Page 3 of The Duchess Audition

The ladies who remained seemed to take a collective breath of relief, though they fidgeted anxiously, glancing at one another. Although, their gaze skimmed over Marina.

“Thank goodness for that,” Yvette whispered. “To think, I almost left.”

Evidently, this was all the evidence required to know it was not a boy’s jest; this was a serious meeting, and a very serious woman was presiding over it.

“The six of you have passed the first stage,” the dowager announced. “Now, if you would all join me and my great-grandson in the drawing room, we shall begin the next stage.”

The old woman took the boy’s proffered arm, the two of them descending toward the entrance hall. No one else made a move, waiting for the odd pair to lead the way.

“What are you all gawping for? Are you statues?” the dowager barked as she stood on the threshold of the drawing room. “I said, come into the drawing room.”

In a rush, the other ladies swarmed to be the first inside, two of the women almost wedging themselves in the doorway, elbowing each other to get ahead. Marina, however, approached the drawing room at a more leisurely pace, bringing up the rear.

It was not as if she was in any great hurry to endure another round of humiliation. Against such beauties, such beacons of fair society, how could she possibly emerge the victor?

There was nowhere left to sit by the time Marina entered, so she took up a position behind a brocade settee, standing with her head slightly bowed and turned, so her scars might evade notice.

“Ladies, I should like you to talk, one by one, about yourselves and your talents,” the dowager said directly. “Your interests. What it is that you favor above all else.”

Naturally, there was a clamoring to be the first to speak, prompting the dowager to raise her hand and sigh in a most disappointed fashion.

“Can you not be so unruly?” the old woman said in a cold voice. “Let us begin with you. Introduce yourself.”

She pointed to Yvette, who beamed at the opportunity to go first.

Meanwhile, Marina’s mind seemed to have stopped functioning altogether. She had countless interests, countless things that she could talk about for hours and hours, yet not a single one popped into her blank head.

What on earth? Come on, Marina, think… think!

“I am Lady Yvette, only daughter to the Earl of Hartmoor, and my favorite thing to do is paint watercolors,” Yvette said proudly. “There is nothing I adore more than sitting on the lawn in the summer, with my paints and an easel, and⁠—”

“What is the best animal you have ever drawn?” the boy interrupted.

“William, you should let them finish first,” the dowager chided quietly, a half-smile upon her crinkled lips.

The boy, William, shook his head. “This way is better, Grandmama.”

“As you wish,” the old woman conceded, sitting back.

Yvette faltered, clearing her throat. “Well… I am somewhat fond of drawing horses.”

“Horses are ordinary,” William interjected. “Have you ever drawn a frog? I love frogs! They are my favorite.”

The boy’s enthusiasm brought a chuckle to Marina’s throat. She too was very fond of frogs. Toads, as well. There was nothing quite like an amphibian chorus at the pond of a summer’s eve, at the Stadley Estate.

She was about to raise her hand to mention it when she found the dowager glaring at her. Her heart jolted in fright, her hand lowering before she could make a fool of herself.

“No frogs, I am afraid,” Yvette said awkwardly. “I do not care for them or, indeed, anything so slimy.”

Actually, it is not mere slime. It is a protective mucosal coating. Without it they would dry out and die.

“They aren’t slimy,” William retorted. “It is mucus that protects them. Without it, they would die.”

Marina’s eyebrows shot up, though she stopped short of allowing herself another chuckle. The dowager was watching her too closely.

William quickly moved onto the next hopeful, a Lady Georgiana, who favored embroidery.

“Have you ever pricked your finger so badly that blood poured out? Are you squeamish?” came the boy’s odd question, to which Lady Georgiana paled and inadvertently answered him.