“Isn’t that wonderful?” Mother kept smiling. “Why don’t we have a cup of tea together?”
She stepped away from Alexander. “Your Grace, would you mind if I have a very, very quick word with my mother?”
He clasped his hands behind his back, looking every inch the duke in his stiff posture. “By all means.”
Her shock vanished the moment she was a few yards away from the duke and was replaced with…confusion? She didn’t know.
“Well done, darling.” Mother patted her cheek. “Why are you upset? Please smile.”
She frowned. “Does he look blond and in a green suit?”
Mother blinked and took out her lorgnette from her purse. “He’s slightly different, yes, but the distance played a trick on me.”
“Mother!”
“Lower your voice.” Mother put the glasses in her purse.
“Why don’t you wear lorgnettes all the time?”
“They make my eyes look odd. Why all this fuss? Does it matter what the colour of his hair is?”
“When I met him, I didn’t think he was the duke,” she said, trying to control her voice. “And you said everyone called him The Great.”
“Yes, Alexander the Great. Didn’t I mention that? Oh, it doesn’t matter now. Don’t leave him on his own for too long before Minnie sees him.”
“But, I?—”
Mother took her hand and returned to the duke. “Duke, perhaps we could take a stroll.”
“Of course.” His tone sounded flat, but his obsidian eyes flickered towards Esther for a moment.
They barely took a couple of steps before Mother sighed dramatically.
“Forgive me. I have to…talk to…” She gazed around. “My husband is over there. Please, do go on. I’ll join you in a moment.” She trotted away towards the vicar.
“That’s not Father.” Wasted breath. Mother had already gone. And she was alone with Alexander the Great, which was Mother’s not-so-subtle plan.
He cleared his throat. “So you’re the daughter of the Earl of Ponsonby.”
“So you’re the Duke of Richmond.” A note of annoyance crept into her voice. “You should have told me. Instead, I made a fool out of myself.”
He raised a dark eyebrow. “Who asked me not to break the spell?”
She feigned a confidence she didn’t feel. “Well, it was something I said because I didn’t think you were the Duke of Richmond.”
“Does it matter?” he asked in a low tone as they walked through the daisy bushes.
“I don’t know. It depends. Did I make a fool out of myself?”
He flashed a charming smile. “Not in my opinion. Quite the opposite. It was nice to have a normal conversation with a lady who wasn’t after my title.”
“But your title is why my mother wanted to introduce us. Doesn’t that bother you?”
“No.” He stared at her with so much sincerity she felt it on her skin. “Because it was obvious you didn’t like being forced. I appreciated that.”
“I didn’t expect you to be so understanding.” She sipped the lemonade.
“Why?”
