My Duke Became a Dragon, So I Took Him to the Ball novel · Chapter 2 of 24
Chapter 2: A Duke in the Bag
The visitors see him and accept; he and Ysmerelle set terms (no hiding, no choosing her invitations, no carrying without asking); pocket, cushion and sleeve all fail and he asks to ride in her handbag. HOOK: Odrienne says he cannot be presented like that.
Odrienne tried to put a vase in front of her nephew.
He walked around it.
She moved it again.
Caerovan stopped beside the vase and looked up at his aunt.
"They've already seen me," he said.
Two visitors sat in the drawing room with their cups suspended halfway to their mouths.
Ysmerelle put the vase back on its stand.
"His Grace would like to know whether you'll attend tonight," she told them.
Caerovan looked at her sharply.
Then he asked the question himself.
One visitor said yes.
The other asked whether the floor would be warm.
"For dancing," she added quickly.
Odrienne shut her eyes.
The duke answered without threatening anyone, which Ysmerelle counted as a promising beginning.
After the visitors left, his aunt ordered the curtains closed.
"Closing the curtains won't hide him," Virelle said.
She reopened them before the room could become dark.
Caerovan stood on the hearth rug, where the sunlight reached his scales.
He didn't thank his aunt for concealing him.
Ysmerelle sat on the sofa to bring their faces closer in height.
"I'm going to the ball," she said.
"I know."
"You asked me to decline it."
He looked toward Odrienne.
His aunt folded her hands and waited for him to agree with her instead.
"I haven't withdrawn that request," he said.
"Then you'll have time to consider it while I dress."
She stood.
He stepped forward quickly.
"You agreed to host."
"I will welcome your guests," she said.
"I won't tell them a dragon they can hear speaking has left the country."
Virelle picked up the gloves she'd put beside the vase.
Caerovan watched the practical preparation for departure.
"Your house remains yours," he said abruptly.
Ysmerelle turned back.
"I know."
"Even if you end the engagement."
She had read that condition before she'd signed.
Hearing him say it while displeased mattered differently.
"Good," she answered.
His tail settled on the rug.
"No hiding," he said.
"No choosing my invitations," she added.
"No carrying me without asking."
"Except catching you before you hit something."
He considered that concession with irritating care.
Then he nodded.
"And the engagement isn't courtship," she said.
"Neither of us owes the other affection."
His claws curled against the rug before he agreed.
She went upstairs feeling less comfortable than she had expected.
She had wanted him to say no to something quite different.
By evening, Virelle had fastened her dark green gown and found her an ordinary shawl.
Ysmerelle went down to discover the duke attempting formal transport.
A footman held an embroidered coat open over one arm.
Caerovan climbed into its deep outer pocket.
The pocket tipped with his weight and turned him upside down.
The footman caught him with his free hand.
"Not that," the duke said.
Virelle offered a folded cushion.
He walked onto it and settled his tail.
The footman lifted it.
Caerovan slid neatly into the hollow where both corners rose.
Only his horns remained above the velvet.
"Not that either."
Ysmerelle held out her forearm.
"If you ask."
He stepped onto her sleeve.
His claws caught the lace.
She waited while he tried lifting each foot separately.
Virelle took the sleeve in both hands and freed him without cutting anything.
"I would like to arrive wearing this," Ysmerelle said.
The duke stood on the small hall table and looked at her bag.
It had a firm base, a wide opening and nothing inside except her handkerchief.
He inspected the clasp.
"It stays open," she promised.
He inspected her face next.
"May I travel in that?"
She held it steady while he climbed in himself.
His tail pressed against her handkerchief.
She moved the cloth aside without moving him.
"A little flatter, please," he said.
She adjusted her wrist and waited until he was comfortable.
Odrienne came down the stairs and stopped.
"You can't present him like that."
The duke lifted his head over the bag's edge.
"I'm presenting myself," he said.
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