Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

L avinia regarded herself for a long moment in the looking glass.

She wasn’t sure about the green gown. She never had been. It never looked good hanging up in her wardrobe, and she felt as if the neckline was strange on her. It exposed more than some of her other gowns did. Was she really going to wear this for no other reason than that the Duke of Loxburgh had asked her to do so? It was such a strange thing for her to choose to do. She had never been the sort of lady who would do something she didn’t wish to do just to please a gentleman.

She sighed. What was the harm? It was one night. It was one gown. She would likely have worn it at some point during these next two weeks anyway, and she would have thought nothing of it. It only felt strange to do it now because someone had asked her to.

Resolutely, she turned away from the looking glass. She would wear the gown. She would let His Grace know that she had accepted his advice. She couldn’t say whether it would impact anything, but even if nothing at all came of it tonight, at least he would stop feeling as if he owed her anything. Her life could go back to normal.

It really hadn’t been a very significant thing. So she had pulled him off the path—what of that? Wouldn’t anyone have done the same thing? She might have done it for anyone else. It hadn’t seemed important at the time. But he seemed to feel that it was. Even more maddening, he didn’t seem able to decide whether he thought she had done it out of kindness or manipulation.

Well, that was his problem, not hers. She didn’t have to convince him of anything.

She left her room and went down the stairs to find her father waiting for her in the foyer. “Here you are,” he said, frowning. “And what took you so long?”

“I told you I was going to take a nap this afternoon,” Lavinia said.

“A nap. When you have only a short time left to find yourself a husband, you choose to spend it sleeping?” He shook his head. “I always knew that your priorities were in the wrong place, Lavinia. You ought to be ashamed of yourself. It’s a good thing I intervened. How else were you ever going to find yourself a husband without my help?”

“Didn’t Edwina have a nap this afternoon as well?” Lavinia asked.

“But you know that things are different for her. She can’t marry until you do anyway. But the moment she’s able to accept a suitor—why, they’re practically lining up, Lavinia. See for yourself.”

He led her into the sitting room, where she saw that most of the party guests were gathered in the sitting room around an assortment of tables. Cards had been produced, and several games had begun. Lavinia walked into the room and paused, glancing around to see whether there was room at any of the tables for her.

She saw nothing—the tables were all fully occupied—but she did notice something else as she took a seat near the fire.

Heads had turned when she came into the room. People were looking at her.

She felt herself begin to blush. She was unused to being looked at, and it was something she usually tried to avoid, for she knew that she was judged harshly by the gentlemen of the ton —not to mention the ladies. It had been that way at every party she had attended last season. That was one of the reasons she preferred to keep out of the thick of things, lingering to one side while the others engaged in their revelry. It was always better not to be the center of attention.

Not that she was the center of attention now, she reassured herself. There were plenty of people who hadn’t turned their attention away from their card games at all. It was just that there were more people looking at her than there ordinarily would have been, and that alone was enough to make her feel uncomfortable.

“There,” her father said. He didn’t seem to notice the attention she’d garnered at all. “Just look at your sister.”

She looked around for Edwina. Her sister had arrived early enough to join one of the card games, and she was laughing as though she was enjoying herself more than she ever had in her life. She shared the table with three gentlemen, all of whom seemed to be vying for her attention. None of them had looked up when Lavinia had entered the room.

Perhaps some people would have been jealous, but Lavinia couldn’t help smiling at the realization that her sister still commanded more attention than she did. Some things would never change—and perhaps that was for the best.

A servant appeared with a glass of wine and Lavinia accepted it gratefully and took a sip. It was the perfect distraction from the fact that she wasn’t making of this moment what she knew her father would want her to. He would have insisted that being looked at was a good thing and that any lady ought to know enough to take advantage of it; to strike up a conversation with one of the gentlemen who had noticed her. And Lavinia did know that was what she ought to do. It was just that she found it impossible.

His Grace might have told me to wear the right gown, but he never told me what to do next , she thought, surprised to realize that she felt some unhappiness about that fact. My clothing has never been my problem . Indeed, fashion was the one area in which she felt able to equal her sister, since they bought their gowns from the same shops. The gowns never looked as lovely on her as they did on Edwina, but that wasn’t about fashion. It was just that Edwina was prettier.

She would always be prettier. She would always be more gregarious. It didn’t matter what Lavinia wore. She would always be a paler version of her sister.

