Chapter Ten

“It was him, then?”

Violet considered her friend as they walked together towards Lord Rutherford’s townhouse. “Yes, it was the Duke of Lancaster.”

“And he has not spoken to you or written to you since then?”

Violet shook her head no.

“Mayhap he will be at the dinner this evening.”

A slight trembling overtook Violet’s frame. “If he is at dinner this evening, I do not know what I shall do,” she said, rather hoarsely, the front door of the townhouse now looming before her eyes. It had been a sennight since she had danced with the Duke – and he had unwittingly danced with her – but nothing had changed between them since then. It was as if he had faded into the ether, as if he had been nothing more than a dream that had caught her attention for a few minutes and thereafter, had disappeared into obscurity again. Violet had wondered what she ought to do, if she ought to write to him or perhaps to write or speak to Lady Caroline but in the end, had chosen to do nothing. If the Duke of Lancaster wished to see her again, if he wished to be in her company, then he was very well able to reach out to her. It was clear that he had no wish to see her or speak with her again, given the silence, though Violet did not blame him for it. To her mind, it was entirely understandable.

However, the invitation to dinner from Lord and Lady Rutherford had made Violet more than a little anxious. She knew that Lady Rutherford was well acquainted with Lady Caroline and, in that, came the fear that the Duke of Lancaster would be present this evening.

“I think that you will do very well regardless,” Miss Chesterton said, warmly. “It is very generous of Lord and Lady Rutherford to invite us all.”

Violet nodded. “I am very glad to have your company, I can assure you,” she said, truthfully, still feeling that sense of relief which had flooded her as she had stepped out of her carriage and seen Miss Chesterton standing with her family just outside the townhouse. “It was a truly unexpected pleasure.”

Miss Chesterton smiled. “You already have a great deal of courage, Violet,” she said, firmly. “You must now fasten that courage to yourself, for should the Duke of Lancaster be present, then you will simply have to face him and pretend that all is well. It does not mean that you will have to speak with him or any such thing, but a mere nod in his direction to acknowledge his presence is all that is required, I am sure.”

Violet swallowed hard and nodded, just as they stepped into the house, following after their families. Quickly directed towards the drawing room, Violet’s breath came in short, quick breaths as she walked into the room and waited for her turn to greet the host and hostess. That done, she dared a glance about the room, finding herself rather relieved when her gaze did not fall upon the Duke of Lancaster. Closing her eyes for a moment, she let out another sigh but this time, felt herself smile with it.

“He is not here,” she said, as Miss Chesterton came to join her. “How glad I am! It means that I can enjoy the evening without concern.”

Miss Chesterton nodded and made to say something, only for her face to fall as she looked over Violet’s shoulder.

Violet knew in an instant that the words she had just said could no longer be true.

Her eyes closed.

“I am afraid he has just arrived,” Miss Chesterton murmured as, opening her eyes, Violet began to make her way to the edge of the room, the desire to hide from him growing ever stronger. “Violet, where are you going?”

“I do not want him to see me,” Violet answered, a little breathlessly as the darkness of the room began to cling to her. “I thought… I hoped…”

“You will not be able to hide from him,” Miss Chesterton said softly, though her voice and her expression were filled with sympathy. “We are going to be sitting at the dinner table together and what will you do then? It is not as though you can hide under the table!”

Violet could not help but smile at this, even though her heart was beating so furiously, it was as though she had been dancing all evening.

“You will have to simply sit in his company and –”

“Oh, I pray that I will not be sitting anywhere near him!” Violet’s eyes flew wide as she gripped Miss Chesterton’s hand. “What if –”

“I do not think that they would do such a thing. Did you not say that Lady Caroline and Lady Rutherford are well acquainted? I am sure that this dinner was carefully thought out and they would not deliberately make the evening difficult for either the Duke or yourself by placing the two of you together.”

A little reassured, Violet blinked furiously and then nodded, letting out a long breath as she found herself searching out the Duke of Lancaster instead of keeping her eyes away from him.

The moment her eyes found him, Violet’s heart ricocheted around her chest. Every single emotion she had ever felt for him came back to her at once, though with a strength that she had never felt before. She could not breathe, she could not speak, she could not even think. He was just as handsome as she had ever seen him, with his shock of dark hair, piercing blue eyes and that firmness about his jaw, though he was not smiling. Violet licked her lips, taking in small snatches of breath as every memory she had ever had of him came back to her again. How many times had they laughed together? How many times had she found herself thinking just how wonderful he was, how much she adored him? Their swift courtship and engagement had been a surprise to some but she had felt it to be the right thing, the correct path for them to follow and when he had asked her to marry him, she had been utterly overjoyed.

That joy was not present now. Instead, there was only regret and disappointment, sadness and pain.

