Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

Putting On A Show

L eah tried not to let the words affect her. She was not fully sure the Duke had been serious when he suggested it, but she could tell by his tone that he was.

It is a small price to pay for everyone to be happy.

"How should we do this?" Leah asked.

Why does the thought of being alone with him bring so much pleasure? Everything is an act to get what he wants, including me!

"Follow my lead and be spontaneous," the Duke told her.

"What does that mean?" Leah asked.

The Duke turned to her as they walked and winked. He let go of her arm and approached the seated guests.

"What does that mean?" Leah hissed after him.

"You all made it!" the Duke exclaimed. "Wonderful! I trust the walk out here was fine for everyone."

"It was most pleasurable," Ernest replied. He stood up to shake the Duke's hand.

Leah knew her father. She loved her father dearly, but she knew how he functioned. Everything and everyone was a business deal to be done. She and the Duke might be pretending in front of everyone to show they were a good match, but her father was doing the same on his end. He respected the Duke but showed that he was not a weak man—a man who deserved more than his station. He would get that with the two families going together.

"Let us have some tea and juice," the Duke ordered.

The maids obliged, including the one who had dropped the juice earlier. Tea was poured into delicate china cups and lime cordial into crystal glasses. Four tiered platters had been arranged on the table while Leah and the others were by the aviary. Triangular sandwiches filled the large bottom plate of the towers with cakes, pastries, and macarons covering the upper plates.

"Miss Moore!" the Duke boomed. "Please, will you come be by my side?"

"Oh," Leah explained before nodding and walking over to the Duke.

Solomon quickly took her hand and stared deep into her eyes. Leah immediately blushed even though she didn't know what was going on.

"My dear, I owe you the sincerest of apologies."

"Oh, no, you need not apologize," Leah replied, unsure what he was apologizing for.

The seated family guests all stared at the couple, enjoying the entertainment that came with the delicious food and drink. Leah was enamored again as if a declaration of love was coming, while Ernest remained stoic, ready to help broker any deal that was being made. Christianna was the only one who looked impassive.

"I must apologize fully, for it has been weighing my mind a lot over the past day or two. When we took our walk through my grounds, and our chaperone became lost, I saw how upset you became. I took your feelings lightly, and that was not gentlemanly of me."

"I… I don't—" Leah began.

"You need not say a word, my dear. Who knows what people might think of us being alone in the woods together." The Duke took both of Leah's hands and turned to face the two families. "I wished to kiss this fine woman in the woods alone. How could I not do that when she is so beguiling? Alas, nothing happened between us. Miss Moore is far too ladylike for that to happen, and I am trying to be as much of a gentleman as I can."

Leah's heart beat faster and faster, and she tried to stop her lips from twitching as she smiled politely. She stared at the Duke, unable to bring herself to look at anyone else.

"I apologize for not comforting you after the fact. You have never been put in that situation, and I could have taken advantage of you. It must have been upsetting."

"Y-yes, it was," Leah managed. "You need not worry about my feelings."

"Oh, but I do," the Duke declared. "And when you came to my study last night to visit me alone—" The Duke swept his gaze across the two families. "Again, we kept our distance when we were alone. I do not want anyone to think there is more to it than there is."

Leah's heart was beating furiously as she tried to keep her composure.

"Sir, your daughter came to me to discuss my feelings in this time of transition and to ask what she could do to get to know me better," the Duke added.

"And did you get to know her better?" Gilbert asked.

Solomon shot his brother a look that caused Gilbert to lean back and almost tip back in his chair immediately.

"You must excuse my brother," Solomon stated. "I am apologizing for myself and my brother, it seems. I thought this would be a simple apology, but it has become more and more complicated."

Leah saw her father glaring at her. She tried to mouth something to him in her defense.

Ernest stood up. "I will apologize for my daughter. She should not have approached you alone in your study."

"No, my dear," Augusta said, standing up. "I am the one who should apologize. I raised Leah to be a lady, and I have not done a good enough job. Will you accept my apologies, Your Grace?"

"No, I must be the one to apologize!" Gilbert boomed as he got to his feet.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at Gilbert. Leah was glad for that because she couldn't help but smile. She took one of her hands from the Duke to cover her mouth, hoping the smile would disappear.

"What are you apologizing for, Gilbert?" the Duke asked.

"I haven't the faintest idea," Gilbert admitted. He looked around at everyone as if he were in the zoo looking at the animals. "I figured that we were all apologizing, and I didn't want to miss out. I don't think I have anything to apologize for, but this is a group-sharing exercise, isn't it?"

The Duke stared at his brother in disbelief. Leah's hand was not enough to stop the laugh that came from her. She gave one guffaw before gasping and then chuckling some more before clamping her hand over her mouth.

Ernest glared at her daughter, and Augusta looked shocked. Leah looked from person to person. The Dowager Duchess maintained her stately composure, and the Duke and his brother both looked amused. When Christianna broke into a smile, Leah could not contain herself any longer, and she burst into a fit of laughter.

The families watched her laugh for a full twenty seconds before she composed herself enough to apologize.

"I apologize," Leah said. That only set her off some more, and she burst into more laughter. "I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!" she spluttered through the laughter.

Christianna giggled with a high pitch, and the Duke beamed with glee. Gilbert purposely didn't smile or laugh, pretending he was above it all. When the Dowager Countess started giggling in a slightly lower tone than her daughter, Augusta joined in with her own titters.

"I don't understand what is going on," Ernest said. Still, he smiled as he got caught up in the merriment. He didn't fully laugh, but it was the most relaxed Leah had ever seen him.

"I don't know if anyone knows what is going on," the Duke admitted.

