William, Duke of Oak Haven, looked past Selena Montley toward the two women who had sent her across the ballroom.
Blanche was hiding a smile behind her fan, while Verity leaned forward with the anticipation of someone waiting for a glass to break.
William turned his attention back to Selena.
“You may sit,” he said.
Selena lowered herself onto the chair beside him, certain that the silence around them had grown large enough to swallow the orchestra.
William studied the pale blue gown that had been carefully repaired at the sleeve.
“Did you choose this seat yourself?” he asked.
“I chose to walk here,
” Selena answered.
“That is not quite the same thing.”
“No, Your Grace, it is not.”
His mouth moved slightly, although she could not tell whether the expression was amusement or irritation.
“Then I ought to ask whether you wish to remain.”
Selena looked toward her sisters, who were now pretending not to watch.
“I do,” she said.
William lifted one hand toward a footman.
The servant approached with the speed of a man responding to a summons that could alter his employment.
“Bring the chair from the eastern alcove,” William instructed.
The footman hesitated.
“The carved chair, Your Grace?”
“Yes.
”
The servant hurried away.
Selena glanced at the empty place beside her.
“Is there something wrong with this chair?”
“Nothing at all,” William said.
“Then why have another brought?”
“Because you are sitting in the chair reserved for the people who come to ask me for favors.”
Selena felt her cheeks warm.
“I have asked you for nothing.”
“Precisely.”
Two servants carried a high-backed chair across the ballroom.
Its dark wood was carved with branches and small birds, and its embroidered cushion bore the silver oak leaves of the duke’s household.
The servants placed it on William’s other side, where the musicians and most of the guests could see it.
A murmur moved through the room.
William rose and offered Selena his hand.
“That is the chair my sister occupied when she attended these gatherings,” he said.
“I have not allowed anyone to use it since she died.”
Selena stared at the chair.
“Then I cannot possibly take it.”
“You can refuse it,” he said.
“But I would prefer that you did not mistake my invitation for a command.”
Blanche’s fan stopped moving.
Selena understood that whatever the duke meant, her sisters had not expected this answer.
“May I ask why?” Selena said.
William’s eyes returned to the careful stitching at her sleeve.
“Because you are the first person tonight who has asked to sit beside me rather than asking me to do something for them.”
Selena considered the chair, then the faces around the ballroom.
“People will talk,” she said.
“They already do,” William replied.
She took his hand and moved to the carved chair.
The orchestra resumed in a confusion of bows and hurried notes.
Across the room, Blanche looked as though she had been slapped.
William seated himself again and said quietly, “Now tell me why your sisters wished to make a spectacle of you.”
Selena looked straight ahead.
“They believe that a person who is not admired should at least be entertaining.
”
“And what do you believe?”
“I believe they are frequently wrong.”
For the first time that evening, William laughed.
