AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Edwina slumped on the sofa with a heavy sigh. "You will pay for that, Rowan," she vowed. It was all she could do not to throw a pillow in the direction of the door he exited through.
Your engagement is fake. You should not be intimate, her mind’s voice reminded her.
Kitty returned then. If she had arrived any sooner, she would have found Albert about to kiss her. There was nothing to be ashamed about because it was just Kitty but she was unaware of her arrangement with him.
“There is going to be a Welcome Soiree tonight, Edwina,” she told her. When she noticed her sullenness, she asked, “What is the matter?”
"Did he bring me here to make my life more frustrating than it already is?" Edwina grumbled. She was anything but looking forward to mingling with the Duke’s guests tonight.
"What are you talking about?" Kitty asked, sitting beside her. A knock sounded on the door just then and Kitty offered to check. When she opened the door, two footmen walked in with large boxes that they set down in the center of the room.
“What is this?” Edwina asked.
“They are from His Grace,” one of them answered.
Chapter Seven
Dressed in a green-velvet dress with gold embroidery that Albert had provided for her, Edwina made her way downstairs to meet the guests as the Duke’s fiancée. She had been reluctant to wear the dress but Kitty had encouraged her.
And this was just one dress out of the seven that the footmen had brought earlier. He must have spent a fortune on them. Danny’s efforts were rewarded when Albert saw her in the grand foyer. His eyes sparked with pleasure at the sight of her.
“Do you like my gift?” he asked, taking her hand and kissing her knuckles before tucking it into his elbow.
“I would not have worn it otherwise,” she returned, smiling slightly.
“Are you impressed?”
“Not quite.” He laughed.
The soiree was being held in the gardens and he kept her close to his side the entire time as he introduced her to his guests, most of whom she was already acquainted with. They all appeared pleased to see her with him and Edwina inwardly winced.Such hypocrisy, she thought as she plastered a courteous smile onto her face to conceal her frustration. They would smile at her now and talk nonsense behind her back.
"Are you having a nice time?" he asked, steering them in the direction of the refreshments table.
"A marvelous time, yes." She was suffocated by the false show.
"Has anyone ever told you what an atrocious liar you are?"
"Youhave," she said, her tone bored.
"I cannot have the lady of the evening in a sour mood. Do cheer up, Darling. I have a reputation to uphold."
Edwina bit down the urge to ask him if all he was concerned about in that instant was his reputation. It was unlike her to be this irritable and she was lost as to why. "You have an impressive garden. Kitty was in transports when she saw it." She tried to change the subject. "I should like to explore it sometime. I am told the moonlight does wonders to it."
She immediately regretted her words, however, remembering the person she was talking to. She did not want him reading a different meaning into her innocent words. "Indeed, it does," he drawled, his eyes moving down her body.
Just then, a gentleman she recognized from the introductions to be Lord Casper approached them, expressing his regret about his need to steal Rowan from her for a short while.
Grateful for the solitude to collect herself, Edwina turned to the food on the table. Her solitude was short lived, however, because Kitty joined her. "You have to try the cheese and pickle sandwiches, Edwina," she said. “Everyone is talking about them.”
Edwina looked around the table in search of said sandwiches. She found the last one on a platter and started to reach for it. “I believe I saw that first,” came a gentleman’s voice from beside her. She did not recall seeing him during the introductions.
"I beg your pardon?” She looked up at a very handsome face. It also looked vaguely familiar but she could not recall it.
"What would I get in return for relinquishing my sandwich?" The gentleman flashed a debonair smile.
"It was never yours," she challenged.
"Such spunk over a piece of sandwich?" Something about his manner reminded her of Albert.
