Hugo moved swiftly to intervene. “As you may have heard, Grandmother, my uncle, Lord Inverhall, passed quite suddenly. It was my duty to bring his widow to London and secure her future.”
The Dowager Duchess’s expression remained icy, but she offered only a tight nod as she produced a feathered fan from beneath her silk shawl, fanning herself with deliberate flair.
“Indeed. A duty, then,” she said, her tone frosty but even. “Very well.”
With that, the four of them—Hugo, Elspeth, Aaron, and the Dowager Duchess—fell into step with the other guests, moving toward the grand dining table in the adjoining room.
Thank goodness, we are seated together.
Elspeth looked at the nameplates with a sigh of relief. She was seated next to the Dowager Duchess and across from the Duke and his friend, Lord Sarford.
Wine was poured into goblets as the first course of pea soup was set before them. A woman across the table and to the Duke’s left, Lady Danbury, leaned forward to address the Dowager Duchess.
“How did you fare at cards the other day, Your Grace?”
“Quite well,” the Dowager Duchess responded as she spooned the soup into her mouth with delicate precision.
“Do you play quadrille, Lady Inverhall?” Lady Danbury asked.
“I cannae say I’ve ever heard of it, Me Lady,” Elspeth replied as she slurped her soup, covering the slight droplets with her napkin. “But I am willin’ to learn.”
“I have always admired the soft, musical lilt of an Edinburgh accent,” Lady Danbury said, her eyes flicking over Elspeth. “Yours, however, is mostdistinctive. Tell me, are you quite certain you will find London Society to your liking? It must feel like an entirely new continent, would you not say?”
Elspeth, her jaw tight, met her gaze. She took in the older lady’s face, as harsh as a cold winter day, with grey eyes and hair piled atop her head, which did her no favors.
She set down her spoon. “As unusual, perhaps, as yer grasp of manners, Lady Danbury. I find London Society quiterevealin’of human nature. Aye, I am learnin’ quite a bit.”
A shocked murmur rippled through the immediate vicinity, while those further away could not hear their conversation.
Elspeth heard snippets of a spirited conversation about the merits of freshwater fishing between the Dowager Duchess and Lord Ashworth, who was a few seats down from her.
Another gentleman, Lord Reginald, chimed in with a deep laugh that jiggled his belly, “One hears such tall tales blow down from the Highlands. Of strange customs and even stranger women.”
Elspeth’s eyes flashed as she looked at him. “And can you imagine, I hear suchtalesfrom London, Me Lord. Of small minds and even smaller hearts.”
“Indeed, you are correct in your assessments, Lord Reginald,” the Duke interjected. “Having just visited, I can say that the Highlands are a land of wild beauty and unique traditions. Lady Inverhall is merely demonstrating the spirited nature of her homeland.”
He shot Elspeth a warning glance, which may as well have been an arrow.
Aye, fittin’ that he is the Duke of Arrowfell. He can shoot as well as any man I have ever seen with just his deep blue eyes.Lord Sarford let out a booming laugh, cutting through the tension. “Speaking of wildness, Your Grace, did you hear about the rogue boar that escaped Lord Grantham’s estate last week? Rampaged straight through his rose garden. I am told his valet nearly resigned on the spot!”
“Oh, yes!” Lord Reginald exclaimed, slamming his glass on the table and sloshing red wine across the pristine cloth. “I heard poor Grantham landed flat on his?—”
“You ought to behave yourself, My Lord,” Lady Danbury said dryly, lifting her goblet with regal grace. “There are ladies present.”
“Indeed,” the Dowager Duchess added, not missing a beat. “This is a dinner table, Lord Reginald, not the stables at Newmarket. Kindly keep your backside anecdotes to yourself.”
The rest of the meal passed without incident, the guests content with their mutton, rabbit, and boiled vegetables. The conversation settled into safer terrain, but the heat simmering across the table remained stubbornly in place. Even the chilled trifles at the end did little to cool it.
Elspeth kept her smile fixed in place, her posture perfect, but her eyes remained locked on the Duke’s across the candles and cut glass. He hadn’t spoken to her directly since the Dowager Duchess’s withering remark, and she hadn’t offered him a single word in return.
She took her final spoonful of trifle and set her spoon down with careful precision, her gaze still steady on his.
If he meant to control her, to parade her, or to pity her, he would find her far more difficult than that.
At the end of the long affair, they returned to Arrowfell House in weary silence. Their bellies were full of rich food, and the remnants of fine wine made the hall feel warmer than it was.
The moment they stepped into the entranceway, Hugo turned to face her, his jaw set.
