Mending the Duke's Heart: A Historical Regency Romance Book
Page 25
“She can be very determined to be the centre of attention,” Lady Pamala said very reluctantly.
“And she will go to extraordinary lengths for it if last night is to be an example of her choices,” the Duke finished. “Pammy has kept on her friendship despite these character flaws because she is a kind person and would never think ill of anyone. However, I could never attach myself to someone so conniving as that.”
“She is young. All ladies go through a similar phase,” the Dowager Duchess urged. “It’s not easy being a lady, you know. Sometimes we must go to great lengths to secure our futures. It could drive anyone to be a bit irrational from time to time, especially in one’s youth. I am assured by Lady Gladstone; it was done completely by accident.”
“It doesn’t matter,” the Duke pressed on. “She is not someone I could see myself being happy with.”
“Oh, just give her a real chance,” the Dowager spoke in a bit of a peeved tone.
She never liked it when her children disagreed with her—which, to be truthful, was most of the time. It was usually Lady Pamala who dug her heels in and refused to budge, however.
“I already have someone else in mind,” the Duke countered.
He let his eyes drifted over to Miss Ward for just a moment. Though she kept her gaze on the muffin she was dressing with marmalade, he still saw the rose rise in her cheeks. Out of his peripherals, however, he noticed Lady Pamala straighten up a bit. He pretended to cough to hide the direction of his gaze.
“You do?” The Dowager was taken aback by this declaration. “Who is she?”
“Not someone I am ready to share just yet,” the Duke countered.
The Dowager didn’t like this answer, but she could tell by the furrow of his brow and set of his tight jaw that he had no intention of budging from this decision.
“Well, nonetheless, I raised you to be a proper gentleman. I won't have you spurning Lady Clarissa so rudely. You should still call on her today. It will be expected. I still think she is a better choice, and perhaps the interaction might convince you of that as well.”
“Mother—”
“No, I won’t hear any excuses,” the Dowager said, putting up a hand to stop him. “It would be the right thing to do to call on her today. I’m not suggesting you give her false hope. I am merely suggesting that you do what is socially obligated of you.”
“Fine,” the Duke resigned.
He had to agree with his mother that though he had no desire to spend another second with a lady that manipulated to her benefit, preyed on young impressionable misses to admire her, and had such low opinions to think that one's station at birth defined their worth in the world. Not to do so would show him to be just as rude and uncaring for other’s feelings. Perhaps in the past, he would not have cared what others thought of him or his behaviour.
Now he had other people to consider. He needed to think about how his actions would reflect on Lady Pamala and her chances for her own happiness. More importantly, he needed to think about Miss Ward. Already the cards would be stacked against them when he announced his intentions to the world. He needed to do everything in his power to lessen the blow, not to encourage more gossip.
“I will call on her today,” he said with a slight grumble.
“It’s such a lovely day,” Lady Pamala cut in. “Perhaps you could invite her to take a walk in the park. We could come with you,” she motioned between herself and Miss Ward, “and Lord Melvin as well. That way, you are doing your duty but not suggesting more than a friendship.”
The Dowager Duchess opened her mouth, probably to protest, but the Duke spoke up first.
“Perfect idea.”
He reached into his pocket to recheck the time.
“Shall we go an hour before sunset? That should give you enough time to do whatever errands you have planned at Covent Garden,” he explained to his mother.
“I suppose that will have to do,” the Dowager grumbled. “I just ask…” she added as the Duke moved to stand and leave the room.
He paused, hovering over his chair for a second before sitting back down.
“I just ask,” she repeated, “that you at least give Lady Clarissa a chance. Have an open mind with her. She would make a perfect Duchess. Clearly, she has determination and won’t shrink away.”
The Duke didn’t want to argue, so he simply nodded and rose to leave the room. He bid them all farewell for the moment and retired to his office. It took him a few seconds of rummaging through his father’s desk before he found the object he was looking for.
He pulled it out delicately and, sitting back in his chair, unwrapped its red velvet covering. He studied the blue sapphire that caught the light through the window. It was his grandmother’s ring and given to the Duke by his father just before his passing.
It was several shades darker blue than the colour of Miss Ward’s eyes and quite large in size. If he remembered correctly from his youth, his grandmother rarely wore it—much to the grumblings of his grandfather—because it was so large. She complained it was continually snagging on her embroidery.
