“Ladies and Gentleman,” Mr. Drewton called from his place on the raised platform. “I would like to officially welcome our distinguished guest, His Grace the Duke of Rowland, as well as his party including his Uncle, Mr. James Vaughan, and His Grace’s very good friend, Colonel Hugh Jasper. We are deeply honored to have you in our midst this night and unspeakably grateful for your generous donation,” he added with a wave to the food table.
Loud applause erupted around the room. Lady Louisa was finding that this type of public event was vastly more energized than what she was used to.
“Now that we all have sufficiently visited and had our fill, I believe it is time to invite the band to start playing,” Mr.Drewton said amid more cheers from the crowded room. “Now,” he continued. “Naturally we wish our most esteemed guest, His Grace the Duke of Rowland, to open the dance floor for us. I am happy to announce that joining him on the floor will be the lovely Lady Louisa Frasier.”
All eyes searched around the room for the lady mentioned. Lady Louisa rather felt like hiding underneath the buffet of food. The Duke, ever the efficient man in his duties, stepped out onto the dance floor.
His eyes scanned the room for just a moment before they fell on Lady Louisa. She couldn’t help but feel the flutter of excitement as his face relaxed into a smile. In just three steps he seemed to cross the whole of the dance floor and stood before her with an outstretched hand.
Rather reluctantly, Lady Louisa took it. It was hard to distinguish the surge of emotions in the room right at that moment. For her, it was embarrassment and a new tingling sensation in her stomach she had never experienced before. For the ladies next to her, and Louisa dare thought, the rest of the room, it was indignation and jealousy.
She took his hand despite the silent prayers around the room that she wouldn’t, and allowed him to lead her to the center of the room. It was probably the first time in her life she found herself in such a place, with so many eyes upon her.
“I do apologize for drawing you into this predicament,” the Duke said softly for only Lady Louisa’s ears. “Had I considered the reaction my presence would cause, I would have been more adamant in my absence.”
Both parties readied themselves for the first set, and the band began the music. For the most part, it wasn’t much different than the sets that Lady Louisa had danced back home. Ordinarily, first dances were lively music, and she was sure the present song playing was of the fastest she had ever heard.
On his part, the Duke held his head up high and smiled graciously to all around him. Lady Louisa was a little shocked by how different his whole countenance seemed to be in this setting. Even his smile didn’t seem to match the few she had seen in their last two meetings. Instead, it seemed to be painted into place and without much feeling.
Finally, others were invited to join in on the jig dance and happily did so. Lady Louisa did notice that Miss Elisabeth had already secured a partner for this first dance and managed to find a way right next to the Duke and herself.
“You don’t look as if you are enjoying this much,” Lady Louisa said after the dance settled back into the rhythm of the steps with the floor now crowded.
“Why would you think such a thing, I am very much enjoying myself,” he responded, though he never seemed to look directly at Lady Louisa.
Instead, his eyes moved over the crowd, and his speech was very diplomatic. She studied the man before her as if she was seeing him for the first time.
He stood the height and dressed the part of a Duke in his elegant black jacket and perfect cream knot. His black hair was combed back perfectly and tied with a ribbon. Whereas before, on the road, his eyes could have pierced to the very core of her, they seemed now milked over and shaded by a facade.
“What swayed you to come tonight?” Lady Louisa asked.
“My uncle,” the Duke replied honestly. He gave a smile of relief and for the first time since they started the dance let his eyes drift over his partner. “I am afraid he is most insistent that I begin my search for a match
tonight. Even gave me a long list of dance cards to put my name on.”
“So you are here to appease your uncle?”
“In a way, yes. In another, I suppose I do need to begin
my search for a companion. A dance is a choice place to start.”
“You have already won over so many with your donation. I suspect no girl will deny you her card this night.”
He looked away shyly. Lady Louisa was unsure if it was embarrassment or shame though.
“It was just one of those things expected of me. You know how it is, you must behave in a particular way when in public.”
“I suppose to an extent that is true,” Lady Louisa agreed. “However, is it not also important to be yourself when looking for a life companion? I may only have had short meetings with you in the past, but I fear that the man before me is not the one I chanced to run into before.”
“Well, of course not,” he blurted out. “I can’t be. A Duke has certain expectations put upon him. I cannot be myself.”
