Bewitching the Duke

“Where is Kate?”

“She went ahead with the duke.”

Selina frowned slightly. “How will it look if her companion does not show up with her?”

“My dear, you will be arriving with the Duchess of Northrop. No one will care that you didn’t arrive with Kate.”

“Oh.”

By the time they arrived, there were carriages lining the drive. Selina had never seen so many finely dressed people getting out of carriages. As they waited for their turn to disembark, the duchess gave her a few more lessons in propriety. “You do not speak to a man to whom you have not been properly introduced. Only then may you converse or dance should he ask.”

Selina almost laughed. No one would ask to dance this evening. Even with her finery, she was still just a nobody to these people. “Yes, ma’am.”

The duchess droned on about not dancing more than twice with any man and a few more dull topics. Selina listened but turned her attention to the beautiful women giggling as they walked into the house. She felt completely out of place here.

“Your Grace, perhaps I should return to the estate.”

“Why would you think such a thing?”

She glanced down at the silvery gloves covering her hands and arms. “I don’t belong here. With them.”

“Nonsense, dear girl. What do they have that you do not?”

“A name, wealth, position, beauty.”

The older woman laughed. “You have a name, quite a lovely name. You have position, perhaps not in Society but certainly at the estate. You have a wealth of love from the people on that estate. And you most definitely have beauty.”

Selina continued to stare at her gloves. The duchess had only said those words to make her feel better. And it did help. Not that she felt confident, but the duchess had made her feel as if there was no reason she could not attend. “Thank you.”

The duchess patted Selina’s hand. “Don’t ever let them see your fear. They will eat you alive.”

The carriage rolled to a stop and a liveried footman o

pened the door and assisted them down. As soon as her foot touched the ground, Selina felt transformed, like Cinderella at the prince’s ball. She had just better not lose her slipper tonight.

The sound of music filled the air and became gradually louder as they entered the house. The duchess linked her arm with Selina’s.

“Courage,” the duchess whispered.

Together they walked down the corridor. A nervous quiver washed over Selina the closer they came to the ballroom. At the entrance to the room, a butler stood to announce the names of the guests. The duchess leaned in and whispered something in the butler’s ear.

The man announced them. “Her Grace, the Duchess of Northrop. Miss Selina White.”

Several heads turned at the announcement. Selina knew they only looked over to see the duchess; still it made her heart pound. One set of sapphire eyes caught hers. She couldn’t look away from Colin’s startled gaze. A slow smile lifted his lips as he watched her.

“Come along, dear girl. There are several people you should meet.”

Selina looked away from Colin’s intent stare. Once they started to move across the room, she lost him in the crush. The duchess brought them to a crowd of slightly older women. They appeared to be mostly in their late forties.

The duchess introduced her to all the women. Several held titles that Selina couldn’t keep track of with all the names.

“And how are you acquainted with Her Grace?”

Before she could answer, the duchess replied, “She is a dear friend of Kate’s. I was running late so Selina decided to wait and arrive with me.”

Several of the women looked at her critically but one or two gave her a quick smile. Selina had never felt so uncomfortable in her life. “Your Grace, I see Lady Katherine by the refreshment table. If you don’t mind, I shall go speak with her.”

“Of course you should be with your friend. But remember you are not acquainted with many people here so proper introductions must be made before any dancing.”