Luckily he hadn’t had the ring when he nearly asked another for her hand. He didn’t think he would be able to look on it ever again if that was the case. No, this ring had been kept safe by his predecessor and now was ready for the right woman, he was sure of it.
He hoped that Miss Ward wouldn’t mind the large size too much. If she found it too difficult as his grandmother did, he would buy her a second more modest-sized gem to set in the band.
Either way, as he studied and twisted the ring watching the light it cast around the room, he couldn’t help but feel the rush of nerves that came with the realization that very soon he would be asking the woman he loved to marry him.
Chapter 26
The following day, Ella made her way over to the opposite sofa. She didn’t look at Lady Clarissa as she poured herself some tea. She didn’t really want it but needed something to do.
“You know, men like the Duke of Winthrope,” Lady Clarissa broke the silence in a calm and even tone, “they tend to enjoy certain liberties that proper ladies would never dream of engaging in.”
She gave her own tea a quick stir and set the spoon down gently on the saucer, while keeping her gaze focused on Ella.
“I’m not saying there is anything wrong with that, of course,” she continued. “It’s their right, and I am told it’s a sort of need that they can’t help but fulfil. Obviously, there are establishments for such needs, but from time to time, they do allow their eyes to wander closer to home. They see something pretty, and they really can’t help themselves. They don’t think through the consequences of their actions,” she continued in an educational tone.
“Consequences? What exactly are you suggesting?”
“I just mean the end results for the woman. You see, a man can wander, especially when he isn’t officially attached to a lady. But for a woman, well, being caught in a compromising situation just once is enough to ruin her for the rest of her days. Perhaps you didn’t know that as you are so new to society.”
Lady Clarissa set down her tea and smoothed the skirt of her lavender dress. She spent a few moments inspecting herself in the back of a silver spoon, patting her golden blond hair into place.
Ella knew to what Lady Clarissa was inferring. Ella was now on the brink of ruin in the eyes of the ton if Lady Clarissa decided to share what she had encountered. There was certainly no reason for the lady to keep it to herself.”
“I’m sure it is not the first time that a couple has shared a kiss on the eve of their engagement,” Ella responded stubbornly holding her chin out high.
“Oh, dear,” Lady Clarissa said in feigned shock.
She held a gloved hand to her mouth.
“You don’t actually think the Duke of Winthrope intends to marry someone like you, do you?”
Ella refused to give in to her bait. Instead, she simply sat there serenely, refusing to give in to the bullying.
She narrowed her eyes on Ella as she spoke the last words.
“His Grace is not the sort of man to give his word falsely to gain an advantage,” Ella countered.
“Oh, forgive me, I didn’t know he has given his word to marry you. Men spout declarations of love all the time, of course, and one could not fault a gentleman for declaring affection only to move on, but certainly, a promise of matrimony is another thing entirely.”
Ella opened her mouth but then closed it promptly. If she was honest with herself, the Duke hadn’t actually used the word marriage. Of course, he had teased and suggested, but other than professing his love for her, he had made no real promise of more.
Ella watched Lady Clarissa sit back with a smug grin as the realization washed across her own face. Lady Clarissa stood up and retrieved her small reticule.
“Perhaps the next time you try to seduce a gentleman into matrimony you will pick one closer to your level. I mean, really, a Duke? Do you think he would really marry you? Even if he wanted to, it would be his downfall. No lord would ever respect him again,” she scoffed.
Lady Pamala entered the room right at that moment. Ella was vaguely aware that Lady Clarissa was making her excuses to leave, though she didn’t hear a word of it. Instead, she was racking her brain for any proof that the Duke had promised her marriage.
She would never consider him to be the sort of man that Lady Clarissa described. He would never pretend to feel something for a woman purely to take advantage of her. She knew without a doubt if he had promised marriage, he would keep his word, but the reality was he hadn’t definitively said the words.
But now she considered the fallout if the Duke of Winthrope did take her as his wife. Yes, she always knew there would be members of the ton who would be scandalized by the union, but she had always suspected she would receive the brunt of it. She was no weak, wilting flower. She could handle scoffing and scorn. In fact, these last few weeks having Lady Clarissa around had nearly made her immune to even caring what a judgmental person thought of her.
But she never considered how the arrangement might affect the Duke or his family. Would it affect Lady Pamala as well, or even his mother?
