Quickly, he jerked his head around. “Gillie did all this.”

“But you paid for the schooling that taught me to comport myself as a lady might. You gave me the confidence to not mind that so many eyes are following us at this moment.”

Thankfully, the duke again lifted an arm, and soon other couples were swirling about the floor, having to watch their own steps or partners in order to avoid ramming into anyone. But still, she saw the speculative gazes, the curious looks, the occasional dismissive nod. She didn’t think anyone would insult her with so much of her family about, but nothing was to prevent people from ignoring her.

“You’re as good as any of them,” Mick said.

“Unlike you, I carry no noble blood in my veins.”

“It’s all red, Fancy. Besides, you are not your beginnings. None of us are. We are what we have made ourselves to be. You’re a shopkeeper. And you’re doing good work with your tutoring in the evening. You’ve nothing of which to be ashamed.”

“I hope some of the gentlemen here feel the same.”

“They’re fools if they don’t. And I won’t see you married to a fool.”

She laughed lightly. “I suppose if no one should ask me to dance it will because they are terrified of you.”

“If they are good men, they shouldn’t be.”

Through her mind flashed a vision of misters Sommersby and Tittlefitz giving up their evenings in order to help others better themselves. She had an unkind thought that the gentlemen in attendance here were beneath them because they were seeking entertainment, and yet if not for their presence, she wouldn’t be here either. “Have you encountered many of these lords at your club?”

The Duke of Hedley had helped Mick get a membership at White’s. Most assumed it was because Aslyn was the duke’s ward. But the duke was also Mick’s father, had been the one to place him in Ettie Trewlove’s arms. Mick’s thick dark beard hid the dent in his chin that so matched Hedley’s, but nothing could disguise the blue eyes they shared.

“A few. They’re becoming more accepting of me.” He lifted a shoulder. “Or at least my acumen when it comes to business. It’s the reason most approach me.” His diction was as polished as Mr. Sommersby’s.