Why should she? The foolish girl hadn’t been forced to accept every glass of champagne Helena offered her. She hadn’t poured them down the girl’s throat.
Recalling that entertaining night brought a smile to her lips, and she leaned close to Hartwick, purposely pressing a full breast into his arm. ‘You might not want to discuss this here, where someone may overhear us,’ she whispered into his ear. ‘You don’t want them to guess the truth about her death, now, do you? Tell me...did she choose poison, or was it something more dramatic?’
His jaw clenched, and his athletic body stiffened against her breast. If they had not been in a drawing room, with a good number of the ton around them, she might just have provoked him enough to strike her.
She couldn’t help but smile. ‘I do believe I have found a weakness of yours, Lord Hartwick. Everyone has at least one, and it is so delicious whenever it is discovered.’
‘I warn you—if you cause any problems for Lyonsdale you will regret it.’ He moved from her side, downed the remainder of his champagne, and strode across the room to join his friends.
It was amusing that he thought he could stop her. She deserved that title, and all the wealth and power that went with it. She should have had such an advantageous marriage the first time. Instead, due to one minor indiscretion, she had found herself married to a gambler and a drunkard.
Hartwick’s father had promised to make her his marchioness and laughed at her when she’d reminded him. No one made a fool of her. It would be her turn to laugh when she became Duchess of Lyonsdale.
* * *
Near a corner of the Langleys’ ballroom, in front of a large potted palm, Katrina was learning that she was not the only one who regretted dancing with Lord Boreham.
‘I do so wish I did not have to agree to dance with everyone that asks me.’ Lady Mary Morley pouted as she stood beside Katrina. ‘On that last turn Lord Boreham managed to elbow me quite hard in the stomach.’
‘How was that even possible?’ Sarah asked, staring at the area in question, which was covered in elaborately embroidered white muslin.
‘I can assure you it’s possible,’ Lady Hammond commented dryly while fanning herself. ‘He once knocked heads with me during a quadrille.’
They began to laugh, and Lady Mary immediately covered her mouth to stop herself. The diamond bracelet on her wrist sparkled in the candlelight.
‘Surely there must be a way to avoid him,’ Sarah said.
Lady Mary shook her head. ‘Mother says one should have a full dance card if one is to be considered an incomparable, and if you decline even one offer to dance you must decline all the others.’
Katrina found that rule of social conduct one of the hardest to accept. She suspected she was not the only woman in the ballroom who felt that way. ‘That hardly seems fair.’
‘That might be. However, it is the way of things. Mother says if one is to catch a duke or a marquess one needs to rise above all the other girls vying for such a title and become an incomparable.’
‘And how does one become an incomparable?’ Sarah asked with amusement.
Lady Mary was not as naïve as she appeared. She tilted her head coyly. ‘I suppose if everyone knew the answer to that, no one girl would stand out.’
‘Well done, Lady Mary,’ Sarah said with a smile, glancing around the crowded ballroom. ‘And are there many dukes and marquesses for you to choose from?’
‘I’m afraid there are very few, and I don’t think I’d like to settle for an earl.’ She turned to her friend and offered Lady Hammond a genuine apologetic smile. ‘Sorry, my dear. I didn’t mean anything against your Hammond.’
Lady Hammond waved her fan carelessly in the air. ‘I’d much prefer a young earl to an old duke.’
Both Lady Hammond and Lady Mary appeared to be a number of years younger than Katrina, and she wondered just how old the girl’s husband was.
‘Isn’t your father an earl?’ Katrina couldn’t help pointing that out to Lady Mary.
Lady Mary adjusted her bracelets. ‘He is. However, my uncle is the Duke of Ralsteed. I was born to be a duchess. I do not have to settle for an earl.’
Lady Hammond let out a delicate sniff. ‘You’d change your mind if Lord Hartwick made an offer for you. With his looks and those blue eyes, you’d forgive him his title.’
A blush spread across Lady Mary’s cheeks, making her appear even younger. ‘That might be true. However, my sights are focused on one specific duke—even if he does make me nervous.’
‘Being nervous around a man can be a good thing,’ Sarah offered helpfully. ‘It might mean you find him very attractive.’
‘Oh, I do,’ Lady Mary agreed, nodding vigorously before she caught herself. ‘I do think he is very handsome...except he is a bit old.’
‘He is the same age as Lord Hartwick,’ Lady Hammond said with exasperation.
Lady Mary looked as if she was fighting the urge to stamp her foot. ‘Well, he appears older.’ Stepping closer to Katrina and Sarah, she shook out her fan to cover her lips. ‘He comes from one of the most respected houses and has great influence in Parliament. His manner is very formal, and each time I am in his presence I find him austere and imposing. He seldom speaks. I don’t believe he needs to. He can fluster people with just the lift of his brow.’
He sounded like a bore to Katrina. ‘And this is the man you would like to marry?’
Lady Mary nodded again, with excitement in her eyes. ‘Just imagine the respect his duchess will be granted. And he’s rich. He is a man who does not need to marry an heiress. Should we marry, we might very well be the wealthiest family in Britain.’
‘Which would be wonderful,’ Sarah remarked, ‘as long as you can stay awake long enough to enjoy it.’
‘Sarah!’ Katrina chided her friend with what she hoped was a stern expression.
These two girls had been nothing but kind since being introduced to them by Madame de Lieven. They were eager to hear about America and about Katrina’s time in France. She didn’t want Sarah’s unchecked honesty to ruin a pleasant discussion.
‘I am simply stating that should a man be that...flinty, it might be difficult to stay awake in his presence,’ Sarah explained.
Lady Hammond let out a small laugh before she pressed her lips together. ‘I can’t imagine anyone falling asleep in His Grace’s presence.’
He was sounding more and more like everything Katrina didn’t want in a husband. She turned to Lady Mary. ‘But if you were married to him, eventually you would fall asleep beside him.’
The rosy colour drained out of the girl’s face and she glanced about the room, as if this fine specimen of an English nobleman might overhear them and curse them with an arched brow. ‘I could never do that. I am certain he would never approve.’
Yes, this duke was definitely someone Katrina was grateful would not be part of her future. ‘Could it be possible that you might forgo this favourable duke and marry someone for love?’
Lady Mary and Lady Hammond looked at one another with confusion. There was no way to know for certain, but from her perplexed expression Katrina would guess that Lady Hammond’s marriage had been an arranged one. There still might be hope for Lady Mary.
However, she now addressed Katrina as if she were a small child. ‘I imagine that is an American way of thinking. Why would I marry for love when I could marry a duke?’
She would never understand