“The point is...I believe myself to be an attractive woman and you are a man who can convince a woman of that. So why should we not...spend some time together?”
“Because, Mrs. Sutton, your husband loves you. And if I am right, you love him too.”
“Well, yes, but—”
“And whatever your troubles are, they shall not be solved by being in my bed.”
Mrs. Sutton peered at him, her dark eyes slowly widening. “You are not at all the scoundrel and rake you are purported to be, Mr. Cameron, are you?”
Duke chuckled and shook his head. “Oh no I am most certainly all of those things I promise you.” He took Mrs. Sutton’s hand and aided her across the damp lawns to the stone path winding its way to the front of the white townhouse. “But I’m not at all certain a rake and a scoundrel are what you need right now.”
Chapter Two
“So, she got stuck in a tree?” Violet struggled to control the twitching of her lips.
Duke breezed past Violet on the dancefloor then came to stand opposite her. “You make it sound more dramatic than it is.”
“Poor Duke, rescuing lovelorn women from trees.”
“It was technically a hedge.”
Shaking her head, Violet grinned. She’d known Duke for a while now but his reputation as a rake was so infamous that even if she was not acquainted with him, she would at least be aware of him.
With charcoal black hair, blue eyes that were so piercing it sometimes felt unsettling to be looked at by him, and a dimple that appeared in one cheek when he gave one a certain look, she’d challenge any man looking like himnotto be a rake.
Despite it all, she appreciated his intelligence and how he treated her as an equal. Marmaduke Cameron never acted as though she were some mountain to be conquered and he never lied to her. There were no secrets to be discovered and no disappointments to be had. Over the past few months, he had become, without a doubt, the closest of her friends.
In fact, sometimes, it felt like he was the only person she could truly be herself with. As much as she loved her sisters, there were certain expectations of her as the oldest sister. With Duke, she was under no obligation to be the only charming Musgrave or the sensible older sister.
“Poor woman.”
“Poor me. I ruined a perfectly good waistcoat rescuing her.” Duke took her hand and drew her toward him.
“No doubt the lady in question paid you back for your good deed.”
“Actually—” He stilled, leaving her standing at his side rather than in line with the other dancers “—I sent her on her merry way.”
“My goodness me, youhaveevolved, Duke.”
He rolled his eyes and guided her fully around him so she could take up her position on the opposite side of him. Dancers made their way down the line until it was their turn. Violet did not miss the many eyes upon them, nor could she avoid the mutterings as they moved past.
Some complained of the scandalous pasts of both she and Duke whilst others decried that one of the richest men in England should pay attention to a scandalous Musgrave. It didn’t matter that she was the daughter of an earl—their new money status and a few unfortunate incidents that were scarcely worthy of the word scandal would forever see them as pariahs.
Well, she supposed Basil’s behavior was not wonderful—climbing a statue of King Alfred whilst exceedingly drunk and naked was hardly gentlemanly behavior—but how frustrating it was that all the women of the family should suffer the most because of it.
And apparently even Duke’s solid reputation as a rake was better than her own.
“Hypocrites,” she muttered.
“They’re jealous, Vi.”
She glanced at Duke. “Well, I know you have no problems with the size of your ego, but I thought you would at least pretend to be modest.”
“Jealous of you, silly chit.” He gave her a little nudge with his shoulder. “There isn’t a woman more beautiful than you in this room tonight.”
Violet wasn’t certain about that. There were many women with a lot fewer seasons under their belt than hers. She didn’t much mind getting older—after all she had a suspicion she was beginning to understand herself much better now she was truly a spinster—but did it have to come with bags under one’s eyes if she didn’t get a full nine hours sleep and the slightest niggle of an ache in her shoulder after sleeping in an odd position? No one warned her such things would happen at nine-and-twenty.
“So why did you send the tree woman away?” she asked when Duke eyed her for too long.