Page 38 of The Duke’s Matchmaker

What was he doing here?

This was not what was supposed to happen. The whole thing was supposed to be safe and distant from one another. They were supposed to be going over the instructions for a flirtation, not engaging in a real one.

But the lines had blurred. She was scarlet in the face and he was touching her as if she was something that belonged to him, and it occurred to Nathaniel that if her sisters were to come back in the room right now, they would see exactly what they had expected to see, and exactly what Dorothy had warned him she didn’t want to show them.

Of course they would think this is a courtship. Anybody would!

He dropped his hand to his side and stepped back quickly. Dorothy kept her eyes down to the ground, saying nothing.

“I’m sorry,” he managed, his voice more gruff than he meant it to be. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

He cleared his throat. “I ought to go,” he said. “But will I see you at the Sanford Ball?”

“I…yes. Yes, I’ll be there.”

“Good,” he said.

And then he turned and fled the room quickly, before he could betray himself anymore with thoughtless words or actions.

CHAPTER 20

“Ineed a new hat,” Agnes declared, leading Dorothy and Violet up the road.

“Well, there’s the milliner,” Violet said mildly, pointing the familiar shop out. “Why not go in and see what they can make for you?”

“I do think you’re asking rather a lot,” Dorothy said. “After all, the ball is tomorrow. Do you think they’ll be able to have the hat you’re dreaming of ready for you in time?”

“Oh, I don’t worry about that,” Agnes laughed. “Gabriel gave me plenty of money to purchase accessories for this ball, and we all know the way money can solve a problem. I’m sure the milliner will be able to have my hat ready in time.” She pushed open the door to the little shop and they went inside.

Agnes went to speak to the shopkeeper, and Violet and Dorothy began looking at some hats that Dorothy knew neither of them planned to buy. Agnes might have money for today’s outing, but she hadn’t brought any. That had been a deliberate choice, an attempt to keep herself from spending recklessly. If a lady was going to be a spinster, she had to be very mindful of the money she spent, to make sure she had enough to provide for herself throughout her life. And Dorothy did not need a new hat today.

“So,” Violet said, keeping her voice low. “Are you still spending a lot of time with Nathaniel?”

Dorothy darted a glance at her friend.

“Jonathan mentioned that he had gone to your house,” Violet explained. “That’s interesting, isn't it, that he’d go out of his way to pay a call like that?”

“Don’t you start,” Dorothy groaned. “There really isn’t anything interesting about it, Violet. I’m only helping him with something.”

Agnes had returned. “Violet, you know that Nathaniel will never court anyone seriously,” she said. She turned to Dorothy. “Gabriel says he believes he’s looking for a wife, but Gabriel doesn’t think it’s going to happen. He just doesn’t know how to be serious about anything he does.”

“I don’t know,” Violet countered. “If you think back, Agnes, you were pretty rebellious before you married. And once you met Gabriel, everything changed for you. Perhaps Nathaniel is the same. Maybe when he meets the right lady, things will be different. Maybe he’ll finally decide that he’s ready to do what must be done.”

“Is that what Jonathan thinks?” Dorothy chimed in curiously.

“It is,” Violet said. “Jonathan says that Nathaniel is just a little late to this stage of his life, and that once he finally does find a wife for himself, he’ll realize what he has been missing the whole time.”

“That’s a generous opinion,” Agnes said.

“You don’t care for Nathaniel, then?” Dorothy asked her friend.

“Oh, no, that isn’t what I mean to say,” Agnes said. “Nathaniel is very dear to us. I just wonder sometimes whether he has it in him to reach the next stage of his life at all.”

“Not everyone is meant to marry,” Dorothy said quietly. “Do you think of me as a child because I haven’t done so?”

“Of course we don’t,” Violet assured her. “Agnes was older than you are now when she married, don’t forget.”

“That’s right,” Agnes agreed. “And I haven’t lost hope that it will happen for you one day, Dorothy.”