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What looked like a dozen stone fire bowls illuminated the Corinthian exterior and the perfectly tended lawn. Statues stood between the tall columns as if they had been charged to guard the place, and every window sparkled like a gemstone. Diana wished she could capture the view in a painting.
“Do come on!” her aunt urged from the top of the stairs, and Diana hurried up to meet her. At the door, Margaret said to the majordomo, “Baroness Dervin and Miss Florence Dervin.” Diana was not surprised to find her name left out. In fact, she was rather relieved. Hopefully, it would cause her to draw fewer stares when she finally entered. They joined a long line of guests in the long hall that led to the ballroom but were moving very slowly.
“I wish those at the fore of the line would hurry,” Florence huffed.
“Patience, my dear.” Margaret fanned herself slowly. “The duke will still be in the ballroom when we reach.”
Unlike everyone eager to enter the ballroom, Diana instead admired the arched ceiling from which three crystal chandeliers hung and the marble leaves that decorated the top of the columns lining the hall.
They entered the ballroom, at last, and an apprehensive feeling crept into her stomach. Her eyes flickered about the ballroom to ladies chattering behind flitting fans, and judgmental gazes came her way. And for a moment, she felt vulnerable again, like two years ago at the ball. Was the incident still fresh in everyone’s memories as it was in hers?
She pushed the feeling down as curiosity overcame her and her eyes fought to see beyond an amassed crowd at the center of the ballroom. A small gasp escaped her throat when a pair of hazel eyes met and held hers. The dark-haired man they belonged to was a short distance away from her, and was so handsome he could make a woman swoon. She presumed he was the duke because he was surrounded by several ladies and gentlemen who seemed ready to lie on the floor if he asked them to.
“Mother, is that the duke?” Diana heard Florence ask.
“Yes, my dear,” Margaret replied, “Duke Matthew St. Wulfstan.”
Diana froze, her heart beginning to pound in her chest. The man whose eyes were still upon her was Matthew, and he was now a duke. Suddenly breathless and afraid, she turned on her heels.
Chapter 3
Matthew stopped listening to what one of the gentlemen around him was saying the instant his eyes found a lovely tawny-haired lady who had just walked into the ballroom. With a look of horror plastered across her face. For when she had met his eyes, her pale blue eyes enlarged, and her pretty lips parted.
She had him transfixed, and he became greatly tempted to walk up to her and introduce himself, which surprised him because he had not felt anything for any woman since leaving to take up arms. Her brows drew slightly as if she was wondering why he was staring at her, and he felt any movement would cause her to flee like prey escaping its hunter.
The urgency in his blood made him inhale sharply, and just as he decided to go and seek answers to this conundrum, she turned and darted out of the ballroom, looking dismayed, and puzzling Matthew.
“Smile,” Albert whispered beside him, and he blinked. “I believe that is Baroness Dervin coming to be introduced to you.”
Mathew’s gaze shifted to the stout woman approaching him with a tall fair-haired young lady. He took a breath, hoping they would not engage him in conversation as many people had attempted to this evening. The crowd around him was growing and the boundaries of his comfort were being pushed toward the edge.
“Lady Dervin, Your Grace, and her daughter, Miss Florence Dervin,” Albert introduced. He had taken up the task of introducing guests to Matthew whom he was not acquainted with, and Matthew appreciated his assistance.
Although he had been acquainted with the late Baron Dervin, he had never met his wife until now, and he politely inclined his head as the ladies curtsied. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, my Lady, Miss.”
He raised his eyes to the ballroom doors, hoping he would see the lady in the blue and silver dress. She was not there, and he was still confused about her sudden entrance and departure from the room.Is she well?he wondered.
“Your Grace, thank you for inviting us, and we are very pleased to see you rejoin society,” Lady Dervin said, and Matthew winced inwardly. This was just the sort of conversation he disliked. His breathing quickened, and he knew he was growing anxious of what was likely to follow.
Nodding, he said, “Of course, Lady Dervin. Please excuse me. There is a matter that requires my attention.”
The guests gathered around him parted when he stepped forward, and Matthew headed straight toward the ballroom exit. He needed some time alone, even if it was a minute, to recompose himself. Another unfortunate thing he had brought back with him from the war was an inability to stay long in crowded rooms.
“Matthew,” Albert called when he stepped out into the hall.
Matthew turned around to see his friend walking toward him with the help of a cane. Like him, Albert had wounds that had forced him to retire, and they had gone through every horror on the battlefield together.
“Are you well?” Albert asked, his dark eyes filled with concern.
“I require some time alone,” he replied, his voice slightly hoarse.
Understanding, Albert nodded. “Take as much time as you require. I shall give the guests your excuse.”
“Thank you.” Matthew watched him limp back to the ballroom before he turned and continued down the hall. When he reached the end, he took the corner on his left and was walking past the portrait gallery when he caught sight of blue and silver. The rhythm of his heart changed, and anxiety was slowly transformed into curiosity.
He walked into the room and sawherstanding before a painting of the castle. Even her back was lovely, and when her tawny hair brushed her neck as she moved her head, the urgency he felt before returned. He took a step toward her and she turned around, arresting him with those powerful blue eyes.
Diana’s second surprise came when she turned around and saw Matthew in the gallery, and she thought her heart would beat out of her chest for how nervous she was.
