The Duke's Divorce (The Reluctant Grooms Series Volume IV) by Anne Gallagher Page A

Are you sure you do
not wish to keep her?” William took a last swallow of brandy.
    “No,” Robert said. He was finished discussing
his wife. “I suppose we should find them some lemonade.”
    Robert and William found the refreshment
table and asked a footman to follow them with a tray of drinks.
Stepping back into the ballroom, Robert waylaid by Lord Montescu,
watched his wife dance the last steps with a Viscount whose name he
could not remember. Trying to stay focused on Montescu’s shipment
for the next boat bound for the West Indies proved a challenge as
Robert watched Fiona walk off the dance floor into a circle of
waiting admirers. Fiona spoke gaily, and laughed, and when the Earl
of Greenleigh bowed before her, she gladly accepted his hand for
the next dance with a warm smile.
    Robert found himself with a stirring in his
gut he did not like. He had never elicited that kind of smile from
her. Then again, he had never tried.
    Business concluded with Montescu, Robert made
his way back to the corner. He stood stiffly, while he waited for
Fiona to finish with Greenleigh. She gracefully stepped back and
forth through rows of dancers, her face animated and flushed, and
the smile never left her lips. She could do no better with
Greenleigh as a husband. His Earldom was secure, his estate
handsome, his fortune large, although not as large as Robert’s own.
However, the earl was a bore, a great bore, who only talked about
Italian art or the state of Parliament. Robert supposed as a man,
Fiona might find him attractive, if she could get past his beak of
a nose.
    Robert’s gut stirred again, and decided he
did not want to watch his wife in the arms of other men. His main
objective concluded, dancing the first with her, he saw no other
reason to remain by her side. Thankfully, he knew Lady
Berringbourne well. She was of the old tradition and only allowed
two waltzes. The next would be right before supper at midnight.
Robert checked his watch. He had two hours before he had to dance
again.
    Robert made his way back to the library.
Perhaps a game of cards might take his mind off Fiona.
    An hour later, Robert found his mother
sitting in the dowager corner with Lady Olivia and several of their
cronies.
    “Dearest, what are you doing here? You should
be dancing with Fiona,” his mother said as he bent to kiss her on
the cheek.
    “I believe her dance card is full, Mother. I
came to see if you would like a twirl.”
    She smiled. “What a lovely thought, thank
you, Robert, but no, I shall decline.” She looked at him with
concern. “Are you well, dearest? You seem rather wan.”
    “No, I am quite well, thank you.” He sat next
to her. “I just do not know what to do with myself. I was quite
prepared for Fiona to get into a scrape of some kind, but as that
does not seem to be forthcoming, I find myself bored.”
    “Bored? At a ball? Dearest, surely there must
be a card game in the library, or friends with which to speak. I’m
sure I saw Davingdale among the throng.”
    Robert shrugged. “I have already spoken to
him, and played a round in the library.” He checked his pocket
watch. Again. “I believe I am getting too old for this, Mother. I
cannot wait for it to be over.” What had Fiona done to his
proclivity for enjoyment?
    Lady Olivia clucked. “Cantin, my Fuzzy stayed
at every ball ‘til dawn, up until his dying day. He was eighty when
he passed and you are less than half his age.”
    Robert gave her a sidelong glance. “For some
reason I feel twice Lord Caymore’s age right now.”
    “Oh, dearest.” His mother sighed. “Why do not
you dance, if not with Fiona, then perhaps with Penelope. You
should do your duty by your cousin’s wife as he has done by yours.
‘Twould be highly irregular if you did not.” She patted his
hand.
    She was right. He had seen William take a
turn with Fiona.
    Robert kissed his mother again, bowed to Lady
Olivia and headed back toward the terrace doors. He found Ellis and
William