Page 34 of The Duke’s Matchmaker

“Abigail, do stop that,” Dorothy sighed, but her heart fluttered with nerves. What if her sisters realized that Nathaniel hadn’t been seen at the party after she had disappeared from it? They didn’t seem to have made that connection thus far, but if they did, would they suspect that the two of them had left together? And if that was discovered…well, what might it lead to?

She couldn’t be sure. She only knew that she wouldn’t like the outcome.

Nathaniel managed to laugh it off. “You’re quite right,” he told her. “I did rather hope that Dorothy and I would be able to spend more time together. You may have noticed that I changed my seat at dinner to be nearer to her.”

“I did notice that,” Honora spoke up, her eyes narrowing shrewdly. “I would have thought you’d want to keep the seat you were assigned, as it was near some very lovely young ladies who I know to be seeking courtship. But perhaps that wasn’t one of your priorities that evening?”

“I can’t say that it was,” Nathaniel agreed carefully.

“But that makes it sound as if perhaps you have someone you’re already interested in, Your Grace.” Abigail’s eyes cut briefly to Dorothy, who felt as if she might sink into the floor in embarrassment. “Is it true?” Abigail went on. “Are you engaged in a courtship? Because I haven’t heard anything about such a thing.”

“Abigail,” Dorothy said. “If the duke is courting someone and hasn’t announced it publicly, he’s hardly likely to declare it to us privately.”

“Unless there’s some reason he ought to tell us,” Honora chimed in. “Perhaps there’s someone you’re interested in, Your Grace, and you’d like to tell us about it? I can assure you we are a willing audience.”

Dorothy wanted to let out a groan, but she kept it in. “Will the two of you please excuse yourselves so that the duke and I can have a moment to speak?” she asked.

“Dorothy, we want to get to know him better, too,” Honora said imperiously. “Your perception of things isn’t always the most astute, you know. It’s to your benefit to rely on us, because we have more experience in these matters.”

“In what matters?” Nathaniel asked.

Dorothy panicked. “That’s enough,” she said firmly. “Honora, Abigail, step out of the room now, please, or I will be the one to leave, even if it is rude to my guest.”

She meant it, and she could see that her sisters knew it wasn’t an empty threat. The smiles dropped from their faces. After only a moment’s hesitation, they both moved toward the door, leaving it open just long enough to admit a couple of chamber maids to join Nathaniel and Dorothy in the room.

Nathaniel was looking at Dorothy with some admiration. “I guess you really don’t let anyone tell you what to do,” he said. “I didn’t realize you were so stubborn.”

“I’m stubborn when I’m right.” She walked over to the chaise and sat down gingerly. “They were causing trouble that we didn’t need.”

“So what were they after?” Nathaniel sat down too. “Asking all those questions about me, and about my prospects?”

She stared at him. “You truly don’t know what that was about?”

He shook his head. “Should I?”

This was difficult to believe. How could it have escaped him, when Honora and Abigail were being so blunt? Surely he was smart enough to understand what they’d been getting at?

But then again…maybe he wasn’t. She didn’t think Nathaniel was a foolish man by any stretch, but she had seen for herself how unaware he was when it came to matters of courtship and of the heart. Perhaps he truly didn’t realize what Honora and Abigail had been suggesting.

And he did ask me to help him with this sort of thing. As embarrassing as it is, I suppose I have to tell him.

She sighed. “My sisters believe that you and I are engaged in a courtship.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Truly?”

“Well, we have been spending a fair amount of time together,” she pointed out. “Of course, you and I know that it’s a ridiculous notion, but my sisters…you can see how they might get the wrong idea.”

“Why is it a ridiculous notion?” He frowned. “Do you find me so ill-suited for courtship?”

“Of course I do,” she returned. “You and I have no interest in one another. I don’t even have an interest in marriage, and as for you, you’ve said yourself that you’re only marrying out of a desire to find a mother for Colin. A worthy aim, of course, but my sisters are completely wrong about their perception of what’s happening here.”

“Wrong, yes,” Nathaniel agreed. “I wouldn’t have said ridiculous, though. You make it seem as though the idea of a courtship between the two of us is laughable in your eyes.”

“Not only my eyes,” she told him. “Can you imagine what the ton would have to say about it?”

“They do always seem to have something to say,” he agreed. “No matter what couples form, comments arise. Why would you and I be any different, though?”

“We’re very different,” she assured him. “You know the way I’m advising you on which ladies you ought to court and which you ought to disregard?”