“I see you decided to take my advice,” a voice murmured.

Lavinia turned. The duke was there, sinking into the seat beside hers. He looked her up and down appraisingly. “I like that gown,” he commented. “I was right about it.”

“Right about what, exactly?”

“That the color would look good on you,” he said. “It brings out your eyes.”

“My eyes?” When had he noticed her eyes? They had been on a darkened path when they had first meet one another. She had hardly been able to see his face. And since then, they’d had one other interaction—admittedly the one in which he had told her to wear this color, so he must have paid attention to her eyes then, but she could hardly believe it to be the case.

“You have green in your eyes,” he said.

She frowned. “Most people say my eyes are brown.” Muddy brown was a term she had heard used before, and one that made her feel sad and embarrassed, especially when she was compared with her sister—Edwina’s brilliant green eyes were so much more beautiful.

“Green and brown both, depending on the light,” the duke said. “It’s very intriguing to look at.” He gazed at her, as if to illustrate his point, making a study of her face. “It’s a detail you should be drawing their attention to in order to strike up conversation. And wearing a green gown makes the green in your eyes stand out that much more. It invites that examination.”

“Do you think…is that why everyone was looking at me when I came in here?” Lavinia asked dubiously. Surely it couldn’t be. It couldn’t be the case that so many gentlemen had noticed a detail like the green in her eyes that quickly.

“I think they were looking because you’re carrying yourself differently today,” the duke said.

“What do you mean?”

“Yesterday, and even this morning, you moved around as if you thought you were nothing. As if you didn’t expect anyone to see you. But when you walked into this room, you were aware of yourself. And it’s very interesting,” he added. “A lot of ladies who were suddenly self-aware might have looked shy and awkward. You managed to look less awkward than you ordinarily do.”

Lavinia didn’t bother to deny that she usually looked awkward. She knew it was true. “I didn’t do that on purpose.”

“If I had to guess, I would say that you put so much thought into your entrance tonight that you were no longer nervous about it. You found some confidence. Does that feel true?”

“I suppose so,” Lavinia said with a frown. She was unused to anyone knowing so much about her, and it made her feel strange and uncomfortable. “I thought this was about choosing the color that would make me look the best, not about making me the most comfortable in my skin.”

“Can’t it be about both?” the duke asked her. “You asked me why gentlemen looked at you when you came in. If you want my opinion, I would say it’s because of the fact that you seemed so confident. You certainly got my attention.”

Lavinia shook her head. “I can’t believe you can be suggesting that all I need to do—all I ever needed to do—was to walk around with confidence.”

“I’m not saying that,” the duke said. “I’m only saying that it helps. You noticed the difference in the way you were received today. What else do you attribute it to?”

He seemed smug, which made her long to tell him he was incorrect, but she couldn’t see anything factually wrong in what he was saying. “I don’t feel confident,” she managed finally. “Not really. It was just that I forgot to feel nervous.”

“The effect seems to have been the same. And look. One of your admirers is approaching.”

Lavinia whirled. Sure enough, a gentleman was drawing close, an eager expression on his face.

“Good evening, my lady,” he said. “I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure of making your acquaintance.”

Be confident. She didn’t feel especially confident, but if the duke was right, acting confident would ensure that this interaction went more smoothly. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, my lord.”

“Lord Rickenbock,” he said. “And you are Lady Lavinia, of course.”

“How did you know?”

“I asked a few people who you were when I saw you come in,” Lord Rickenbock explained. “I can’t believe I’ve never noticed you before. You didn’t just arrive at the party tonight, did you? You were here yesterday?”

“I was,” Lavinia said. “But it’s no great surprise, I think, that it’s taking some time for everyone to settle in and meet each other. There are so many people here.” She smiled. “I’m glad you came over to introduce yourself.”

“Well, I’m glad I did too,” Lord Rickenbock said. “Would you like to come and join my card game? We have an extra place at the table.”

Lavinia was about to point out that she wasn’t sure it would be polite to walk away from the duke, given that there was only one extra place at Lord Rickenbock’s table, but when she turned to include him in the conversation, she saw that he was gone.

He must have walked away when he saw that someone had approached her. It was the only thing that made sense. His plan to put her in a flattering gown had worked, so he had left.

And Lavinia was sure, in that moment, that this would prompt the end of her interactions with the duke.