Page 12 of A Bride for the Rakish Duke

Because I am young… because I am a silly child, because I do not know anything.

But she had not stumbled into this out of foolishness; she had been minding her own business whenWilliamhad roped her into his plans. This was all his fault, and she would see him punished without any harm befalling the standing of her family.

After all, she had warned him not to cross paths with her again. Shewouldmake him regret these actions, and she would do it by herself so that no one ever got to make her feel like an idiotic child again.

“I do not need you to save me, Emma, though I thank you for the offer,” she said, emboldened. “Indeed, it is you—my family—who need saving. Being married to a duke will further improve publicopinion, it will ease our parents’ worries, and I assure you, it will be to all of our benefit. I know what I am doing.”

Rather, I am not the foolish girl you believe I am.

Emma furrowed her brow. “Lydia, I think?—”

Lydia interrupted, lowering her voice so only her sister could hear. “Don’t worry, Sister. I am going to get this marriage annulled,” she said, brimming with determination. “Better yet, I intend to make him do it for me.”

CHAPTER 5

The visit to Lady Lydia’s residence had gone far better than William could have anticipated. He had known that the Earl of Lambert would agree in the end as a matter of principle, but he was pleased he had not had to suffer hours of persuasion and argument. Indeed, it could not have gone better if he had planned it that way.

Luck might, at last, be on my side.

He grinned at the notion, for it was nothing short of divine intervention that Lady Lydia was not just the sister of the woman who destroyed his reputation but the lady with the cat mask too.

He would never deliberately use blackmail or a kiss as leverage, but he would not argue with the advantages that fate had arranged for him. It pleased him all the more that he hadnothad to use blackmail, for Lydia had blackmailed herself. She had made assumptions, and he had not corrected her.

He waltzed into the drawing room of Stonebridge House, exhilarated by his success and his ride home and eager to inform his brother of what had occurred.

Like a pin to a bubble, his contentment popped. Anthony was not alone.

“What is she doing here?” William asked, ignoring the older woman who perched daintily on the edge of the settee, uncomfortable in the house that had once been her home.

The woman shook her head slowly. “Is that any way to treat your mother, Willie?”

William bristled. He hated that nickname, especially from her. “You will refer to me as ‘Your Grace.’ What do you want?”

Mary Bewley, the Dowager Duchess of Stonebridge, flinched as if he had struck her. With her head bowed, she fidgeted with the beaded strap of her reticule and said quietly, “I just missed my children and wished to have dinner with them.”

A trick to gain pity that might have worked on his father but not on him.

“You must have at least one ball to attend tonight,” he replied. “Why else would you be draped in all your finery? I doubt that the new gown is for our benefit. You surely cannot resist the urge to show it off to all and sundry.”

The gown he had recently paid for, despite his inherited debts, for the sole purpose of hernotvisiting Stonebridge. He should have known that the show of generosity would make her think she was welcome again.

“William!” Anthony interjected. “That is unkind.”

William looked toward his mother, who raised her head with an air of confidence, now unbothered by her eldest son’s behavior. Either she had grown accustomed to it over the years or had realized that it was what she deserved.

“No, sweet boy,” she said softly. “I will dine with my sons tonight. What mother wouldnotdress well for such an auspicious occasion?”

At that moment, a knock sounded at the drawing room door.

“Enter,” William replied tersely.

The butler, Mr. Fenton, stepped into the room and bowed his head, appearing as uneasy as the Dowager. “Your Grace, I am sorry to say that dinner shall be somewhat delayed this evening. If it pleases you, an arrangement of savories can be prepared for you to enjoy while you wait.”

“Delayed?”

That wasnotthe news William wanted to hear. If his mother was determined to stay for dinner, then he wanted it done and over with as soon as possible.

I have important matters to discuss with Anthony.

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