“Don’t be an ass, Durward, how wouldyouknow if it was?”He grinned to the company in general, and then, more broadly, to Tabitha.“You’ll never guess who is with Lady H.”
“You are right,” Tabitha murmured.
“Who?”asked Lily naively.
“The Duke of Death.”
It was so totally unexpected that Tabitha’s stomach bumped.Lily paled.
“He isn’t real,” Lily’s new friend, Amelia scoffed.
“Of course he is real,” Barty said.“I saw him at Oxford once.”
“So did I,” Durward said.“The year I left.”
“Is he in a bath chair?”someone asked.
“No, on his legs,” said Carily, grinning, “although a puff of breeze through the closing front door did almost blow him over.”
“What on earth brings him here?”Miss Saunders wondered.She carried with her the superior confidence of a successful Season in London.“Surely Lady Hawthorn did not invite him?None of the hostesses do so anymore because he never comes and no one has ever met him anyway.”
Lily was gazing at Tabitha, her eyes stricken.
“It makes no difference,” Tabitha said to her, which had the effect of soothing Lily and baffling the others.“His grace is Lady Hawthorn’s guest,” she said vaguely.
“Is he staying, then?”Lily’s friend Amelia asked eagerly.After all, an unmarried duke at the party raised the stakes for everyone, but particularly those in the marriage mart.
“I have absolutely no idea,” Tabitha said, just as Louisa led a gentleman out of the French window onto the lawn.
A ripple of excitement was spreading around the garden, via the listening dowagers and those who had overheard Carily’s announcement.All eyes had turned on the two figures strolling out into the garden, some more surreptitiously than others.The commotion was subtle but definite, as mamas positioned their daughters to attract attention either by walking in the duke’s path, or sitting at a table with an invitingly free chair beside it.A buzz of conversation swelled, like an approaching swarm of bees.
Tabitha did not watch the progress.She made some remark to one of the chaperones, which began a trivial conversation in which she had no interest, while her mind spun a whole web of questions.Why had he come?Could it possibly be for her?Had he missed her, or solved the mystery of Smith and decided to keep his word about telling her?
Or had he come for Lily?God knew that was the likeliest answer.He was doing the right thing, and he would find her at her best.Whether Lily would forgive him his deception or not was another matter, for Tabitha had told her nothing about her late-night conversation at the Headless Horseman.
“Come on Durward,” Carily said, grinning as he rose gracefully to his feet.“Let’s blow the reed over.”
“Not I,” Durward said lazily.“Always curious to meet a living legend.”
“Only just living,” Carily drawled.
One of the younger men chuckled and rose with him, attracted, no doubt, by the atmosphere of a schoolboy prank.And Tabitha suddenly panicked for Jack, who had never been to school, had known only a very sheltered version of university life, and was entirely unused to society of this kind, to snakes like Carily.
She did not even question her suddenly clear opinion of Carily.He had always been a snake.He even moved like one.She just hadn’t cared until now when he could surely destroy Jack’s social credibility and any burgeoning self-confidence.The urge to protect him took her by surprise.
At least Louisa was bringing him this way.At last, she turned her head and her breath vanished.
There was no sign of the diffident young duke, escaping undue attention in worn riding dress.Just for an instant, she even thought it was not Jack at all, but some imposter, or Jack had lied to her about that too.
But no, these were Jack’s refined, almost delicate features, his pale face and his smooth black hair, although it had been cut into a smarter style.His slight frame was encased in a superbly cut blue coat and elegant pantaloons, perfect for afternoon visiting.His cravat was snowy white and well if plainly tied, fastened with a simple gold pin.And he was not even looking at her.
His eyes cold and indifferent like the rest of his face, he gazed around the garden or upon his hostess whenever they spoke.
Lily said, “But that’s...”
Tabitha leaned into her, digging with her elbow, and Lily trailed into silence.Fortunately, everyone else’s attention was on the duke, because Louisa, as Tabitha’s friend, had brought him to meet her first.
“Goodness, so many introductions to make!”Louisa said, coming to a halt between the chaperones’ table and the young people’s blanket.“Your grace, allow me to present Lady Sark.”
