Page 4 of The Duke’s Matchmaker

“No, I think it’s a fairly exhaustive list,” a gentleman’s voice said from within. “This is nearly every unmarried woman in the ton.”

Dorothy drew back, startled.

Someone was making a list of every unmarried woman in the ton?

She would be on such a list. They’d have included her name.

“Nearly,” another voice spoke. “Certainly all the ones I think are suitable for you to consider…I left off a few spinsters, of course, but there wouldn't be much point in pursuing someone like that when so many young ladies are vying for your attention.”

But what was the purpose of this list? Why would a man do such a thing? Unless he was…plotting conquests, perhaps…but no. No well-bred gentlemen would sit around doing that in the middle of a party. She must have misunderstood.

Even so, she couldn’t rid herself of the squirming discomfort at the pit of her stomach. She felt as though she had nearly walked in on something obscene. Suddenly, she found herself wishing she had remained in the ballroom, that she had never come near the library. She wouldn’t have chosen to hear this sort of talk if the decision had been up to her. It made her shiver to think that she was on these men’s list.

Well, whatever they’re planning, I just won’t have anything to do with it, she told herself firmly. They could write her name down all they wanted, but nobody could force her to be involved in any schemes. Her friends were certainly learning that.

But as she turned and hurried away from the library, she couldn’t help wondering who the men she had overheard were. Scoundrels, no doubt…but who?

Perhaps that question was what led her to pause and conceal herself within the drapes over a nearby window. The library door opened a moment later.

“There’s no one out here,” a voice said.

“I thought you said you’d heard something?”

“I did hear something. But whoever it was, they’re gone now. They must have run off.”

“Or you imagined it.” A laugh. “Come on, let’s go and get some drinks while there are drinks left to get.”

The men walked off down the hall.

Dorothy peered out from behind her curtain, but she didn’t recognize them from behind. She’d waited too long. With a sigh, she slipped into the library. Might as well get a look at it while she was here.

As she stepped into the room, she frowned. There was a piece of paper sitting on the floor. Surely not…

But her instinct turned out to be right. As she drew closer, she saw that it was a list of ladies’ names. Those careless fools had simply dropped it on the floor and left it here! Had they actually managed to leave it behind accidentally, or was this some sort of intentional trap—a part of their scheme?

She picked up the piece of paper. There at the top was a heading: “Potential Brides for Nathaniel.”

Nathaniel?

Dorothy only knew one Nathaniel. He was the Duke of Henshaw and a close friend of Agnes’ and Violet’s husbands. But while she’d grown to like Gabriel and Jonathan, she had never felt any particular fondness for Nathaniel. She had never spent much time with him.

Apparently he’s the sort of man who would do something like this!

She scanned the list, shaking her head at his audacity. There were notes on the list in addition to the names. Notes about ladies’ looks. This one had too many freckles, according to Nathaniel, and another had a big nose. Not all the notes were unpleasant. Some were complimentary—pretty eyes or nice smile. But they were all about people’s looks.

When she came to the bottom, her eyes went wide.

Her name wasn’t on it! He had listed so many ladies—virtually all who were available to marry. But he hadn’t included her! Not that she wished to marry Nathaniel, of course. The idea was laughable. But even so…who was he to leave her out like this?

Before she had time to think about what she was doing, she had folded the list and tucked it into her pocket.

He thinks he can dismiss me so casually? I’ll teach him a lesson. I don’t know how, but I’ll find a way.

“Aren’t you going to come and look?” Dorothy’s eldest sister, Honora, waved the scandal sheet in her direction.

Dorothy didn’t look up from her book, though she wasn’t taking in the words. She didn’t want her sisters to see how interested she was in the day’s scandals—how eager she was to see their responses.

Abigail snatched the paper from Honora’s hand. Though she was the middle child of the three, and usually the most even-tempered, nothing excited her like a bit of gossip. “I wonder if anything good happened at the ball last night,” she said keenly.