Matthew snatched it from his hands and said, “A gentleman so recently met should perhaps not have taken such a liberty.”
The YBC members shrank back. Matthew thought he might have phrased that differently. Or not actually torn the card from the duke’s hand. He supposed he had three glasses of champagne to thank for his rashness. But it was done now.
Conbatten looked at him through hooded eyes and Matthew began to wonder if he were on the verge of being called to duel.
“Indeed,” Conbatten said, in a tone so dry it could start a fire.
“Indeed,” Matthew answered, having no possible rational answer. He wrote his name down for supper and handed the card to Beatrice. He hurried away before he was forced to examine her expression, or anybody else’s, too closely.
That had been an unfortunate encounter. However, at least the great Conbatten would find himself foiled in his attempt to secure Beatrice’s supper.
Further, he had not given Conbatten time to challenge him to a duel over the insult. Matthew had always vowed he would not duel until he had sons on the ground. He had no younger brother and it was the stupidest thing in the world to lose an estate to a distant cousin.
*
Darden thought hemust be satisfied that his plan to bring Van Doren and Beatrice together was moving along at a terrific pace. After all, had he not just watched Van Doren snatch Beatrice’s card out of Conbatten’s grip?
On the other hand, he had just watched Van Doren snatch Beatrice’s card out of Conbatten’s grip.
He could not have imagined that anybody would dare cross Conbatten. Now, Van Doren had done the unthinkable.
Conbatten watched Van Doren storm off. He turned to Lady Beatrice and said,
“Your friend seems very hotheaded.”
Beatrice appeared at a loss for an answer, and as well she would be. The last thing Van Doren had ever been accused of was hotheadedness.
“Duke,” the earl said, “Lord Van Doren is our neighbor. He and Beatrice have grown up together and so I suppose he must be given great latitude on account of it. He has always been very protective of my girls, there are five of them you see, and so I cannot fault him for that.”
“He really is a good sort,” Darden said. “When you become acquainted with him.”
Darden noted Conbatten looking to Beatrice to discover what she would say.
“He is…” Beatrice began. “He is…well, he is Van Doren.”
Conbatten nodded, as if that were all he needed to know. He glanced at Beatrice’s card and said, “May I?”
Beatrice nodded and handed it over. Darden noticed none of his YBC members had the nerve to step ahead of Conbatten as Van Doren had just done.
Darden, peeking over at her card, noticed that Van Doren had put himself down for supper. Good show, old fellow!
Conbatten put himself down for the first, bowed, and retreated into the crowd. His YBC members did their duty in putting themselves down for various dances.
Further, they had done an excellent job of pointing out to Van Doren how many admirers Beatrice had. Conbatten had been the icing on the cake, though the duke could not know it.
Somehow, Van Doren had been unconscionably rude to the duke and walked away without earning himself a meeting at dawn.
All proceeded nicely, albeit hair-raisingly.
Chapter Fourteen
Beatrice found herselfvery grateful for the glass of champagne she was handed. What a scene she had just found herself in the middle of!
What had Van Doren been thinking? She watched him now, drinking his own glass as Lady Clara chattered on to him about something or other, and Lady Mary was swimming through the crowd in his direction.
Perhaps he’d had more than one glass already. She had never seen Van Doren in such a temper. Oh, he scolded often enough, and glowered when she and her sisters teased him.
But this was different. To personally assault a duke!
