“Tell me, what do you think of Halstead?” She broke through my thoughts, walking much more quickly than I might have expected for someone of her age. Her cane made quick staccato noises on the cobblestone.
“Halstead?” I repeated dumbly.
“Yes, the Duke of Halstead. My grandson,” she said impatiently.
I bit the inside of my cheek. “I am not sure I am qualified to give an opinion of him, madam.”
“You are qualified because I am asking you. Now, I repeat, what do you think of him?”
I held my hands together, searching for something to say. She would see right through a lie, so I tried instead for diplomacy. “He seems . . . unhappy.”
Her thin lips turned down. “Oh, stop mincing words with me. Loosen your tongue, as you did on the steps back there.”
Her permission made my thoughts itch to free themselves. I glanced up at her and took a deep breath. “Well, if you really wish to know, I find him infuriating. He is excessively entitled. Is there anything he has wanted in his whole life that hasn’t been granted him in an instant?” Spoken aloud, the ridiculousness of my question became apparent. The man was a duke.
“Ah, there is the candor I was looking for.” She looked pleased, as if someone had just set her favorite meal in front of her. “Yes, I suppose he is unhappy.” The pleased look faded, and her mouth tightened. She was silent as we walked, as though lost in thought for a moment. A carpet of leaves crunched beneath our feet.
How I wished to know what was in her thoughts.
The dowager shook her head and returned her attention to me. “But that is the least of it. Miss Graham, I am not one to ask for favors. I am like my grandson in many respects—accustomed to getting what I want. But I find myself in need of your help.”
My eyes widened in surprise as she continued. “If you had known Halstead before his accident . . . well, he was a man with every door open to him. He possessed political power, wealth, good looks, the latter of which he of course got from me.”
I bit back a smile as I realized she was not trying to be humorous.
“He was as fine a man as you can imagine. I might even go so far as to say he was a favorite of mine.” Her words grew thick, and I didn’t imagine the sheen of emotion in her eyes. But she batted it back in an instant. “All that changed with his accident. He has been in a dark place for some time, and I am afraid he feels, as you said, entitled to stay there. But that just will not do. He is not merely a man—he is a duke. He has responsibilities. Obligations. An entire world rests on his shoulders. Everyone depends on him doing his duty.”
The words rolled off her tongue as fast as I could take them in, still leaving me clueless as to her purpose in confiding in me.
She glanced over at me, her mouth settling into a hard line. “Duty calls, Miss Graham. Next week Lord and Lady Wollerton, along with their daughter, Lady Margaret, will join us here at the castle.”
I pursed my lips in confusion. “But—”
She raised her hand to quiet me. “Just listen. A match between Halstead and Lady Margaret has been hoped for, for some time. An announcement seemed imminent before Halstead’s accident. But since then he has refused to see her, vowing he shall never marry. Can you imagine?” She made a sound of disgust. “He would allow the dukedom to pass to his cousin—the dimwitted Lord Aberdeen—because of his own stubbornness.” She shook her head and looked right at me. “It cannot be.”
At her pause, I was finally able to get a word in. “I am sorry for your difficulty. But what has this to do with me?” I tried to imagine Lady Margaret, who must be at the height of fashion, etiquette, and beauty. And likely just as accustomed to getting her way as was Halstead.
“Ah yes. Back to my point.” She looked over me as if I were a piece of fabric she was considering. “I have watched you the last few days. There’s some substance to you. I think you might be exactly what Halstead needs.”
Her words caught me off guard as I struggled to find a connection between everything the dowager duchess had told me. “You want me to convince him to marry Lady Margaret?”
She scoffed. “No, of course not. I want you to draw him out. Insult him. Make him laugh. Entertain him. Force him out of his misery.”
I shook my head. “I am sure I couldn’t force him to do anything he didn’t wish to do.”
She shook her head right back at me, a frown pulling down the corners of her mouth. “Now, that, Miss Graham, is how you expose yourself as one of lower rank. A member of nobility understands the art of persuasion. Do you think I force people to attend to my needs, wants, and wishes? No. I merely expect it of them, and they do my bidding. That”—she thrust her walking stick in my direction—“is what you must do with Halstead.”
It was tempting to ask her why she couldn’t just do it herself, then, but I bit my tongue, knowing the question would come across as impertinent. We walked in silence for a moment before the duchess turned the full brunt of her stare on me. “Well?”
The thought was tempting. I could not deny I found the duke’s company intriguing, and spending time in his presence with his grandmother’s approval would have its advantages. Yet my stomach tightened. I could never misuse his trust, even if I wanted more time with
