“Something is the matter. Come, tell me what is wrong?” Diana caught the way Martha and Alice exchanged glances, and her eyes narrowed even further. “Is there something I should know about?”
“Nothing at all. I shall return to the ball now. It was lovely to see you again, Diana. I do hope that now that you are wed, we shall see you more often.”
With that, Elizabeth turned on her heel and walked away. Martha gave a small smile before hurrying after her.
“Her husband is often away from home as well,” Alice explained quietly. “Though not on business. That is Arthur there.” She gestured into the ballroom, and Diana caught sight of the man at once.
A coxcomb. It was immediately obvious. The way he leaned in just a little too closely to the women around him. The way he spoke to the women and not to the gentlemen nearby. And there was something about the smile on his face…
“She is not happy in her marriage either?” Diana asked, though she wondered how anyone could be while married to such a man.
“It is said he has a mistress. And that he is bold enough to have her sleep in his own home.”
At those words, Diana felt her heart harden even further.
Three women she had known.
Women with great potential and ambitions. And all three wed. And now look at them. Reduced to this.
She would never allow that to happen to her. Married she might be, but she would not allow it to destroy her in such a way.
“Diana?”
She raised her head sharply at the sound of her name, her shoulders pulled back and her eyes hard as she stared at the man who was now her husband. The man who she had, for a moment, thought might be an acceptable choice…
“Your Grace.” Alice immediately bobbed a curtsey.
Matthew spared her a cursory bow before she scurried away.
“Would you be so kind as to join me in a dance, Duchess?” Matthew asked, reaching out a hand toward Diana.
She hesitated for a moment before placing her hand in his. “Of course, Duke,” she replied politely, but her voice was cold and sharp, something he no doubt noticed as his eyes narrowed in confusion before he led her back into the ballroom.
As his arms wrapped around her and they began to move in the familiar steps of the dance, Diana held herself stiffly, ignoring every attempt on his part to initiate conversation, determined that whatever happened, she would not allow herself to become a broken woman like her friends. What every married woman of the ton was.
Women married and they lost themselves. Some by choice, others by necessity. Some, like Alice, convinced themselves that they didn’t care what they lost. Others, like Martha, attempted to hide their unhappiness from others. And others, like Elizabeth, barely seemed to care what others knew.
Diana would not become that. Would not allow that to be her, no matter what else might come her way.
Chapter Eight
Something had changed.
After the ceremony, Matthew had wondered… He had thought perhaps things wouldn’t be as bad as he had originally thought. But then Diana suddenly became cold and distant.
Still, this was for the best.
He knew better than to allow any form of feelings to sneak into his heart. And for a woman, no less. When they had finished their dance, each went their separate ways, and he ignored her for the remainder of the evening.
Speaking with the gentlemen was at least something that could be advantageous, though he had never had much opportunity to speak to these particular men before. At least, not often.
But he might as well get some business connections out of this if he wasn’t going to spend the day with Diana.
Another glance in her direction, but she seemed to be studiously ignoring him. Her back turned to him as she made the rounds.
So he turned to the men before him.
“You are Lord Pemberton, are you not?” he asked a gentleman who nodded sharply.
