Page 23 of The Marriage Wager

Certainly she did not feel comfortable with him. He did not speak for some time, and she was glad, for she was concentrating upon her steps, feeling that it would be far worse to stumble or make a wrong move with this man than with any of the others who had partnered her this evening.

He, apparently, did not find the silence unusual. She supposed he was accustomed to the effect he had on people. Nor did he make any effort to ease the situation; he simply watched her with that vaguely unsettling black gaze.

“I see that Lady Haughston has taken you under her wing,” he said at last.

His words startled Constance a little, as she had grown accustomed to their lack of conversation.

“Yes,” she answered somewhat cautiously. “Lady Haughston is quite kind.”

Constance did not understand why the Duke was dancing with her. Surely he must realize that his asking her to dance would raise her social standing immeasurably, which could only help Lady Haughston’s plan for her and therefore increase the possibility of his losing the bet. Perhaps he was simply curious about her, or maybe the bet was, for him, such an insignificant amount that he did not care. But she could not help but worry that he had some ulterior motive in dancing with her, that he hoped to gain some knowledge from her or trick her into doing something that would ruin her chances in Society.

A faint smile touched his lips, and Constance had the suspicion he knew the direction of her thoughts. “Indeed,” he said, a wry twist in his voice. “I have heard that she is.”

Constance glanced at him, wondering a little at his tone. She was unsure whether the Duke and Francesca were friends, mere acquaintances or perhaps even enemies. It was difficult to tell; she had quickly discovered that in the beau monde, the most vicious of enemies often smiled at one another like the dearest friends. Even the ladies who ruled Almack’s together often made mercilessly unkind remarks about each other.

The Duke asked her then where she was from, and she told him, explaining that she lived with her aunt and uncle.

“And are you enjoying your time in London?” he went on.

“Yes, thank you. Very much. It has been a great deal more fun since I met Lady Haughston.”

“That is generally the way.”

It was, Constance thought, the most prosaic conversation one could imagine. She still could not understand why he had asked her to dance. Certainly it had not been for a scintillating discussion.

“If you follow her ladyship’s advice, you will do quite well, I am sure,” the Duke continued.

“I hope so,” Constance replied, adding, “I would not think that would suit Your Grace, however.”

She was surprised at her own daring, but frankly, she was growing a little tired of the way they had tiptoed about the subject that connected them.

He raised his brows in a way that she was sure dampened most pretensions. “Indeed? And why would you think I wished you ill, Miss Woodley?”

“Not ill, precisely. But I am aware of your bet with Lady Haughston.”

“She told you?” He looked surprised.

“I am not entirely stupid,” Constance retorted. “And it is a trifle difficult to make a new woman out of someone without revealing what you are about.”

“I suppose it would be,” he commented. Constance was almost sure that she had seen the flash of a smile in his eyes. “And you are agreeable to her plan?”

“I do not expect that Lady Haughston will win her bet,” Constance told him. “I am not counting on that. However, I found the idea of a Season…appealing.”

It definitely was a smile this time, for it touched his lips, if only briefly. “Then I hope it will turn out to be so for you, Miss Woodley.”

They finished the dance in silence, though Constance thought that it did not seem so uncomfortable anymore. When the waltz ended, the Duke escorted her back to Francesca. Francesca, however, was about to take the dance floor herself. Constance glanced around, thinking that she should seek out her aunt. She had been having far too enjoyable a time to even think about her aunt and cousins, and she felt a trifle guilty about that fact.

As she looked over the room, she caught sight again of the young woman whom she had seen staring at her so balefully earlier in the evening. She was no longer standing with her mother but was walking out onto the dance floor on the arm of Lord Leighton.

Could it be that the young woman had been looking at her with such dislike because Lord Leighton had danced with her earlier? It seemed rather absurd, Constance thought; they had, after all, merely danced one waltz together. Still, she could not deny that she was feeling a certain pinprick of jealousy herself as she watched Leighton take the floor with another woman.

In any case, there was nothing that she could do about the matter, she thought, and she tried to put it out of her mind as she continued looking for her aunt and cousins. She strolled through the room, winding her way around the small clumps of guests. She was vaguely surprised at the number of people who nodded to her or bowed. Some were men whom she had met and danced with earlier, and she recognized a few women who had come up to talk to Lady Haughston, as well, but there were several others whom she was rather sure she did not know at all. It was amazing, she thought, the influence that Lady Haughston’s friendship brought.

As she circled around a large group of people standing and talking at the edge of the dance floor, she saw her uncle’s family at last. She made her way over to them, noting that her aunt was watching her with a grim expression. Constance sighed inwardly. It was clear that Aunt Blanche was not pleased with her; she presumed that the woman was still smarting from their argument the day before about Constance’s attending the party with Lady Haughston. Aunt Blanche had not tried to stop her, wisely realizing how foolish it would be to cross Lady Haughston, but Constance was sure that she had thoroughly disliked not being in control of her niece’s actions.

Constance greeted Aunt Blanche with a smile, but the older woman was having none of it.

“Well, so you have decided to grace your family with your presence at last,” Aunt Blanche said sourly. “But then I suppose we are not nearly important enough for you now. Lady Haughston and her friends are all you care about.”