Knight of the Bleeding Heart (The Eglinton Knight Series Book 4) by Margaux Thorne

Author:Margaux Thorne [Thorne, Margaux]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, romance, Historical
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2023-11-15T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

It turned out that the Duke of Wembley’s idea of a “small dinner party” was vastly different from Nathaniel’s. He lost count early, but concluded that there were close to fifty people mingling throughout the Marquis of Sutton’s palatial home, and they all had questions about the American who had been invited into their midst.

The duke was in his element and did a laudable job ignoring Nathaniel’s glares while simultaneously introducing him to all and sundry. Nathaniel didn’t try to remember all the names that the man threw at him. Instead, he stayed mostly silent, nodding here and bowing there whenever the duke elbowed him in the side. He was clearly not made for the type of small talk that this crowd desired; however, Charlotte’s father thrived on it. The old peer reminded Nathaniel of a snowball getting bigger and bigger the faster it rolled down a hill. The more attention the duke received, the more he craved. If a friend finished one drink, then the duke would finish two. It wasn’t so much a competition between aristocrats, but rather an excuse for excess.

As the night wore on and the duke’s laughter became louder and his arms waved wider and his footsteps stumbled more often, Nathaniel was able to recognize the truth of his bizarre behavior. The Duke of Wembley wasn’t so much the life of the party, but rather a relic of a past one that he hadn’t realized had been over for many years. From his garish and antiquated clothes to his ostentatious comportment to his old and rehashed stories, the duke was from another time and place, and the others … tolerated him. His acquaintances tittered at his jokes and afforded him the respect a duke apparently deserved, but pointed glances were made over champagne glasses. Conversations were cut short, and smiles were forced as the duke regaled one and all of better times.

Everyone noticed, and yet no one said anything. It was just as Charlotte had told Nathaniel. Whispers were made behind the duke’s back—none very discreet—but his ears were too clogged with the rags of the past to hear.

But Nathaniel heard. And so did Charlotte. She, however, hid it better than he did.

From the duke’s side, Nathaniel watched his wife from across the ballroom, resplendent in blue. Her veneer was as icy as the shade of her gown. Not unfriendly, not dismissive, just mercilessly stoic. She waded in and out of conversations with a dancer’s agility, giving and taking just the right amount, never saying too much, never smiling too grandly, and never laughing too loud. She was a professional tightrope walker, keeping the perfect balance of propriety, countering her father’s undiluted willfulness.

Everything about Charlotte was in moderation—everything except her beauty. There was no tempering that. But, Nathaniel noticed, even that was handled cautiously. When they’d left Wembley House in the carriage, he determined that Charlotte’s dress was the finest that he’d ever seen, tantalizing with its delicate flounced lace sleeves and ornate flowers secured at the apex of her bosom.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.