Loved by a Duke (The Heart of a Duke #4)(44)

Auric stiffened and then turned around slowly, coolly unaffected as he so often was. Tamping down her annoyance, she shifted her attention from him to the smiling Lord Astor. “My lord,” she greeted. She dipped a curtsy and then entered further into the room. Her maid, Agnes, bustled in behind her and set up sentry in her usual seat at the blue arm chair in the far right corner of the room. Forcefully thrusting aside the urge to throttle Auric, Daisy drew on years of good breeding and motioned to his chair. “Would you care to sit?” The young earl with his chiseled features and hard, square jaw hesitated a moment and then reclaimed his seat. She claimed the nearest chair opposite him.

The dunderhead in the corner crossed over in three formidable strides. With a glower, Auric sat on the blue sofa, making the elegant piece of furniture appear hopelessly delicate with his broad, powerful frame.

Daisy folded her hands primly on her lap. “Would you care for refreshments?”

“No,” Auric snapped.

She arched an eyebrow and then looked pointedly at the earl.

He grinned. “No, refreshments, thank you, my lady.”

The gentleman had manners, which was a good deal more than she could say for certain boorish dukes who took it upon themselves to go and select men she might take for her husband. Fury stirred in her belly once again. She forced her features into a pleasant, unruffled mask.

An awkward pall of silence descended over the room, made all the more glaring for the incessant tick-tocking of the loud clock.

Pleasant discourse. Pleasant discourse. She ran through years of proper lessons on deportment. Weather. She discarded that inane, dull topic cared about by none. After all, maybe one needed only to direct their stare to the window to ascertain as much.

The earl’s gaze skittered about the room.

“Lady Daisy quite enjoys music,” Auric supplied, unhelpfully.

She pressed her lips into a tight line to keep from telling him what she thought of his pronouncement. Would he have her show her teeth next?

“Indeed?” Lord Astor inquired, his expression fairly pained, and she appreciated the honesty of that reaction.

“She does.” Is that what Auric thought he knew of her after a lifetime of friendship? She’d kick him in the shins if there weren’t an additional guest present.

Daisy shook her head. “No, I don’t.”

Both men startled at her contradiction. She grinned. “I enjoy dancing to music.” She wrinkled her brow. “I detest the pianoforte, as I’m quite deplorable at it.”

Lord Astor made a gentlemanly sound of protest.

She gave a flick of a hand. “Oh, you needn’t defend on my account.” Daisy lowered her voice to a none-too-quiet whisper. “I’m really quite horrid. My mother despaired of my nonexistent skills through the years.”

The first real grin turned the gentleman’s hard lips upward and some of the stiffness in his shoulders eased. He placed his hands on his knees and leaned forward, shrinking the space between them. “Your secret is safe with me,” he whispered back.

Auric coughed quite noisily.

Daisy looked away from the earl. “Are you unwell?”

He gave his head a jerky shake. “Fine,” he grit out between clenched lips.

“I daresay a woman of your grace is not deplorable at anything,” Lord Astor said in somber tones. All the right words that should rouse a sense of romance in her breast, and yet… She preferred his earlier honest reaction to any feigned response. “Quite the opposite,” he said confidently.

“Th—”

“Astor was just taking his leave,” Auric snapped, rising suddenly.

The man angled his head. “I was?” The black glower fixed on him by the powerful duke brought him swiftly to his feet. “Er, right, uh yes.” He bent low at the waist. “My lady, if I may be so bold as to request the opportunity to call on you in the future?”

She inclined her head and gave him a smile. “Of course,” she said, as she stood.

He opened his mouth to say something more, but Auric glared him into silence. With that, Lord Astor spun on his heel and made a hasty retreat.

What was that about? “Why did you run off Lord Astor?” The gentleman he’d brought ’round? Daisy took a step toward Auric and jabbed a finger in his direction before he could speak. “And firstly, why was Lord Astor here? With you?”

A mottled flush stained his rugged cheeks. “Astor is a perfectly agreeable gentleman.”

Not that she’d had time to notice in the earl’s brief, very brief, visit. “So friendly you ran him off?” Her words instantly silenced him. That was an impressive feat considering no one servant, peer, or Prinny himself could silence the powerful, austere Duke of Crawford. “Why was he here?” she repeated, her tone firm, even as she knew the answer.

“Courting you.”

Courting her? “Courting me?” she blurted. Then a sharp bark of laughter escaped her. Daisy gave a sad shake of her head. “That was most certainly not a gentleman courting me.” Of his own volition, anyway. She widened her eyes. He wouldn’t. He had. She groaned and covered her eyes.

“What is it?” Auric bristled.

“You forced him here.”

He hesitated. “I hardly forced him.”

And she hardly believed him. Daisy closed her eyes, not knowing whether to laugh or cry at the idea of the man she loved going to such lengths to arrange a match between her and another gentleman. She opened her eyes. “Agnes, will you see to refreshments?” she asked, not taking her gaze from him.