“Dirty. There’s soot in the air, as thick as fog some days. Other than Mayfair, the streets are muddy and full of filth. It’s a shocking contrast to your city. I understand there are parts of New York that are dirty and crowded but I haven’t seen them. Still, I am anxious to return home.”

“Just as soon as you marry?”

His lips pressed together as if the topic was an unwelcome one. “Yes, well,” he said. “That hasn’t gone to plan thus far.”

There was no use pretending to misunderstand. She’d been at the house party, after all. “A lifelong childhood friendship is hard to compete with, Your Grace.”

He cocked his head, studying her. “True. That does not make it any less embarrassing, however.”

“Perhaps, but think of the unmarried women who now wish to console you and lift your spirits. I’d say you are quite the sympathetic hero.”

“Is that why you came over, to lift my spirits?”

“I wouldn’t presume to possess such powers, but I did notice that you weren’t overly engaged with those around you.”

“Oh, I hardly know them. A state politician, his wife and their friends.”

“Then why accept the invitation?”

“It was time. I cannot spend forever in America, and as we know, I must find a bride.”

“Well, I have noted no fewer than four young ladies unable to tear their eyes away from you tonight, so I’d say your dance card will be filled in no time.”

“Four? I must be slipping. Normally it’s about seven or eight.”

A snort escaped as she laughed—and she froze. Good God, she’d just snorted in front of a duke. Casting her eyes downward, she tried not to expire from mortification.

This was a bad idea. She never should have come over here—

“Forgive me, but was that an actual snort I heard?”

She winced and slammed her eyelids shut. “Is it too much to hope that we might not discuss it?”

“I am afraid we must. I cannot think of the last time I caused someone to laugh so hard they snorted, if ever.”

“It is a first for me. Snorting in front of a duke, that is.”

He put a hand over his heart. “I am honored.”

“Your Grace is kind to humor me, but I am no stranger to embarrassment.”

“Perhaps you can offer some tips on coping with it, then. If not for inciting more gossip, I would have left already.”

“A very wise woman recently told me that what you think of yourself matters much more than what others think.”

“A bit naive, perhaps, but a nice goal for most people.”

A duke was not most people, she supposed. “Then my suggestion would be to drink until you no longer care.”