Page 19 of Wedded to the Ruthless Duke

“She doesn’t deserve this,” Eleanor murmured. “Dear God, I can imagine her mother now. I can see just what she’ll say.”

Judging Eleanor was speaking more to herself than to him at this point, he ignored these words. He returned to the table and poured himself a fresh coffee, knowing that if he was going to get through the rest of this morning, he would need it.

“Eleanor, you never had any need to come and yell at me this morning.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that Aaron may have only thrust that scandal sheet into my hand minutes ago, but my mind was made up from the moment he did.”

“Oh? Is that so?” She stilled. “What will you do then?”

“Sister, don’t you know me at all?”

* * *

“What on God’s fine earth did you think you were doing!?” The shriek pierced the air so much that two maids scurried past the door of the parlor, diving for cover through the nearest servants’ doorway.

Grace stared after them with pure jealousy, wishing that she could hide from her mother’s outrage too.

“Mama, please.” Grace turned to look at her mother in the parlor, doing her best to remain calm. “It’s not how it reads. Not at all.” Despite her words, her hands shook around the scandal sheet in her grasp.

She looked down at it again. When it had arrived at their breakfast table only a quarter of an hour ago, Grace and Tabitha had been calmly talking about the ball the night before.

The first thing they had known of the scandal was Althea opening up the delivered sheet and shrieking as if a rat had run across her toes.

“You think not?” Althea snapped as poor Tabitha closed the parlor door hastily, clearly eager to keep the staff in the dark as much as possible.

Shutting the stable door after the horse had bolted if you ask me.

Grace looked at Tabitha with the thought, but she appreciated the effort all the same.

Althea marched toward Grace, her taller height towering over Grace for a moment. She snatched the paper out of Grace’s hand.

“You are ruined. Completely and utterly ruined, Grace. You might as well have lifted your skirts for the Duke of Berkley last night and become the harlot the whole of London now believes you to be.”

“Mama!” Grace complained.

“Aunt!” Tabitha exclaimed at the same time. She affected a perfect look of horror, a hand clasped over her mouth. Grace briefly wondered how Tabitha could look elegant and poised even in a mad moment like this, but she brushed it from her mind fast.

“I am not a harlot,” Grace said, cutting across her mother before Althea could rampage even more. “How could you even think that?”

“London will think it.” Althea waved the scandal sheet in Grace’s face, close to striking her on the nose with the sheer animosity of her movements. “Everyone in thetonwill be reading it this morning. They’ll be laughing at us. All of us.”

“All of us?” Tabitha whispered in horror, moving her hand to her chest.

“Yes, all of us.” Althea looked between the two of them. “I am sorry, Tabitha, but it’s true. You are now tainted by association to my daughter. She has ruined us all.” She broke off and turned to face Grace. “You have ruined us!”

“Mama, would you please calm down, I beseech you,” Grace snapped. “There have been numerous scandals in the past that have blown over with the next coming breeze.”

“And you think they’re wholly forgotten, do you?” Althea marched toward Grace and held the paper toward her again, thrusting it into Grace’s grasp. “Read it.”

“I have already read it.”

“Then read it again then perhaps you will realize the true horror of this situation.” Althea stepped away, throwing her hands in the air wildly. She seemed to have forgotten all sense of propriety at all.

It had not escaped Grace’s notice that in Althea’s anger at her, she would frequently forget that her outrage could be overheard. She had made such a mistake at the ball the night before, and now, she seemed to have no fear of being overheard by the staff, just so long as she belittled Grace enough.

How I wish I could speak to father about this.

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