blinked in surprise at the duke. “I beg your pardon?”

“She is not unaccompanied,” he repeated. “In fact, I doubt she is hardly ever alone, as attentive to her as you seem to be. You are your sister’s natural shadow. Who is better suited to act as chaperone than you, Lady Thalia?”

Though he smiled widely, there was no missing the duke’s hidden insult. Thalia shook her head. “I have matters which must be attended to here on the estate. I cannot afford to waste time on such an outing.”

“Oh, surely it is nothing so terribly pressing?” Selina protested. As she turned to her sister, Thalia could see that the disappointment in her eyes was genuine. “Is this not what you wanted?” she continued, lowering her voice a little. “A satisfactory outcome from today? Did you not say that these matter too?”

Caught, Thalia hesitated. She had indeed. Mere minutes before the duke’s arrival, she had implored her sister not to judge these men so harshly. She had asked her to get to know them better before she dismissed them. If she refused to allow Selina to go with the duke now, her sister would declare Thalia a hypocrite.

Holding back a groan, Thalia nodded once. “Very well. I will accompany you on your walk. But neither my sister nor I have much time to spare,” she added, holding Benedict’s gaze, daring him to protest.

She should not allow even this small interaction between her sister and the duke. Thalia was all too familiar with his sordid history. But her hands were tied. Selina did not yet know what Thalia knew about the duke. Yet. As soon as the man had left them, Thalia would be all too glad to share with her sister the gossip which dirtied his name. For now, the best she could do would be to keep her eyes on Selina and hope this afternoon passed as quickly as it could.

“Splendid.” The duke clapped his hands together once, clasping them eagerly. “Shall we?”