The Duke Conspiracy by Astraea Press

at the musicale
tonight.”
    Her father's face tightened with this news.
“Did you talk with him?”
    “Very briefly; it could not be avoided.”
    “You be sure to steer clear of him in the
future.”
    “I will, Papa, you can rest easy on that
score. I have absolutely no desire to pursue the acquaintance.” She
paused for a moment, wondering once more if she could talk to her
father about what she had overheard. Deciding to keep it to herself
for the moment, she tackled a different, but still uncomfortable,
side to the subject. “Mother will disagree with us if she becomes
aware of our thoughts on the matter.”
    “Whatever do you mean?”
    “In the carriage ride on the way home tonight
she admonished me for keeping my conversation so short with him.
She thinks I cannot look any higher than a knight in my social
aspirations and she thinks he would be a handsome choice for my
husband.”
    The baron was a very self-controlled man, a
quality that served him very well as a diplomat, but these words
caused him to come very close to losing his composure. Taking a
deep, calming breath, Lord Smythe smiled sadly, but kindly at his
beloved only daughter. “Your mother means well, I am sure, but you
must remember that she has been through a great ordeal in the past
few years and cannot be held accountable for any strange things she
may say. She loves you dearly, you know.”
    “I know, Papa, but sometimes she has a
strange way of showing it.”
    “Rosebud, my darling, you know your papa
loves you, do you not?”
    “Yes, Papa,” Rose smiled through the mist
that filled her eyes over her father's endearment.
    “And you do trust my judgment, do you
not?”
    “But of course!” While Rose was aghast at the
thought that he might doubt it, a niggle of unease did creep
into her conscience at the thought that she was keeping
something from him out of concern for his lack of judgment with
regards to the Duke of Wrentham. Pushing the thought from her mind,
she looked at her father expectantly.
    “Your mother is a good woman and has been an
excellent mother, but her own judgment is slightly askew at the
moment. I am uncomfortable speaking ill of her, so we shall not
delve any deeper into this topic. Suffice it to say that you have
my complete trust and I would ask that you use your own good
judgment as best you can over the coming weeks. And if you have
need of discussing anything with someone, you may come to me at any
time. You have quite proven your dependability and soundness of
mind many times over when we were in Vienna. The information you
were able to dig up was invaluable.”
    “Thank you, Papa. I just find that life is
rather dull now that we are back in England. And everything about
the Season just seems so trivial. Everyone gossips all day and the
only thing they seem to be concerned about is the latest fashions
or who said what to whom. It is rather grievous after the
excitement of life in Vienna. Is there not something I could be
doing to help you here?”
    “Oh no, my darling. You did quite enough to
help out in Vienna. You must just apply yourself to the task of
finding a sensible spouse so that you can set up your own
household. It is well past time for that, I would say. We would
have seen about it much earlier, if not for our mourning.”
    Rose was saddened at this reminder and felt a
pall fall further over her night. Bolstering her own spirits by the
force of her will, she set herself to cheering her father.
    “In my mind it is just as well that I have
not come up for the Season prior to this. I feel that I am in a
much better position to make a sound decision after having had a
little bit of experience under my belt, as you would put it. And I
would not have wished to miss the time we spent in Vienna. It was
something I will be remembering for the rest of my life. In fact, I
have half a mind to find myself a diplomat to marry so that I could
follow him about and help him with his work, as I did you.”
    “I