Chapter 14

CHAPTER14

Jane bought a new dress for the occasion. Its high waist accentuated her perfectly round breasts although its length was more than appropriate, flowing all the way down to her new shoes which she also purchased especially for this occasion. She particularly fancied the lace embroidery that adorned the gown wonderfully, and its color, the bluest of summer skies, only seemed to emphasize her pale complexion.

Upon seeing her descend from the main staircase, the Duke was stunned into silence. Secretly, she felt a pleasant pang of victory, of self-satisfaction, of having achieved something she did not even know would bring so much delight.

“You…” the Duke spoke, breathless, as her delicate little foot left the final stair, only to join him by the main entrance. “You look absolutely stunning.”

“Thank you, Your Grace,” she said with a respectful curtsy.

He frowned. “No, no, no. That shall never do.”

“What?” she asked, looking down, wondering if he found a fault with a gown she thought perfect.

“Your Gracing me,” he explained. “I have a name. A perfectly fine one, and I beg you to use it.”

“Leonard,” she named him.

He still didn’t seem pleased. “I am certain that you can do better than that, Jane.”

She liked how he said her name. Loved it, in fact.

“Leo?” she asked. He instantly beamed.

“That is much better,” he nodded. “If we are to convince the ton that we are desperately in love with each other, we might as well start with referring to each other by shorter versions of our names.”

“But I do not have one,” she noticed, her lips pouting without her even meaning to.

“Yes,” he pressed his finger to his chin, pretending to be brooding about something. “In that case, you shall be… darling.”

She immediately remembered that he already called her that, and she urged him not to. Judging from the words he spoke next, he remembered it as well.

“I hope you won’t stop me this time,” he said mischievously.

“Well,” she dared to be mischievous herself, “that depends on how you say it.”

She listened to him chuckle out loud, and at that moment, she believed it to be the most melodious sound in the world. She wondered what it would be like to pretend that they were in love, that they only had eyes for each other and no one else. In a way, she was already there. She doubted she would see anyone more interesting, more intriguing than him at the ball. It would not be pretending at all.

“I will say it very nicely,” he said, offering her his hand, signaling that they should get going.

“In that case, I shall be your darling… for the night,” she added quickly, afraid that he might take it to mean from now on.

Perhaps, it wouldn’t be such a bad thing at all, she thought to herself, to be his darling from now on. Those were the thoughts that occupied all the space inside her mind as the carriage took them to their destination. He would occasionally glance in her direction, smiling. She would return the smile, expecting him to talk, but he didn’t. She welcomed the silence, the mere presence of him by her side. Strangely, that was all she wanted right now.

As soon as they arrived at the ball, right before they entered through the main door, he took her by the hand and stared straight into her eyes.

“Are you ready?” she heard him ask as he squeezed her hand conspiratorially.

“Yes,” she said. As ready as I’ll ever be. But she wisely kept those words to herself. She wanted him to think that she was as brave as he was, as dauntless.

Together, they entered. She could not even pretend not to realize that all eyes were on them. Ladies leaned over to those next to them, whispering, not taking their eyes off of Jane and Leo. They mesmerized the entire audience, including the hosts who approached to greet them. Jane felt like a very important guest, and the fact that her husband would not let go of her hand even for a single second made her feel even more confident that this evening would go even better than she thought it would.

“Would you care to dance?” he asked as the first sounds of the orchestra music were heard.

“Yes,” she said, thinking that if she told him she would love to, she would reveal how truly overjoyed she was. She wanted to keep it as a secret.

He took her to the center of the ballroom where they joined the other dancers. Her trembling hand never left his. At this moment, she could not imagine not touching him, not feeling the warmth of his skin against hers. Such a reality did not exist in her mind. She didn’t want to speak a single word right now. All she wanted to do was get lost in his eyes and allow his hands to lead her, for she would follow him anywhere.

He seemed to be able to read her mind. He did not speak a single word. He merely returned her gaze, all the while that mischievous smile did not leave his lips for a single second. She wondered if this was all pretense… on both of their parts.

It had to be. It was their arrangement for this evening, was it not? They were both merely pretending to be in love. None of it was true. Not even a bit.