“I understand the necessities of polite society,” Lady Louisa pressed, “but certainly you can’t say that you feel the need to alter your person so much? Certainly, that is no way to find a wife. How would she know the man she is intended to marry?”
“I am pretty sure it is the only way. No lady wants the true man. They want the title, status, and they expect the man attached is their ideal Duke. You must be doing the same. Certainly, you find yourself acting in a vastly different manner between casual and public settings?”
“Not at all, I must confess, Your Grace. I don’t know if I would like myself much if I was ashamed to show my true self in public,” Lady Louisa said in honesty.
She supposed the Duke must have taken her words as a slight since his eyes seemed to narrow down on her. She, in fact, was just speaking the truth of her nature. She was a plain, shy girl and no matter her circumstance she had long since learned that hiding her person was not a worthy cause.
“I would have expected a woman to understand my meaning, but perhaps not. Is it not true that a woman’s whole existence involves putting on a different face than the one God gave? For certainly that must be what the hours of embellishing is for. Not to mention the accurate uses of coy language, all in the hopes of ensnaring one's goal.”
“I beg your pardon, Your Grace, but I no more speak coyly than I embellish myself. Perhaps you have the wrong idea of the female sex, or are in the market for a lesser breed.”
“Do you think so highly of yourself then? Too good for the tactics used for hundreds of years by your foremothers?” he shot back.
“I neither think highly of myself, Your Grace, nor do I lower my standards to that of superficiality and lies of allusion.”
The song was finally coming to an end. She was very disappointed to learn the true character of the Duke. At this moment, he seemed no better than Miss Elisabeth. Clearly, he was just as manipulative and deceitful: wearing a mask in order to trick a lady toward his end goal.
“I wish you the best of luck in your endeavors, Your Grace, but I fear this is where we must part ways. I don’t think I would be much help to a gentleman who insists on presenting a lie.”
The Duke’s mouth opened in shock at her accusation. His eyes grew cold and hard as he looked down at her. “I believe that must be for the best. I dare say I could not
find company in someone so critical.”
“Honesty may be critical, but it is still that: honesty,” she shot back with more vigor than she normally possessed.
He was truly irritating her. How he could live such a duplicitous life with one seeming so deceitful and the other so enjoyable, was unimaginable to her. Perhaps it was the folly of a handsome member of the ton to feel the need to be so conniving. That indeed was the case for Miss Elisabeth.
For the first time in her life, Lady Louisa saw her plain, humble features as a blessing. It may have caused her years of torment in her youth. It may have robbed her of any chance of making a match herself. But at the very least, it pushed her through the fire and brimstone of life. She had been molded into a better lady for it, known who she was, who she was not, and had no need to pretend for the sake of others.
The Duke of Rowland was utterly thrown by the woman before him. She seemed so hypocritical in his eyes. Being a lady of society, proved in itself that she behaved just as he was behaving this night. In fact, it was how any human being acted.
Certainly, every person in the world catered their attitude to fit the company they were presented with. She, however, had gone even lower than that. She had lied about her identity altogether when they first met.
That would certainly warrant more vicious words than his behavior.
At the beginning of the dance, he had such high admiration for Lady Louisa. Now he was seeing her in a new light. She was just as pompous as all the other ladies he was required to choose from.
As the dance finished, he bid her a final good evening without so much as a soft glance, and she scarcely did the same before he deposited her back at her aunt’s side. He suspected that Lady Hendrickson was eager for him to stay and chat with her a while and in truth, he probably should have for politeness’ sake.
He was in a rather cross mood. He had a feeling it had less to do with his kindled anger against the lady and more to do with his wounded pride. She had pointed out a fact that had already been an irritant to him.
He despised the mask he was required to parade around in. It was one of the reasons why he had stayed away from England for so long. Naturally, they had first left in his early boyhood so that he could gain some experience of the world.
In his young age, however, he had already experienced much of the duplicitous nature of those around him. They seemed only to say the things he wanted to hear. It was infuriating that he couldn’t possibly trust anyone apart from his uncle, or his close friend Jasper, for the truth.
Perhaps it was just the fact that it was a lady that had spoken words that he had not been expecting in a place such as this, or perhaps it was because it was a woman he could not quite understand. He knew deep down that her words were the truth, however. They were words he would have spoken himself to another, had the situation been the same.
None the less, his hurt pride was too much to forgive this night. He didn’t stay to speak with Lady Louisa or her aunt, but instead excused himself promptly.