Page 11 of A Duchess for his Family

There was so little humor in his face that it took her a moment to detect it. When she did, her anxiety loosened by a thread.

“I see,” she nodded just once. “And what did you wish to say?”

The dance separated them. Sophia turned beneath another gentleman’s raised arm, then returned and found the Duke’s eyes fixed on her with disconcerting attention.

“My nieces have spoken of little else since this afternoon but you.” His voice remained controlled, but something warmer moved beneath it. “They are not usually so enthusiastic about strangers.”

“I think Marjorie is enthusiastic about many things.”

“Danger, chiefly.”

“And Amelia?”

His expression shifted. “Amelia is careful with her affections.”

Sophia thought of the quieter twin’s anxious hands and solemn eyes. “Then I am honored, if she has spared any for me.”

“She has. They both have.” He paused as the dance required them to part once more. When they came together again, his voice was lower. “That is why I wished to ask whether you would consider visiting Rivermere Hall from time to time.”

Sophia stared at him. Only the structure of the dance kept her moving.

“Visiting?”

“For the girls’ sake,” he clarified. “They would enjoy your company. Amelia, I believe, would benefit from someone who understands books without making her feel dull for loving them. Marjorie…” He exhaled in what was almost a sigh. “Marjorie appears to have decided you are a person of courage and therefore worthy of her highest regard.”

Sophia’s heart gave an odd, tender ache. No one, outside her family, had ever asked for her company as though it might be of use.

“I hardly know what to say,” she admitted.

“Then do not answer now.”

“But—”

The final notes of the dance rose and resolved before she could form the rest. Sophia curtsied, feeling strangely bereft, as if the music ended before the conversation had even properly begun. The Duke bowed, then offered his arm. She took it, conscious that the entire walk back across the ballroom would be watched. The young ladies near the flowers were no longer smiling. Miss Vane’s fan moved very quickly.

When they reached the edge of the room, the Duke paused.

“I shall call tomorrow. You may give me your answer then.”

Chapter Four

“Sir Jonathan’s wine was better than his musicians,” her father observed in the carriage on the way home.

“Henry, wine is not the measure of an evening,” her mother replied.

“It is one measure.”

“The company was the measure, darling,” she pointed out. “The dancing, the conversation.” She glanced across the carriage. “Sophia, wouldn’t you agree?”

Sophia frowned. “About the wine?”

Her father amusedly coughed into his glove.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake… You are not listening to me at all.”

“I am,” Sophia protested.

“Then tell me about your dance with the Duke of Rivermere,” her mother asked with dangerous serenity.