When she told Dick she wouldn’t marry him if her aunt wasn’t set free, she certainly hadn’t meant to place the burden of proving the duchess’s innocence on him. But the look he gave her at the funeral said very clearly that he did think it. He thought she was imposing obligations, when her aim had been quite the opposite. It made her stiff and ill at ease when he entered with Pronto that evening. “How nice of you to come, Belami” was her greeting. Dick noticed that she refrained from using his Christian name, and it caused him to grow stiff, too. To see her sitting with Nevil Ryder didn’t do anything to unstiffen him either. Over dinner, it was only Sir Nevil who kept the conversation from flagging, and his remarks were addressed mostly to Deirdre. Sir Nevil wasn’t actually invited to Fernvale for dinner the day of the funeral, but he was at the Grange with the duchess and tagged along. The excess funeral meats were in her carriage, so she didn’t object, except that it made having a private word with Belami difficult.
What do You think about The Devious Duchess (1985)?
