Page 39 of A Virgin for the Duke of Ash

“You must pay no heed to this bored scribbler,” Lady Wellington advised. “Gossips tend to speak of others chiefly because their own lives are dreadfully drab in comparison. Those who write such drivel and hide behind anonymity are even worse, for they cannot even muster the courage to show their true nature!”

Evie smiled as she reached out for the pamphlet with a trembling hand. What distinguished Lady Spalding from other gossip columnists was that she had no qualms about naming her targets outright. There was simply no “Lady E” or “Mr. B” with her—she wrote it out for everyone to read and make no mistake as to who she was writing about.

For example, that morning’s column read,It has come to the attention of this writer that Lady Evelyn Fitzroy is apparently betrothed to a certain elusive bachelor—one who goes by the title of the Duke of Ashton—who is the target of every matchmaking mama’s dreams and schemes. Some would say that a Wolf like him would have to have a taste of his bride long before he asked for her hand…And who did he ask, this writer wonders. With her brother away, it all seems to be happening too fast for propriety…

What was apparent, however, was that this sister of the Earl of Sidmouth possessed a great talent for tarnishing reputations.

“She must have a great deal of time on her hands.” Evie managed to smile weakly.

“She is a jealous harpy, that is what she is!”

Scarlett walked into the parlor of Ashton Hall with a scowl on her face, while Phoebe chose to keep her composure. There was, however, a flash of indignation in her eyes on behalf of her best friend.

“Lady Spalding has gone too far,” she said, her normally pleasant tone tinged with scorn. “You must forgive us for our tardiness, Evie. I had to physically keep Scarlett from scouring all the printing presses in London in her quest to root out the scribbler.”

The redhead sat down on the sofa huffily and helped herself to a biscuit. “I would have been successful, too, if you were not too kind.”

“You young ladies exert too much effort,” Lady Wellington said with a rueful shake of her head. “If us old ladies do not do anything, it would be the shame of our generation!”

“That is hardly necessary, Grandmama.” Evie chortled. “You did just say that Lady Spalding is merely in dire need of entertainment.”

“Well, she should not seek it at the expense of others,” Phoebe remarked, with her nose scrunched up in disapproval. “It is most unkind.”

“Your friend is right,” Lady Wellington sighed. She reached out and took Evie’s hand in hers. “Do not worry overmuch, my dear. We shall take care of this.”

Evie simply smiled gratefully at her grandmother. As the Dowager Countess of Wellington, she possessed a certain standing in Society, and a great many of thetonstill pandered to her, hoping to get in her good graces. If she said she would root out Lady Spalding, she had but to exert a little effort.

“I wonder, though,” Scarlett mused with a small smile. “If Lady Spalding has considered that she has bitten off more than she could chew this time. To go against the Duke of Ash…” she trailed off and shuddered. “She must be extremely brave or extremely foolish.”

“Bravery entails a certain stupidity at times,” Phoebe muttered. “Her popularity must have gone to her head.”

“Quite right, my dear.” Lady Wellington laughed. “Very well, I shall leave you younger people to talk amongst yourselves. I am certain there are things you wish to discuss that you would not want my poor old ears to hear.”

Evie smiled affectionately at her grandmother as she left the parlor. Once she was out of earshot, Scarlett immediately leaned closer.

“So, tell me, what does your Duke intend to do with Lady Spalding?” she asked, her eyes glittering with excitement.

“Nothing absurd, I assure you.” Evie balked. “Once he has acquired a special license, we shall be wed within the week. And he is notmyDuke, mind you.”

“He will be once he has that special license.” The redhead snickered, reaching for a sugar cookie. “I, for one, cannot wait to see how he will deal with that dreadful Lady Spalding.”

“Such animosity!” Phoebe remarked with a slight laugh. She stirred a sugar cube into her tea and sipped at it calmly. “One would think that it wasyourname she had written on today’s column.”

“She wrote about Evie, and that is already bad enough!” Scarlett protested vehemently. “And shedidwrite about me once or twice. I have not forgiven her for that yet.”

“That is because you are forever getting into trouble,” Phoebe sighed. She turned towards Evie. “Which also reminds me that I have yet to write to my sister about the recent turn of events. I was waiting for you to inform them of the matter.”

Evie smiled warmly at her best friend. “Thank you so much for that, dearest. I have been meaning to send a letter to Colin as well. I doubt he will be able to make it in time to attend the wedding, though.”

The brunette reached out and clasped her hand. “Do you not want to wait for him, at least? I am sure the Duke of Ashton would be willing to wait a little longer…”

“Yes, but if we did that, then my reputation will be in complete tatters by the time Colin arrives,” Evie sighed. “And by then, he will be even more furious that we have allowed it to get this far.”

“In that case, we will have to find a dress for you soon.” Scarlett frowned. “Do you have anything in mind?”

Evie shrugged casually. When she was young, she had dreamed of how she wanted her wedding to play out. Now, she found that most of that hardly mattered.

“I suppose anything will do,” she replied. “As long as it does not go beyond the bounds of propriety.”

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