Lady Ellen gave him a winsome smile. “You were not unamusing on our walk this morning, Lord Everdale, so I suppose you may join us for tomorrow’s ride.” One thing was certain: Hugh had met his match. “And you as well, Lord Aberdeen.”
“Gladly,” Lord Aberdeen said. He glanced down at my plate. “Miss Graham, is there anything at all that you require? Shall I signal to one of the footmen?”
“No, thank you, Lord Aberdeen.” I settled into my seat, beginning to relax. Though it seemed impossible, perhaps my flouting of all decorum this afternoon would be overlooked.
Just as I picked up my fork to take a bite, the dowager duchess made eye contact with me from near the head of the table. The duke had inherited many of his features from his grandmother. They shared the same bearing, the same symmetrical face.
“Miss Graham,” she said, loud enough for everyone to hear. The rest of the table quieted. “I have not seen much of you since you arrived.” With her formal high-collared gown and her silvery white hair pulled back in a stately manner, the dowager duchess was as intimidating as the queen. Or at least, as intimidating as I imagined the queen to be.
“Oh?” I replied in a small voice. “Well, the castle is rather large.” Before she could ask another question, I took a quick bite of the veal.
She gave me a tight smile, glancing around the table. “Trust me, as with any house, when one shares it with family, it is not as large as one might think.”
I bit back a smile, amused by the dowager’s frankness.
She touched the brooch that rested at her throat. “I was acquainted with your grandmother, you know. And I knew your mother a little—met her at her come-out—though our association came to an end when she ran off with your father. I’ve always thought marriages of inequality make for rather awkward social situations. On both sides.” Her tone was blunt but not cruel. She tilted her head, a pert look on her face. “I take it your red hair comes from him.”
I slid a discreet glance toward Aunt Agnes. She would be furious the subject of my father had been broached. My tongue seemed to expand, filling my entire mouth, while my mind shrank, devoid of any response, witty or dull. I nodded and tried to swallow, but the bite of food caught in my throat.
“I believe she may also have a fair amount of musical talent that can be credited to her father,” the duke said.
I very nearly choked.
The dowager lifted a skeptical brow. “And how is it that you would know?”
He set his wine glass down, his face impassive. “Intuition.”
No doubt my face was as red as my hair. I kept my eyes on my plate, on the food that had hardly been touched.
Aunt Agnes spoke up, a trace of apology in her voice. “I am afraid if she has any musical talent at all, it comes from her mother, God rest her soul.”
The dowager turned to me once again, giving little consideration to the fact that I’d only had a bite or two of my dinner. “And how long have your parents been gone, Miss Graham?”
I pretended to chew, though my mouth was empty. Aunt Agnes eyed me from her place near the duchess. I feigned swallowing. “My father died nine years ago. And my mother has been gone five years, Your Grace.”
“Well, I was sorry to hear of her passing, despite her misguidance. It is always tragic when young children are left behind.”
Aunt Agnes cleared her throat. “Yes, but I have raised Juliet as my own.”
Though I longed to disagree, I supposed, in many ways, she was no harder on me than she was on her own sons. Except for the strength of her grip on my inheritance. Hugh and Robert at least did not suffer that.
Clenching the napkin in my lap, I could feel the force of the duke’s gaze upon me. I did my best to ignore him, answering the way I knew Aunt Agnes expected. “I have been very fortunate. My aunt has taken me and my brother in with the utmost charity.”
“You have a brother?” The dowager swirled her wine.
“Yes, Your Grace. Much younger than I. Harry is but eleven years of age. He is at Harrow now.” I clasped my hands together, wishing to be left alone so I might eat in peace.
“Ah, dessert at last,” the dowager said as the footmen came forward to remove our plates.
I grimaced in frustration, looking down at my uneaten dinner. Hugh leaned in. “You made the mistake of capturing the dowager’s attention.” He held out his hand and motioned it forward, low and smooth. “You must stay beneath notice. See? Look at my plate.”
“I imagine it’s an easier task when your hair isn’t red,” I grumbled as my dishes were taken away.
An hour later we were seated in the drawing room, where I had been pulled into a card game with Robert, Hugh, and Lady Ellen. I had difficulty focusing as we played. Perhaps I could blame the duke, who had taken a seat by the door and whose gaze I was having a more and more difficult time avoiding.
How long would he allow me to stew over my earlier misbehavior? His comment at dinner had assured me he hadn’t forgotten our encounter this afternoon, yet he seemed in no hurry to put me in my place. I fidgeted through the entire game, fearing the chastisement that was surely coming. But as the evening dragged on, I began to wish he would call me forward and be done with it. The wait was excruciating.
When the game drew to a close, I struggled not to huff out a breath of relief. Robert grumbled that our loss was due to my inattention, and I mumbled an apology.
Aunt Agnes came over and hovered, waiting to escort me back to my room. “Come, my dear. If you are to go riding tomorrow with Lady Ellen, you should get some rest.”
How she had come by that knowledge was beyond me, but she seemed to have ways of knowing everything that went on. Except for my encounters with the duke, I hoped.
On our way out I kept my gaze squarely focused on the back of Aunt Agnes’s dress, going almost cross-eyed from the endeavor. Perhaps we could slip out without detection. “Miss Graham, a word,” the duke said from his chair.
Aunt Agnes turned, open-mouthed, too shocked to say anything. Even she seemed cowed in his presence. “I’ll wait for you in the corridor, Juliet.” There were a thousand questions in her voice.
Quiet chatter and laughter continued on the other side of the room.
When I finally met his gaze, a shiver ran through me. There was a depth, a magnetism that made my insides tremble. “Yes, Your Grace?”
“You were quiet at the dinner table.”
I pursed my lips, measuring my words. “I said what was expected of me.”
He leaned back in his chair and set one hand on the armrest. “That was certainly not the case earlier today.”
Ah, here it was. My dismissal. The earlier shaking of my hands returned, the few bites of dinner I’d managed to take churning in my stomach. I took a step toward him, keeping my voice low despite the desperation that filled me. “I know I am no longer welcome here after the way I spoke this afternoon. I hadn’t any right to say what I did. I’ll be gone before breakfast, only please allow my aunt and cousins to stay. They should not be punished for my poor behavior.” The words spilled out of me, and my breath came heavily once I stopped.