And yet… her heart believed it. Every little bit of it. Every look that he bestowed upon her, ever smile, every tender touch burned inside of her, and she feared that was where it would remain forever more. She returned them with equal fervor, but hers was not pretense. Could he tell the difference, or did he think that she was merely as good an actor as he was?

Those were the thoughts that swirled inside of her as her body did the same in his arms. He danced beautifully—not that she was surprised. The Duke of Dunton did everything as it was supposed to be done… apart from asking his future bride to marry him in the right way. She had almost forgotten that. Almost.

She could barely hear the music through the turbulent sound of her thoughts, and then, they stopped swirling. It was as if the magic had ended too abruptly. Her hand was still in his. That was some comfort among the staring eyes which questioned their every move, their every word, their every glance.

“Why don’t we get something to drink?” he suggested. She nodded gratefully.

As soon as they approached the refreshments table, he asked her what she wished to drink. She was about to tell him that her preferred drink of choice was ratafia which only pretended to be mild and for a lady of good standing while, in fact, the recipe demanded brandy, champagne, gin, cherries, oranges, and as much sugar as one could take. However, she was not allowed to share her choice with him because she immediately noticed a man approach him from him behind and familiarly put his hand on Leo’s shoulder.

Leo twitched in surprise, turning around, only to smile.

“Ah, Seth,” he greeted someone with whom he was obviously on good terms. “I wasn’t certain I would see you would come.”

“And miss the opportunity to meet your blushing bride?” The man named Seth eyed Jane as he spoke a little too familiarly. She did not like it, but she endured his gaze. “She is quite fetching, I must say. Good choice, old boy.”

“Don’t mind Seth, Jane,” Leo smiled, taking a stand right next to her as if that mean that it was them against whoever was on the opposite side. It made Jane feel strangely comforted. “He is just too outspoken sometimes.”

“What?” Seth shrugged. “I see a beautiful lady and I must tell her how beautiful she is. Sometimes they do not know that, you see.”

“Yes,” Leo shook his head disapprovingly although he seemed to be amused. “Jane, may I introduce a very good friend of mine, Lord Seth Follet, the Marquess of Huntington.”

“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Jane smiled, curtsying as she did so.

“I assure you, My Lady, the pleasure is all mine,” Seth grinned at her a little too mischievously, but she attributed it to the fact that the two were such good friends. She hesitatingly offered him her hand which he grabbed then brought to his lips, lingering on her bare skin a little too long for comfort.

Then, Seth turned to Leo. “I hope you don’t mind, old boy, but I would like to be seen dancing with such a stunning beauty. She might be a magnet for others.”

And before either Leo or Jane could say anything, Jane was whisked back to the center of the ballroom and made to dance without even being properly asked to. Seth was gripping at her hand a little too vigorously, and he stood too close to her. She tried to endure it all for Leo’s sake.

“I am so sorry I missed the wedding festivities,” Seth apologized as he gazed at her as if endeavoring to see right through her. “I would have attended them, but you see I was out of the country. Still, I am thrilled to see that Leo has gotten such a lovely lady for his bride.”

“Thank you,” she said, thinking that perhaps she had misjudged this man. Perhaps it was merely his manner. After all, hadn’t Leo said that he was a little too outspoken? Jane liked outspoken people. One knew what to expect of them. Seth was merely outspoken as well as a little careless in his choice of words. Not the worst combination one could be in possession of.

“I would love to have you as my guests the following week,” he suggested. “My mother has been like a second mother to Leo, and she would also love to meet you.”

Jane smiled. “I am certain that we could all arrange something.”

“Splendid,” he grinned even more widely as he swirled her around to the sound of the music.

Jane started to feel a little more relieved. She had been too uptight. Not everyone was out to get her. Not everyone was an enemy. Perhaps not even those who initially were against her were still of the same opinion.

When their dance ended, Seth returned her dutifully to her husband, but she noticed that Leo wasn’t in such a good mood any longer. She wondered if something had happened while she was dancing with Seth. Perhaps someone had told him something? She was adamant to find out.