Vanessa’s stomach flipped.He is flirting with me!she realized. It was actually happening. Quickly, she tried to think of something to say in response.
“If you think I look good in this, wait until you see the dress that I just purchased,” she said, feeling stupider and stupider with every word she uttered. “It is most fetching on me.”
That isn’t clever and flirtatious; that just sounds like you’re boasting!She tried to keep calm, however, and not let her cheeks burn too much.
The Duke, meanwhile, looked amused. “Is it also covered in bows and feathers?”
“N-no,” Vanessa said indignantly. “It is a very elegant blue silk dress that makes me look like…” she trailed off, suddenly feeling ridiculous.
“What?” he prompted. “What does it make you look like?”
She crossed her arms. “Well, if you must know, it makes me look like a waterfall.”
“A waterfall,” he repeated, his eyebrows shooting up.
“Y-yes.”
“How do you even know what a waterfall looks like?”
“I have seen drawings,” she sniffed. “In adventure books that my father used to read.”
“I see…” The corners of the Duke’s lips were twitching, and Vanessa could tell that he was working hard to keep from laughing.
“Are you laughing at me?” she demanded, her temper starting to rise. “What is so funny?”
“I am just imagining you as a waterfall,” he said. “You know, they are very cold and very strident. Not exactly a compliment if I had to suggest one for a lady.”
“You are laughing at me!” Anger was rising inside of her now, like a storm that she could not control. She knew it was irrational. He was just teasing her. But she felt so vulnerable, here at the milliner’s trying to find a hat and a dress that might make her attractive to him. She was going to such great lengths to make herself confident and desirable, and here he was, teasing her, and not at all appreciating her efforts. It made her furious.
“I am not laughing at you,” he argued, even though he was still smiling. “I think you will be very beautiful in the blue dress that makes you look like a waterfall.”
“See—can’t you hear it? You are mocking me!”
“I am not!”
“Yes, you are,” she growled. “You are smiling at me as if you think I am very pathetic.”
“Cannot a man be happy and genuine at the same time?” he asked, the smile slipping from his face. “If I am amused, it is mostly because I think it very charming of you to describeyourself as a waterfall. Never in my life have I heard a young lady describe herself that way. Usually, young ladies like to be described as flowers. But you… you have chosen something mighty and powerful. That is impressive.”
Vanessa hesitated. She could not tell if he was still making fun of her or not, but as she peered into his eyes, she saw that there was only tenderness there.
Perhaps he wasn’t mocking me after all,she thought.Maybe he was only trying to flirt with me as well.
The thought made her stomach churn with nerves and excitement.
“Let me take this off,” she said, and she undid the ribbons of the bonnet and set it down where she had taken it from. She also put the fan down next to it. “I was only trying those on because I thought it would amuse Miss Redding and Lady Selina.”
“And were they amused?” he asked.
“I think so.” She smiled tentatively at him. “I very much like your cousin, and Lady Selina is very wonderful as well. She makes me think of the kindly, supportive mother I never had.”
The Duke laughed. “Then you must spend as much time with her as possible.” He offered her his arm, and she took it. The moment her arm slipped around his, she felt a shiver go throughher. Even though she was wearing gloves, his magnetism made her whole body tremble.
Mouth dry, she let him lead her out of the milliner’s shop.
“Why were you looking for me?” she asked, once they had stepped outside.
“Oh, I wanted to tell you that we have been invited to a ball next week,” he replied. “I thought it would be important for us to attend, and perhaps you might even order yourself a new dress so that you can feel like your new self at your first ball as Duchess of Thornfield.”
