My Last Duchess, стр. 29
“Not a bit of it,” Lord Melton said, bouncing Viola in his arms so that she crowed with delight.
“I came to show her the fair,” Ophelia said mildly. “I can hardly do that if she is tucked away in the carriage.”
“So this is your daughter,” Hugo said. “Viola, am I right?”
Viola gave him her cheerful grin and clapped her hands.
Ophelia met his eyes, ready to kick him in the shins if he gave Viola an indifferent look, the way Lady Woolhastings had.
But he was smiling at Viola as if she was quite marvelous. Ophelia’s heart gave a thump. It was one thing to be courted—albeitbriefly—by a deliciously handsome duke. It was different when that duke smiled at her best beloved, as if he recognized howwonderful she was.
Viola liked his smile too, because she held out her mittened hands and leaned toward him. When Ophelia nodded, Lord Meltongave her up, and the duke tucked Viola into his left arm as if he was used to carrying children.
“I expect that Viola would love a sleigh ride,” he said. “Your groom could bring your purchases back to your carriage andthen meet us at Lady Woolhastings’s house.”
“You have bought a great many things,” Lady Woolhastings said, clearly pained. “I distinctly smell mince pies; Lady Astley,you must discard those, or send them to be consumed in the servants’ hall. One never knows what a mince pie bought in a fairmight contain.”
Ophelia paused, not certain what to do, but Viola was happily babbling to the duke, interspersing her new words amid a languageof her own. She probably would like a sleigh ride.
“Mince is extremely fattening,” Lady Woolhastings added.
Hugo met Ophelia’s eyes. “Do join us.”
It was a good thing that she wasn’t marrying him, because she had the feeling that it would be hard to refuse anything heasked, if he had that expression in his eyes. She actually glanced at Lady Woolhastings to see if she caught it but the ladylooked quite indifferent.
In fact, that seemed to be her expression most of the time.
Once Ophelia’s groom had set off for her carriage, they began walking again, Lady Woolhastings strolling beside Ophelia, andthe two men just behind.
“A respectable match,” Lady Woolhastings drawled, in her high, well-bred voice.
“I’m sorry?” Ophelia said. She was listening as hard as she could to Viola and the duke, who were having a lively exchangethat consisted of a stream of words from Viola, all the new ones she’d learned today jumbled in any order. His Grace was laughing,and supplying a word here or there, which Viola would instantly repeat.
“Lord Melton,” Lady Woolhastings prompted. “Very appropriate. A nice estate and good blood. Not of the highest degree, butthen you didn’t come from those ranks, did you?”
Viola stopped babbling just at the wrong moment, and Ophelia felt a prickling embarrassment in her shoulders. She didn’t dareglance about, not sure whom she was more embarrassed about: Hugo or poor Lord Melton, who had accidentally encountered herand found himself virtually married off a half hour later.
Of course, the fact that he had been carrying Viola did make it seem as if they were quite familiar.
She cleared her throat. “Lord Melton is a mere acquaintance, Lady Woolhastings.”
“You could do much worse,” the lady remarked.
And I could do much better, Ophelia thought to herself. I could have done the duke. Which was such an improper thought that she found herself turning pink.
Lady Woolhastings glanced over and her brows drew together. “Perhaps you should return to your carriage,” she said, in a warmertone than she had used before. “This cold is inadvisable for the complexion and I see yours is responding to this chill wind.I applied four layers of protective cream this morning.”
“Ah,” Ophelia said. They were nearing three large sleighs, lavishly picked out with blue paint and gold leaf. A mass of childrenof all ages were darting between the sleighs and horses, shouting with glee and risking being kicked by an irritable mount.
Lady Woolhastings stopped and lifted her hand. “Your Grace.”
“Yes, Lady Woolhastings?” Hugo strode to stand at Ophelia’s right shoulder. Viola was sucking her thumb, her head nestledon his shoulder. He had tucked her inside his greatcoat, so she must be toasty warm.
Viola blinked at Ophelia and said, “Snow,” before she closed her eyes.
“I ought to bring my daughter home,” Ophelia said, shoving away a keen pulse of regret. She knew that Hugo had the instinctsof a good father; he was shopping for a third duchess for just that reason.
The fact that Viola looked so blissfully comfortable should not make her, Ophelia, feel prickly and sad. That was absurd.
“Your groom will have already instructed the carriage to meet you further up the Thames,” the duke said, his voice kind, butabsolute. “Moreover, you and Viola cannot traverse the fair by yourselves.”
Ophelia turned to look for Lord Melton and realized that he was nowhere to be seen.
“Lord Melton remembered that he had another engagement and asked me to convey his regrets,” the duke said.
Ophelia felt herself turning red again. Likely, Lord Melton heard what Lady Woolhastings had said about marrying her and fledin horror. It was hard to tell whether that was more embarrassing than the duke’s quick defection.
Hugo apparently read her mind. “No,” he stated.
Lady Woolhastings was frowning at the crowd of noisy children and not paying attention.
“Lord Melton had temporarily forgotten that he was betrothed,” Hugo said. His eyes didn’t stray from hers but his voice droppeda register. “You can do that to a man.”
She flinched. Was he telling her that he had already had an understanding with Lady Woolhastings when they met?
“Hugo!”
An imposing lady was bustling toward them, followed by a stream of children. “There you are! We’ve been waiting for you.”
She was as tall as the duke, his age, with his angular features and marked eyebrows, albeit softened by a fashionable hatwhose ribbons streamed in the wind.
She had to be the duke’s twin, Lady Knowe.
“Please give me Viola,”