Page 14 of The Duke’s Wager

Gareth immediately took the stretched-out hand, shaking it vigorously. Lucy could see the thinly veiled contempt on her father’s face. The handshake was too excited, too wild – not at all what Henry Beaumont would expect of a suitor.

It lacked control.

Gareth did not notice this. He spoke quickly and eagerly, desperate to impress the intimidating man.

“Pleased to meet you, my lord. I am Gareth Goodwin, the Earl of Scarborough.”

“Ah.”

It took a mere syllable for Lucy to realize the extent of her father’s dissatisfaction, and she took an involuntary step back.

Surely he would keep his temper in check? After all, they were at quite a prestigious event and the Earl was on his list of safe people to speak to.

“Lord Scarborough, would you mind terribly if I spoke to my daughter? We have something to discuss.”

Lucy glanced up into Gareth’s vacant gaze. He would not stay – not if the Earl of Birchrook requested him to leave. Few people would. As she had expected, Gareth quickly left with a nod in her direction and a swift reminder of their impending dance.

He was barely out of sight when Henry grabbed her wrist harshly.

“What are you busy with?”

Lucy tried to yank her wrist from her father’s grip, but it was no use – the harder she pulled, the tighter he squeezed. She winced when the grip tightened further as he spoke, punctuating every single word.

“I asked you what you were busy with.”

“We were just talking… he asked me to dance, and…”

“And he filled in your dance card, did he not?”

This could not have been the problem. He had made it clear that she was not to reject dances unless the offer came from someone on his forbidden list.

“Yes… He filled it in.”

“Then you move on and speak to the next person! You do not spend the entire time talking to one person.”

Lucy took a deep breath, hoping to calm him down.

“I apologize. I was…”

It was no use – her father was furious. He twisted her arm painfully and she winced. She knew she had to keep from screaming in pain lest she drew attention to them.

If she did not behave as he expected now, what would wait for her at home would be far worse than anything he could do in a banquet hall.

“Father, I am sorry, I…”

He did not offer her the opportunity to speak – he was far too enraged.

“You make your rounds. You speak to those with influence – not hone in on one little Earl. What did I tell you about more than one dance with the same man?”

“I only offered him one dance!”

She whispered it desperately, but he was deaf to her pleas.

“This is no place for silly games and little romances. You know that. You are meant to make connections that will improve our family’s standing, and while a dance with an Earl is perfectly reasonable – and expected – you wasted far too much time and attention on him!"

There was only one response that could possibly placate him, and Lucy knew that. Still, the words tasted bitter as she spat them out.

“Yes, father.”