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“Since you don’t believe you will be here for an extended period, she suggested we bring in a tutor for the boys and a governess for Sarah. I will work with Ellie and Lucy to get them ready to make their bow. And you, of course.”
“Me?” William asked softly.
Victoria shifted in her seat as if ready to leave at any moment. Rarely exposed to the upper crust of Society, Elizabeth knew that speaking with the duke must make her friend feel uncomfortable.
“Your Grace, if I may?” Victoria paused, waiting for confirmation.
“Yes?”
“You and your sisters must be ready to face them,” Victoria whispered.
“Face who?”
Victoria looked beseechingly at Elizabeth.
“The ton, Your Grace,” Elizabeth responded for her friend.
“Ah, Society. The English way of keeping people in their place,” he sneered.
“Hardly,” Elizabeth retorted. “Society is what makes us…” She stopped, realizing what she’d almost said was exactly what he had referenced. “Society is the social fabric of England. Our friends are in Society, our future husbands and wives must be in the same social tier.”
“Or what?” he asked softly. “Does the world end if someone takes a wife beneath him?”
Before Elizabeth could reply, Kenneth appeared at the threshold with a frown on his face.
“Your Grace, Baron Humphrey and his wife are here to see you.”
He glanced at Elizabeth and said, “Should I know them?”
Elizabeth felt the color from her face drain. “They are your cousins.”
“I see. A courtesy call to welcome me.”
Elizabeth couldn’t keep her head from shaking. How could she have forgotten to warn him about Caroline and Richard? Thinking upon it, she wondered why it took them two days to get here. A little smile formed as she thought about their reaction to the news. They must be so put out by this development.
“Oh?” he asked.
“I must warn you that they were attempting to take over the estates before you came.”
“Then I believe you should greet them with me.” He rose from his seat and walked over to Victoria. After bowing over her hand, he added, “You are welcome in my home anytime, Miss Seaton.”
“Thank you, Your Grace.” Victoria paused and glanced over at Elizabeth.
“The children’s tutor?” Elizabeth asked.
He looked at Elizabeth and said, “We will discuss that later.”
Elizabeth nodded. Now she had to prepare for more manipulation, or rather, flirtation, to get what she wanted. She hated the idea that she was using her wiles in such a dreadful manner. But she had no other choice.
William waited for Miss Seaton to leave before questioning Elizabeth. “Is there anything else I should know about the ba
ron?”
She looked away from him. “He feels he should have been named heir.”
“Very well, then.” He asked Kenneth to show the baron into the salon. After watching Elizabeth’s ashen face, he realized there was something she wasn’t telling him. And he was determined to find out what she was hiding.
An older man with graying hair walked into the room, followed by his very pregnant wife. They both stopped and stared at him before remembering their manners. The baroness curtsied deeply and murmured, “Your Grace.”