That sent everyone into more bursts of laughter. Leah even noticed some of the staff doing all they could not to laugh along with everyone. Leah worried for a moment that the maid holding the glass pitcher of lime cordial would drop it. Thankfully, she made it to the cart by the windows and could put it down.

"So," the Duke said once the laughter had calmed. "Perhaps I should wrap this up. I never meant to cause such a scene, but it seems I have done so. I only wanted to stand up here and apologize to the lovely Miss Moore for any wrongdoing, and I admit that any is my own fault. I will leave the rest of you to apologize for your own faults." The Duke took both of Leah's hands again. "I also want to add that we have not had much time together yet, but I have enjoyed what little time we have had, and I look forward to spending much more time with you and, of course, your family."

Leah waited a moment to make sure the Duke was finished and that no one else would add anything or burst into laughter before she replied. "Thank you, Your Grace. It means a lot to me to be promised to a man who knows how to treat a lady. I strive to be ladylike in all I do, and you make it easier for me to do so. I also look forward to spending more time with you."

The Duke leaned forward and kissed Leah delicately on the cheek. She could not help the flush that came to her cheeks, and she lost herself in the moment again. Leah knew they were acting, but something about the way they had spoken to each other felt so nice. If she could choose the relationship she was in, she would choose to be with someone who acted like the Duke when the Duke was pretending to charm her family.

Leah looked at Bridget first when the Duke let go of her hands. Bridget was not smiling; her lips were pursed, and there was a keen look in her eyes. She looked at Leah and only gave a slight nod. It was a nod of approval and meant a lot more to Leah than any besotted look or silly grin.

"Miss Moore, would you like to sit with us for a while?" Christianna asked.

Leah was shocked into silence for a moment at the invitation. It felt for the first time that the Duke's family were accepting her.

"Yes, please sit with us," the Dowager Duchess added. "We have some Queen cakes over here with extra currants."

"Oh, no! She better not!" Augusta exclaimed quickly.

"Mother!" Leah snapped.

"I am only thinking of your wedding day, my dear," Augusta replied. "Too much cake, and you will not fit into your dress."

"What my mother means," Bridget added quickly, "is that Queen cake is my sister's favorite. She does very much love Queen cake, and there was a time when we were very young when she?—"

"Bridget, we don't need to tell that story," Leah warned.

"I wasn't about to add the part where you vomited all over the new sheep-skin rug," Bridget snapped.

Leah rolled her eyes and wished the ground would swallow her up.

"Leah, eat the cake with our hosts," Ernest demanded. "It is only polite to accept what you are offered as a guest. If you are too large for your dress, we will have the dressmaker take it out a little."

"Father, I will not be too large for my dress. Now, I don't know if I should eat cake or not."

"No, you should," Gilbert quipped. "And lots of it. I want to see what happens."

Leah brought her hands to her cheeks, unable to reply. Solomon was suddenly at her side. He took her arm and guided her toward the table where his mother and sister were sitting.

"Would you share a piece with me?" Solomon asked. "I am not sure I can manage a whole piece to myself."

"Yes," Leah breathed quickly. It felt as if the Duke had ridden into battle and downed her foes before riding off with her to safety.

"Very well," the Duke said, guiding her to a chair and then sitting on the one next to her.

Solomon took a slice of Queen cake and lifted it onto his plate before cutting it in half. He positioned the plate between them.

Leah was hesitant, especially when she saw everyone watching her. She picked up the half slice of cake and took a small bite before putting it back on the plate. The simple act eased the tension, and the families began chattering. She noticed the birdsong and chirps again and wondered if the birds had taken an interest in the proceedings and been silent until that moment.

"The cake is delicious," Leah admitted after taking a second bite. "I will admit that Queen cake is a weakness of mine, and I have tried many slices in my years, but this is among some of the best I have tasted."

"Thank you," the Dowager Duchess replied. "It was my grandmother's recipe. She made it when I was a small child. I ate a lot back then but managed to keep it all down." There was a twinkle in her eye.

Leah smiled as she took larger bites. "I shall do my best to curtail my cravings." She looked quickly at Christianna and then away again as the Duke's younger sister smiled and looked down at her plate.

The Duke took the last piece of his small slice and popped it in his mouth. He brushed his hands together and wiped the corners of his mouth with a napkin.

He stood and put his hands up before him. "I will have no laughter this time, but I must apologize for my upcoming absence. I have work to attend to and must retire to my study for the remainder of the afternoon and evening. Gilbert shall join me shortly, so please try to enjoy his company for now."

Ernest stood up. "Thank you for this wonderful spread. We will enjoy it long into the day."

"Appreciate that, Lord Prevost." Solomon held his hand out to Leah. "Will you accompany me to the doors?"

Leah took his hand and was lifted to her feet. "Of course, Your Grace."

She could feel the eyes of her family and his on them as they walked together.

"I thought that went rather well," the Duke said when they reached the doors and were out of earshot. "You were very believable."

"As were you," Leah replied. She had to remind herself that it was all an act.

"I will be in my study for the remainder of the day, and once Gilbert leaves later tonight, I shall be alone. When the house has gone to sleep, I request your presence. I trust you will have no issues making it to the study. I performed extremely well in here, and I expect you will perform extremely well later."

Leah had gone to him and made the deal, and it was right that she upheld her end of it.

"I will be there," she replied.

"I look forward to it," the Duke replied.

He looked back at the families one more time before he left the building. Leah watched as the door was closed from the outside by the footman, and then she watched the broad back and shoulders of the Duke as he walked away.

She could admit that there was some excitement in her stomach at what would happen with the Duke in his study, but there was disappointment there, too. What point was there having intimacy with someone she did not care for and who did not care for her?

The most fun she'd had with the Duke since arriving at his estate was pretending they had feelings for each other.