Page 57 of Taken By the Beastly Duke

When the butler at the door announced them by their title, there was a wave of excitement swept over the ton. The young ladies tittering so hard behind their fans that Victoria feared there were close to having seizures. She knew she should be bothered by the rise in noise level that showed the members of the ton were gossiping about them. But somehow she could not summon an atom of concern about their opinions.

She and Anthony both were tasty topics for Society's daily dose of gossip that members of the ton seemed to survive on. Knowing this, she had been under no delusion that the gossip will die down simply because they had married each other.

The subject of gossip just changed from them wondering who would marry them because of their unpopular status. After their marriage the speculation moved to the cause of their hurried marriage. Apart from the fact that were caught in flagrante delicto, some also postulated that the new duchess was pregnant and that she had only instigated the scandal to make sure that is he duke who was the father of the baby married her and saved her child from the curse of being Bien a bastard.

Victoria did not particularly care for this version because it made Anthony out to be a cad who had to be coerced to attend his duty. Which was in fact very far from the truth.

As they moved through the crowd, it divided like the biblical red sea allowing them space to pass

This added to the confidence she felt already. Of course it was to be expected, seeing as the dukedom was only second to the crown

She have never considered the significance, but now, she did she was determined to wear the title as comfortably as a second skin exploring the power it gave her, within reason of course.

She couldn't afford to relapse back to the quiet wallflower she had been as an unmarried lady.

Now she had to become the confident, powerful new Duchess of Devlin. The fate of the ancient title she had inherited by marriage, depended on her and her conduct. She was determined to bring the dukedom to it's once popular glory, even if it was the last thing she did.

"..... I do wonder how she could abide such a man, with his beastly demeanor" one feminine voice said somewhere to her right.

" Right, I could never imagine lying with such a man even, though it is necessary to make heirs. I will surely faint dead away, should I see his face hovering over mine in the dark"

Victoria could feel anger blooming in her chest on Anthony's behalf. She looked at his face and going by his expression, she might have been led to believe that he was not heard them, but the vein that pulsated at his forehead belied his expression.

He might have developed an ability to conceal his expression, a survival instinct in the cut throat world that was theton

But he didn't have to. He didn't deserve to be vilified because of an event that was not directly his fault.

He didn't have to be mocked for injuries that he had acquired while he was fighting to protect his country, to protect the lives of these ungrateful brats that had the effrontery to reduce his person to a mere function of his appearance. An appearance that was quite charming in her opinion.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became until she just stopped in the middle of the ballroom.

Ignoring the askance look her husband threw her way, she turned and matched back to the point where age first heard the malicious whispers.

Of course when she stood right in front of them, the gossips had composed themselves, so much so, that if she had not heard them and seen their sneering expressions earlier, she might have thought the voices were just a figment of her imagination

" Ladies" she said with a chilling smile " I never imagined that cowardice had suddenly made the list for lady like virtues. You just stand here with so much paint on your faces insulting a man that has more honor in his little finger than the lot of you put together. While he was out there fighting for his life and his country. What were you doing?. I am sure that I can imagine that your idea of honor includes sitting about your tables, spitting whatever hare brained ideas that makes it's way into your brain."

" You could never be good enough for him and because you cannot have him, you seek to destroy his reputation to grant yourselves comfort.

Unfortunately that does not change the fact that you remain ordinary. I am happy and fortunate to be married to such an extraordinary man who is both kind, charming and honorable and that is one boon you cannot boast of"

By the time, she had finished speaking, her breath came a little faster and she could feel the eyes of many of the guests on her.

Turning on her heel. She held her head high and matched to where Anthony still stood and took his arm.

He seemed to understand her non verbal cue and continued forward. She could feel his gaze on her but she refused to meet his gaze for fear of losing her composure

" Devlin" an older gentleman called stopping them. It was Lord Banbury. The man was a tall gentleman with a slight stoop that could be attributed to age, jet black hair that was generously sprinkled with grey. His eyes twinkled behind his spectacles with intelligence and he always had an amused expression as if he had a running joke he alone was privy to. He was an old business partner of Anthony.

She knew this because, the man was the only one who cared so little about society opinions that he always approached Anthony in public balls to discuss matters pertaining to their business. It was little wonder the man was a wealthy man, since he did not allow petty appearances deter him from his goal. That quality alone endeared him to Victoria

" Good evening Lord Banbury, it is lovely to see you today."

" You are the lovely one, my lady" he said bowing and placing a kiss on her gloved hand.

Turning to Anthony he teased " You, my friend have quite insightful eyes"

Anthony waved him off with a slight laugh and then they started discussing business in earnest, something about railway or so.

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