My heart still holds him there.

That was the truth of it, Violet realized. Even though it had been years since she had last laid eyes on him, there was still a love and an affection there which she could not deny. Dancing in his arms had been a great shock, filled with a fear and a dread that he would recognize who she was but thereafter, as she had looked back upon it, she had realized just how wonderful it had been to be held in his arms again, albeit for a brief moment.

“I cannot imagine that he will even so much as glance at me,” she said softly, aware of Miss Chesterton’s scrutiny of her. “He will not look at me and certainly he will not smile. The only thing that will be there, is pain.”

“I am sorry for that.” Miss Chesterton pressed her hand. “Do you think that you will be all right?”

Violet took in a deep breath and set her shoulders. “I am going to have to be,” she said, aware of the trembling in her heart. “There is nothing that I can do other than that.”

***

The trembling did not cease even as Violet sat at the dinner table and looked around at the other guests. The Duke of Lancaster was near to the top of the table, given that he held the greatest title and she, however, was a little further down the table but still in clear view of him. It did mean that they could not have a private conversation, which was a great relief to Violet, but it also meant that whenever she chanced to look up, her eyes were inclined to catch upon his and she did not much like that. The second course was already upon them and though there was a good deal of conversation, Violet had not had much opportunity to say anything.

“Lady Violet, is it?”

Violet looked to her right, smiling briefly at the gentleman beside her. “Yes, that is right. Lord Stepstone, yes?”

The gentleman nodded. “Yes, that is so. I am very glad to be seated with you this evening.”

Violet’s eyebrows lifted though she did not respond with anything other than a smile. Lord Stepstone had, thus far, said very little to her and seemed to be enjoying the sound of his own voice rather than doing anything akin to listening to what she or anyone else had to say. Violet was sure that most of the table had heard of his improvements that were currently underway at his estate, even though he had been speaking to the lady sitting on his right rather than to the room at large.

“Your sister is Lady Marianne, is that right?”

A little surprised at the flicker of interest in the gentleman’s expression and the smile on his face, Violet nodded and then delicately gestured to her sister, who was sitting opposite them. “Yes, that is my sister. My father is the Earl of Craighall.”

Lord Stepstone’s eyebrows lifted. “Ah! I suddenly recall that the Earl of Craighall had a daughter who was to marry the Earl of Kettridge, as he was then.”

In an instant, a chill ran through Violet’s frame and, much to her embarrassment, she dropped her fork which clattered against the side of the plate. Mortified, Violet dropped her head and quickly picked up her fork again, aware that the hubbub of conversation had faded a little due to the embarrassing sound she had just made.

“You certainly made a mistake there, did you not?” Lord Stepstone laughed, the sound of his voice suddenly seeming a good deal louder than before. “He is a Duke now!”

“Lord Stepstone.”

Violet dared a glance up, a little surprised to see that the person who had interrupted was none other than the Duke of Lancaster himself. He was smiling though it was no smile that Violet had ever seen on his face before. It did not light his eyes or even lift his expression. Instead, it was as though it was forced but Lord Stepstone did not seem to notice.

“Yes, Your Grace?” he beamed, as Violet lifted her fork to her mouth, barely tasting whatever it was she had been eating.

“I hear that you are making improvements to your estate,” the Duke said, commanding the attention of everyone around the table. “Might you tell me about them? I confess that since I have removed to my new estate, I find myself wondering whether or not I ought to make any improvements myself, though I do not know where I am to begin!”

This, of course, caught Lord Stepstone’s attention at once and he immediately began to exclaim over what it was that he had been doing… in great detail.

Violet closed her eyes and breathed out slowly, relief flooding her, as well as a peculiar feeling of appreciation. When she opened her eyes, she could not help but look back at the Duke of Lancaster and saw, much to her shock, that he was looking directly back at her. Her throat constricted and she swallowed tightly, unable to pull her gaze from his. She wanted to thank him, wondering if he had done such a thing deliberately, asking that question so that she would not have the attention of the room lingering on her – or have Lord Stepstone asking her any further questions!

The Duke’s gaze slowly pulled from hers and returned to Lord Stepstone, though no smile stayed on his face, no flicker of interest in his expression. Violet pressed her lips together for a moment and then looked away again, finding her heart filled with both gladness and pain at the very same time.

I should speak to him, she told herself, silently. If nothing else, to thank him for what he did for me just now.

Her heart quailed as she thought about standing beside him again, about speaking to him as she attempted to find the words to thank him. Would he give her even a few moments of his time? Would he accept the appreciation from her? Or would he turn his back on her and walk away, just as he had done at the ball?

There is only one way for me to find out what he will do, Violet told herself, firmly. I must speak to him. There is no other way.