Page 78 of Courting the Wrong Duke

“How perfectly rehearsed,” Rosalind murmured.

William followed her gaze toward the young couple seated two tables away. “You have noticed them?”

Rosalind smiled over the rim of her teacup. “They have not looked directly at one another for nearly five minutes.”

“And yet neither has stopped smiling.”

“They are approaching the part where he compliments her bonnet.”

William looked back at her, one eyebrow lifting. “You are predicting the future now?”

“Not the future.” A mischievous smile tugged at her lips. “Only courtship.”

As though determined to prove her correct, the young gentleman gestured toward the lady's bonnet.

William laughed. “Remarkable.”

“Wait.” Rosalind leaned forward ever so slightly. “Now she'll insist it is terribly unfashionable.”

“She'll protest the compliment.”

“She must.”

Right on cue, the young lady blushed, shook her head modestly, and appeared to dismiss the praise entirely.

William stared for a moment before looking back at Rosalind. “I stand corrected.”

She bit back a laugh. “Now watch the couple by the window.”

William obediently shifted his attention.

An older gentleman sat listening with every appearance of perfect concentration while his wife spoke animatedly beside him.

Rosalind sighed dramatically. “He has not heard a word she's said for the last minute.”

William studied the man. “No?”

“Not one.”

“Then why does he keep nodding?”

“Because in precisely three seconds he will realize she's stopped speaking.”

William grinned. “Three?”

“Three.”

Together they counted beneath their breath.

“One...”

“Two...”

“Three.”

As if on command, the gentleman nodded gravely and offered what was almost certainly a completely unrelated reply.

William laughed outright. “You've done this before.”