Page 30 of The Tartan Trap

“Oh, there he is,” Rachel whispered.

Margaret followed her line of sight to the striking gentleman across the ballroom. If the Duke of Ettrick hadn’t been a head taller than everyone around him, he would have been swallowed by the mass of silk-clad ladies crowding around him.

Though it was regretful, Margaret felt the same strange longing in her stomach that she had the first time she’d seen him on the street.

“He’s very handsome indeed,” Rachel said, sounding satisfied.

There was hardly any point in asking who she was speaking of. Every feminine eye seemed trained upon the same place.

“Are you interested in him?” Margaret asked.

Though he and Margaret stood in the same ballroom, they were worlds apart and she knew it. But Rachel, with her angelic features and slim figure, might very well be able to tempt the man into the matrimonial state.

“Not at all,” Rachel said. “It’s only that gossip is so rarely accurate. I’m rather pleased to see that the gentleman is as tall and as exceedingly handsome as they say.”

Margaret gave an unladylike grunt and directed her attention back toward the dance floor. With that much female attention, she had no doubt that the man was also conceited beyond measure.

“Are you going to introduce yourself?” Rachel asked.

“Though you may flout the rules of society, I don’t have the luxury of doing so, for the simple fact that my sisters wish to be married.”

“I am lucky in that way,” Rachel admitted. “Even if I were to make a fool of myself this Season, it wouldn’t matter. My eldest sisters are so well married and their spouses so dedicated to their happiness that my oddities would be ignored or swept under the rug.”

“But you have a younger sister yet.”

Rachel nodded. “Hannah. She’ll be out soon enough. She longs for it.” Rachel said the last as if she’d declared her sister to be gravely ill.

“And what of Dahlia?” Margaret asked quietly.

For this was her fourth season out. Though wealthy and beautiful, she must have felt some pressure to finally make a match. It was either that or hang up one’s dancing slippers for fear of looking ridiculous.

Rachel shrugged and gave a private smile. “She intends to be engaged by the end of the Season. Though one might call it hubris to make such a declaration, I think we can both agree that such a thing is not out of her reach.”

Margaret glanced across the ballroom and noted that the crowd of handsome young gentlemen fawning over Dahlia had only grown. “Indeed.”

“But back to the more pressing matter,” Rachel said. “If you won’t introduce yourself, you could at least endeavor to put yourself in the gentleman’s path so that he might request an introduction.”

Margaret huffed a laugh beneath her breath and glanced at the duke. Though he seemed to be moving in their general direction, he’d made very little headway due to the ladies in his way. “You mean the same way that all the other ladies are? The man can barely move. I hardly think I would be a welcome addition to his adoring crowd.”

“I thought you’d barely noticed him.”

“Well, of course I’ve noticed him. But just because I’ve noticed someone doesn’t mean that they’re of note. There’s a difference.”

“Very well,” Rachel said. “I will play your little game. Shall we also pretend that we haven’t noticed Lord Trenton over in the corner? Or the Baron West by the sideboard? Are those also invisible gentlemen?”

Margaret gave a frustrated tsk. “I have made my situation very clear.”

“On the contrary. You’ve told me that you believe a load of balderdash. And as I am a proponent of truth in general, and in this case specifically, it is my mission to ensure that you don’t believe it any longer.”

“What on earth are you talking about?” Margaret longed to rub at her temple, but as several faces were currently turned their direction, she clenched her fingers together and gave what she hoped was a serene smile instead. It felt rather like the expression she made when her stomach hurt, however, so she stopped immediately.

“You think you’re not beautiful,” Rachel said.

“I’ve never—” Margaret began.

“As if you had to state such a thing plainly to me.”

“It isn’t as if I’ve given up on marriage altogether. I made my list of gentlemen as you requested.”