She Hid Under a Table to Escape a Matchmaker — The Duke Was Already There
Chapter 4
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Her mother sighed, then laughed despite herself. "Very well, I shall leave Mr. Dunford alone. He may be grateful. He may be disappointed."That was possible. Daphne accepted it without feeling obliged to test the matter by becoming his wife.Later, Mr. Dunford found her studying a painting near the drawing room door. She prepared herself for an awkward conversation. He asked whether the little figure in the corner was a dog or a particularly small horse.She looked closer. "I think it is meant to be a dog.""Then the horse beside it has been most unkindly drawn."She laughed, surprised. They spoke for a while. His late wife had indeed made excellent preserves. She had also once caused a small commotion at a concert by insisting that an encore was not always a kindness. Daphne liked hearing about her. It was an entirely different experience from being silently invited to take her place. By the time he moved away, she had begun to suspect that people became duller when she considered them as possible husbands rather than people passing through a room.At the other end of the house, Gilbert was hearing about ribbons. His brother stood in the study doorway with an expression he had worn at 14 when he wanted something expensive and hoped to introduce it as a matter of general interest."There has been a difficulty," Osric said, "with the wedding. With the color of part of it."Gilbert set down his pen. "Which part?""The ribbons. They have sent the wrong ones.""Send them back.""We have. The right ones are in town.""Then send someone for them.""Yes. I was asking whether you could spare a carriage."Gilbert blinked. He had already begun arranging the solution to a problem his brother had solved. "Of course.""Thank you." Osric remained in the doorway."Something else?""Your speech.""I have made notes.""I feared you might. Would you prefer that I arrived unprepared?"His brother looked at him with affection and a certain caution. "I would prefer that you arrived as Gilbert.""That is generally unavoidable.""At Christmas, you thanked the household as though accepting command of a fleet."Gilbert looked down at the pages on his desk. It was a short speech. It contained three separate references to duty. "There were practical matters to acknowledge.""I am marrying Winnie. There will be practical matters. But I should rather not have them described over pudding."Gilbert began to smile reluctantly. "I shall reconsider the notes.""Thank you." At the door, Osric turned back. "And do come outside tomorrow. You needn't spend the entire visit making it happen."After he had gone, Gilbert reread the opening of his speech. He had written that a marriage united two families in mutual esteem and enduring affection. It sounded like a document requiring several witnesses. He put the page in a drawer.The following morning, Daphne found him beside the breakfast room sideboard. "You are eating in public," she observed."I am trying to improve. How did your conversation go?"