Page 20 of The Duke and the Spinster

“Yes. It was her. But why? I don’t understand. And… even if what she said is untrue, you have not helped me. In your presence, all of my clumsiness has returned. It is as if all of my years of careful work to remove it have been for nought. And my clumsiness has been noted, and the gossip has begun again. I am doomed to a lonely life as a laughable spinster. Lord Fondleton was right about that, if nothing else.”

Garrett’s heart broke, hearing the despair in her voice. Now that she had said it, he remembered that moment upon her arrival when their eyes had met – she had paused, caught, then stumbled. Guilt rushed through him – with his best intentions, he had still made her life worse. He swallowed.

“Lady Juliana, Lady Prudence cannot let go of the idea that she is fated to be my wife. But I have never cared for her.”

“Then… she spoke so to hurt you, as much as to hurt me?”

“I believe that is very likely. I have never encouraged her, I am barely polite to her, but she has cosied up to my mother, and does everything she can to intrude on my life. This though, this is beyond the pale. Let me say now, also, that every word I have ever said to you about your beauty was sincere. I cannot understand how others perceive you as anything other than beautiful.”

“I… I think that I believe you mean that. I found it hard to countenance what she told me, and yet… it made a terrible kind of sense. But I am glad to hear you deny it – I would far rather believe the best of you.”

“I am glad of that. But… I am of a mind to make my opinion of Lady Prudence known to her, in no uncertain fashion. If politeness has achieved nothing, perhaps it is time for me to be less than polite.”

“No… please, do not make a scene. Do not do anything that might lead to yet more scandal attached to my name. I could not bear it. I struggle to bear each day as it is. Far better that we simply allow that she is deluded, perhaps she even thinks that she truly loves you, and acts from desperation. I understand what desperation feels like. Let us just ignore it, and go on as if it had never happened, please.”

Garrett stood, astounded at her generosity, at her ability to forgive and move on, even though it was a choice made from self-interest as well. He would, he knew, honour her request, although part of him desperately wished to have it out with Lady Prudence. He nodded, and stepped forward again. This time, she did not retreat.

“As you wish. For your sake, I will not speak of this to her. But, what of Lord Fondleton - how did he come to be here, holding you trapped?”

“I slipped away from the main room, unable to bear being invisible amongst the conversation, and came to hide here. I knew it was foolish, but I could not stand the sideways looks and the whispers. I did not hear him enter – but suddenly he grabbed me from behind, and despite my struggles, I could not escape his grasp.”

“What did he want of you? Was there more than just his forcing his kisses upon you?”

Garrett knew that he really did not have the right to ask, but he could not help himself, he had to know, had to understand – for he suspected that Fondleton was not one to give up easily, if he wanted something. She paused, her head tilting slightly to the side, in that way that was uniquely hers. Then she shuddered, like a cat casting off dirty water from its fur.

“I… I am ashamed to speak of it. Yet I feel that I must. I want you to know the truth of my reactions now, lest any terrible gossip happen hereafter.”

“Gossip? About this? Who would…”

“Lord Fondleton. He… he wished to force me to become his mistress. As he put it, I have nothing ahead of me but life as a spinster mocked by society. He offered a nice little house and a quiet life, in exchange for becoming his mistress. When I refused, he threatened…” she took a deep breath, shaking, and then went on, “he threatened to spread gossip with all of the wrong sort of men, saying that I had asked for an assignation with him, that I had allowed him to have his way with me.”

Her voice was filled with revulsion, her face with bitter sadness. She went on. “He rightly pointed out that such gossip would irredeemably ruin me, and that men who believed that of me would seek me out, asking for my favours. He used the threat to suggest that I had no choice in the matter. And truly, it is a terrible threat, for such a thing would reflect on Eleanor too, and would ruin her chances at a match. As I stood here, held in his grasp, considering the terrible truth of it, you appeared, like a vengeful angel, and struck him down.”

Garrett reached for her, taking her hands. He tugged gently, and she came to him, and allowed him to enfold her in his arms. For a moment she was stiff, afraid, then she softened, melted against him, and cried silent tears. He held her as she shook with them, and pulled his handkerchief from his pocket. She took it, still silent, and wiped the tears away. When she moved a little, he released her instantly. She looked up, meeting his eyes.

“Thank you, Your Grace. I should return to the parlour – for the last thing I would bring upon you is the scandal that would result if someone found us here now. But I am truly grateful, for everything.”

Garrett nodded, and lowered his head. When she did not pull away, he brushed his lips over hers, butterfly soft, just for a moment. She sighed, but he felt her relax a little, more of the stiffness leaving her.

“Come, let me check that the hallway is clear. You leave first and I will follow shortly after. I will seek you out in the parlour, as if in completely normal conversation. But I will make sure that Fondleton, should he return to that room, comes nowhere near you.”

Lady Juliana adjusted her hair and skirts, restoring herself to the picture of calm respectability, and followed him to the door. When he looked, the hallway was empty, and she slipped out, to hurry back to the parlour. He watched her go, and, a few minutes later, took the same path.

~~~~~

Lady Prudence Baggington was having a most unsatisfactory evening. At first, she had been pleased when the whispers she had fed to the inveterate gossips had spread far and fast, and the stricken expression on Lady Juliana’s face when Lady Prudence had helpfully informed her that the Duke was already hers had been most satisfactory. But Lady Juliana was still attending all of the house party events, and the Duke was still watching her – and still ignoring Lady Prudence.

And, to add to her frustration, she could, at present, locate neither of them. Worry gnawed at her. She watched every door to the room, whilst, she hoped, appearing engrossed in the conversation around her. Finally, her patience was rewarded. Lady Juliana slipped quietly into the room through the door from the hallway, and stood to one side, scanning the room – to find her family, Lady Prudence assumed. Then she moved, having located them.

Just as Lady Prudence was pondering the question of where Lady Juliana had been, the Duke stepped quietly into the room, through that same door. Lady Prudence narrowed her eyes and her jaw clenched. It would seem that her warning to Lady Juliana had fallen on deaf ears.

For the two of them to have appeared, from the same door, so close together, she could draw no other conclusion than that they had been together… somewhere private. Perhaps she had miscalculated, and the annoying girl had found the thought of the Duke being a rake titillating. Perhaps she had even been scheming to get him alone, with the specific intent of being discovered, and compromised. Thank God, thought Lady Prudence, that did not seem to have happened, although she was sure that they had been alone.

It seemed that more aggressive tactics were called for – she had to stop whatever was going on, and as fast as possible. She was not willing to lose the man she was destined for to some clumsy interloper!

Turning back to the conversation around her, she waited her chance to further damage Lady Juliana’s reputation, and also watched, hoping for another chance to catch Lady Juliana alone.