Free The Lady and the Duke by Olivia Kelly Page A

familiar it."
    Thank goodness that Will hardly came up to Town or Audrey would have been caught out right then and there.
    "Green and silver. That could be any number of households." Muttering to herself, Lady Witte  tugged on her forgotten glove. "I suppose we shall just have to wait."
    She dismissed Lowery, and turned to Audrey. "A man who spends such an amount on flowers is sure to make himself known to your father soon, do you not think?"
    "I would think so." Audrey couldn't help the small smile that crept onto her face. She ducked her head, pretending to examine her hem.
    "Yes, yes. I am sure of it." The older woman took in the spread of blooms again with a sharply assessing gaze and nodded. "And thank goodness for that, I say."
    Audrey felt her smile stretch tight. She glanced up to find her Mama watching her.
    "Now, dear, do not look so pinched. Despite your father's faith in your abilities, you and I both know that Halford was out of your league."
    "That's...that's not what you said just days ago."
    "Ah." Lady Witte waved Audrey's comment away. She patted her hair, then arched one fine brow at her daughter. "I had merely hoped that if others saw the duke spending any amount of time with you, they might reconsider their previous stances. Men like to follow where others lead. Although the time he spent in your company was negligible, my plan worked, obviously."
    "Oh, obviously."
    "Audrey, sulking is unrefined. There is no need for it. This is exactly the sort of behaviors that will prevent a man from forming an attachment to you."
    Audrey grit her teeth. "I am sorry that my small sense of dignity offends you."
    "You always were such a dramatic child," sighed Lady Witte . She moved to the door, her shoulders stiff. "I am only trying to help you. A mother wants her child to be happy."
    Audrey snorted, then cleared her throat at her mother's narrow glance.
    "That is the truth, whether you believe me or not. You are a pretty girl and your figure is lovely. If you would merely...dampen...your disdain for city ways, and perhaps if you weren't always so blunt—"
    "You want me to change who I am?"
    "Only until you are married!" cried Lady Witte, frustration writ large across her face. "Do you not see that gentleman of the ton hold no value for women who are unflinching in their opinions and contemptuous of fashionable society? No peer would marry such a woman."
    Audrey turned away, swallowing the things she wanted to say, things that could never be taken back once spoken. Hurtful, stinging things. The silence between them stretched, the only sound the muffled clopping of the horses on the street below and the ticking of the drawing room clock. She wasn't going to engage in a useless argument, poisoning her enjoyment of the evening ahead.
    Drawing in a deep, calming breath, she turned back. "If we do not hurry, we will be inexcusably late."
    Lady Witte  studied her for a moment, but Audrey kept her face smooth.
    "Then by all means, let us be off." The baroness strode from the room. After a tiny moment, Audrey squared her shoulders and followed.
    When she and her parents arrived at the fancy dress ball, Audrey rapidly calculated how on earth she was going to slip away from her mother. Chaperones were all well and good for keeping the wolves at bay—though she had never had to worry about those—but they were burdensome when one wished to disappear. Fortunately, Mama immersed herself in discussion with her friends as soon as they entered the ballroom, leaving Audrey free to think.
    She adjusted her demi-mask, a plain creation of brown, speckled feathers and smoothed the soft velvet of her gown. The costume had been created to bring to mind that of a pheasant, with its flowing lines and sweeping sleeves. It was almost medieval, the bodice lacing up the front and tied with long satin ribbons. Audrey had considered something bolder, such as Medusa, but the image of losing her headdress into the punch bowl gave her the shudders.