The Black Duke's Prize Read Online Free PDF Page B

might have
found her tolerably pleasant. He couldn't help but note the vast difference between
Althaea Hillary and the outspoken Miss Ralston, though he couldn't say which of
the two he found more taxing.
    "How are
you enjoying the Season so far?" he ventured, curious to see how she would
react to a question to which she couldn't answer yes or no.
    "Qut 'II,
nk you," came out of her mouth in an almost voiceless whisper, and
Nicholas shut his eyes for just a moment.
    "Beg
pardon?" he said, leaning closer.
    "Quite
well, thank you," she managed to articulate, glancing up at his face.
    Feeling as
though he had accomplished something of a miracle, he smiled down at her. And
immediately regretted it. Althaea's face went white, and she stumbled and sank
against his chest, her eyes rolling back in her head.
    "Good
God," he muttered, looking about somewhat frantically and trying to keep
her from sliding to the ground. No assistance appeared, and with a curse he
bent and scooped her up in his arms to carry her off the dance floor.
    "What have
you done to my Althaea?" her mother asked, gasping as she hurried toward
them, several other mamas in tow.
    "I have
done nothing," he snapped, pushing past the mob and carrying the girl to a
settee in the anteroom. He carefully set her down and stepped aside to escape
back into the ballroom.
    Thomas Elder
was standing there waiting for him. "Is Althaea all right?" he asked,
glancing over Nicholas's shoulder.
    He nodded,
walking over to the refreshment table for a glass of punch and eyeing the
nearest gossips until they moved away. He would have preferred brandy, but
there was none available downstairs. "She fainted."
    "Fainted?"
Thomas asked incredulously. "In the middle of a waltz?"
    "Yes,"
Nicholas said indignantly, "she swooned. I smiled, and she swooned."
    Thomas snorted,
"You're bamming me."
    The herd of
mamas emerged from the anteroom to glare at him. ''God's blood," he
grumbled, what remained of his good humor quickly evaporating. "Do they
think I ravished her out on the dance floor?"
    "If anyone
could, it would be you," Thomas answered.
    "No, don't
scowl at me. Just let me thank you for blackmailing me into dancing with Kate.
She's lovely."
    "Kate?"
Nicholas asked, distracted by the sight of Althaea cautiously returning to one
of the chairs in the ballroom.
    "Miss
Ralston," Thomas reminded him, following his gaze. "I'll go see how
Althaea is," the viscount offered, patting Nicholas on the shoulder.
    "Please
do," Nicholas said feelingly. "I'm bloody well not going near her
again."
    Despite the
condition of Miss Hillary, none of the other ladies Nicholas asked to dance
refused him and, fortunately, no one else suffered so much as an attack of the
vapors. Even so, he was grateful when the music began for the evening's last
waltz. Unless he missed his guess, the only thing Miss Ralston would be
suffering from was a rather refreshing case of honesty and quick wits. He
turned to find her, but she was not in sight. A further perusal also failed to
reveal Clarey and the baroness. Cursing under his breath, he again found his
mother.
    "Have you
seen the Hamptons lately, Mama?" he asked coolly, trying to keep his jaw
from clenching.
    "They left
about half an hour ago, Nicky. Kate, I think she had a partner for every dance
tonight. She was very tired."
    "Damned
ungrateful chit," Nicholas muttered, and left the room. unaware of the
surprised look on his mother's face as he turned his back.
     
    Katherine wasn't surprised when Lady Alison suggested they leave the
ball early. It was true that she was tired, and that her head was beginning to
throb with all of the introductions and subsequent invitations and plans, but
she had a suspicion it was more than just her health that concerned her
godmother. She had learned enough about the etiquette of the haut ton to
know that dancing twice in one evening with the same man, particularly one with
the reputation of the Duke of Sommesby, was enough to put a lady's