“What’s the matter?” Lady Pamala asked when she came to sit next to Ella. “You're as white as a ghost. Did something happen while I was gone?”
Ella turned to her dear friend. She refused to gain her own happiness at someone else’s expense, or worse, bring shame to her friend if Lady Clarissa did, in fact, tell others what she saw in the study.
“Oh, Lady Pamala,” Ella said as a single tear slipped down her cheek, “I’ve been so stupid.”
“You have no need to fret,” Lady Pamala assured Ella in a whisper as they sat close together in the carriage that night. “If my brother loves you, he will move heaven and earth to ensure you are married, not that I think it will ever come to that.”
It was probably the tenth time that Lady Pamala had said this to Ella. Still, it didn’t seem to remove the constant worry that turned in her gut.
Lady Pamala had been ecstatic to hear about what had transpired between the two of them, and happily admitted she had had suspicions for a few weeks now. She did her best to convince Ella that all of Lady Clarissa’s words were just fluff to scare her. It was entirely reasonable for a couple to share a romantic moment when they were nearly engaged.
When Ella shared her fear that no real promise had been made, Lady Pamala immediately waved it off. Lady Pamala was of the mind that Lady Clarissa was sure to keep her mouth shut on the matter as well. It would only hurt her own chances with the Duke if she made it public news that he was interested in another.
Despite all these speeches of comfort, it was not long before both learned that Lady Pamala’s assumptions about Lady Clarissa were dead wrong. They had spent the evening at the opera in the Duke’s private box.
Ella’s name seemed to be the focus of just about every conversation in the audience as their box seemed to be observed more than the performers on the stage. The Dowager Duchess had only stayed fifteen minutes of intermission before she insisted their trio leave right away and had their carriage called for.
She didn’t speak at all on the ride home. It was not a good omen, and all Lady Pamala and Ella could do was exchange worried looks. They bid each other good evening early, and the Dowager retired to her bed.
For Lady Pamala and Ella, however, they stayed up till near dawn sitting in their nightgowns on Lady Pamala’s bed, chewing the matter over and over again. Of course, they hadn’t been told any of the gossip that seemed to circulate around the opera house like a wildfire, and that fact alone made it all the more worrisome.
It was after getting dressed for the morning that a maid entered Lady Pamala’s room, where Ella waited for Lady Pamala to finish having her hair tended to, and requested that Ella join the Dowager Duchess in the drawing-room before breakfast.
“I’ll go with you,” Lady Pamala announced. “I can help explain everything to my mother.”
Ella only nodded, and the two walked downstairs silently. She couldn’t bring herself to sit on the sofa, so instead stood in front of the Dowager Duchess, ready to take whatever verbal reprimand that was thrown her way.
“My dear, I have become very fond of you,” the Dowager spoke calmly.
Ella thought her gentle tone only made the impending blow sting that much more.
“I am sure you are aware that certain things have come to light that have transpired between you and my son.”
“They are in love, Mother,” Lady Pamala cut in.
“I don’t doubt that. What happened in the study the other day…well it certainly does take a level of affection from both parties… I do not doubt how you feel for him or him for you,” the Dowager struggled for a delicate way to say things.
It was probably the first time Ella had seen the Dowager struggle for words.
“And when Winthrope returns from his bit of business, they will announce their engagement,” Lady Pamala pressed on.
“Has he promised you marriage?” the Dowager asked.
Ella was surprised to see a hopeful look in her eyes.
“No, Your Grace,” Ella said, having no choice but to respond truthfully. No promises had been made.
“But he practically did,” Lady Pamala interjected again. “You know Winthrope, too. If he sets his mind to something, it is as good as a promise.”
“Even if he had,” the Dowager said in a defeated tone; she swivelled her eyes back to Ella, “it just wouldn’t be possible. It’s just not done.”
“Oh, really, Mother,” Lady Pamala gave out an exasperated huff to what was being suggested.
“Think of what such an alliance would cause. It is better that no promises were made. Things would become much more difficult for your own match,” the Dowager tried to explain to her daughter calmly.
“I don’t care about that,” Lady Pamala crossed her arms in front of her.
“It is more than just that. It would jeopardize his standing in the House of Lords. You know how some of those older gentlemen would react to such an arrangement.”
The Dowager turned back to Ella with imploring eyes. It was easy to see that she didn’t enjoy saying these things any more than Ella liked hearing them.