Page 54 of The Duke’s Matchmaker

“She’s a friend of mine,” he said. “A good friend.”

“I see.” Lady Amanda nodded slowly, processing those words. “Your Grace, I would like to see you again,” she said. “You were very kind to call on me today, and I’m enjoying this outing. But I only want to see you if you want to see me. Is that fair?”

“It is,” he assured her. “And I do, Lady Amanda. I’m eager to get to know you better. May I call on you again?”

“You may,” she said, smiling slightly.

It hadn’t been a lie. He did want to continue to see her. This could lead the way to the marriage he had been hoping to find. She could be Colin’s mother. After only one day together, he could see that Dorothy had been right. She would be a fine choice.

But he couldn’t escape the turmoil in his heart as they continued their promenade. He couldn’t stop wondering what Dorothy must be thinking right now…and what that strange tension in her face might have meant.

CHAPTER 27

“Dorothy, that’s the third time I’ve asked you a question and you haven’t answered,” Agnes said, closing her book and setting it down. “Where are you today? You aren’t here with us, that much is clear.”

“Leave her be, Agnes,” Violet said. “Something’s on her mind, that’s all, and she’s allowed to have her thoughts to herself.”

“She might as well tell us, though,” Agnes said. “Perhaps we could be of help.”

Dorothy sighed, leaning back in her chair. The truth was that she’d contemplated not even coming to today’s book club meeting. Though she usually looked forward to these events as the highlight of her social calendar, today she wanted to be on her own. She wanted solitude and quiet and a chance to ponder the strange things she’d felt when she had seen Nathaniel in the park with Lady Amanda.

There was no good reason for the way she had reacted. She should have been happy to see it. She was the one who’d suggested Lady Amanda would be a good match, after all, and she still believed that to be true. Lady Amanda was kind and sweet, and she would make an ideal mother for Colin.

So why had it stabbed her in the heart to see Nathaniel taking her advice?

For some reason, all she could think of was the picnic. Not the moment afterward, when it had seemed as if he was going to kiss her—though that would live in her mind forever, she was sure. But it was the moments outside, watching Colin together, that haunted her.

He wanted me to come around again. To continue spending time with him and with Colin. But I suppose now that will have to end. Lady Amanda wouldn’t like it.

“I’m all right,” she told her friends, who were still waiting expectantly for some sort of answer. “Really, I am. There’s nothing to worry about, I promise you. I just feel a bit tired.”

“No,” Agnes said. “It’s more than that. Something is on your mind. You keep turning and looking out the window as if the sky is going to give you answers. Dorothy…” She leaned forward. “We’re your friends. Whatever it is, you know you can tell us.”

It occurred to Dorothy that she probably could.

And it would be good to tell. It would feel good to let someone know what she was feeling. She wouldn’t have to carry it alone. It would be like letting go of some of the horrible tension that was bottled up inside her, making her feel as if she might burst.

She closed her eyes. “I think perhaps I may have become a bit…enamored of Nathaniel.”

There was a silence. She opened her eyes. Her friends were staring at her.

“But this is marvelous news,” Violet said. “You and Nathaniel? Oh, that’s perfect, Dorothy, could you imagine? The three of us married to three best friends? No one could have written a happier ending! Does he know? Does he feel the same way about you?”

“I don’t know what he feels,” Dorothy said. “But…it can’t continue. I don’t want it to continue.”

“What do you mean?” Agnes asked. “I know Nathaniel can be a bit cold sometimes, Dorothy, but you must know as well as any of us that he’s a good man. He’s kind, and he cares for the people he loves. You couldn’t do much better, really. I’d say he’s an ideal choice for you. You ought to let him know of your interest somehow. If you’d like, I can tell Gabriel and have him speak to Nathaniel.”

“No!” Dorothy sat bolt upright. “No, you mustn’t! You must neither of you tell your husbands about this. Promise me that you won’t.”

“Not if you don’t want us to,” Violet said.

“But, Dorothy…”

“No,” Violet told Agnes firmly. “We won’t tell anyone if she doesn’t want us to. We ought to respect her wishes that much, Agnes.”

Agnes hesitated, then nodded. “I suppose you’re right,” she said. “But, Dorothy, you ought to let us tell. Don’t you want Nathaniel to know? If you admire him so, he needs to know that so he has a chance to return your affections.”

“No,” Dorothy said again, firmly. “I don’t want him to return my affections, Agnes. I don’t want any sort of relationship with him.”