Page 51 of His Abandoned Duchess

Except…it wasn’t.

Richard’s stare fell to the table, a heavy exhale bleeding from his chest. “Don’t you see, Edward, it does not matter. And furthermore, it is the very cause for my departure. My presence will only hinder her. She had requested a life of freedom the likes of which she enjoyed before my untimely arrival. I cannot—I will not—take that from her.”

His expression dropping, Edward rolled his lips between his teeth as he met the Duke’s eyes. “Should she not have a say in the matter? Would it not serve you both to have a conversation about the feelings at work here? Her Grace is a kind soul. If she were to feel the same for you?—”

“She doesn’t. She can’t.” Richard shook his head, swallowing hard. “Anything felt on her end is the result of attention paid to her that she was unfamiliar with. I am sure that she will carry on and find another who will provide a partnership for her.”

The room hung in silence for a long stretch, and then Edward stood up from his chair, bowing slightly toward the Duke.

“I will fetch your repast and tea, Your Grace.” He smiled, knowing and sympathetic. “If you do so find yourself thinking on these words and coming to the conclusion that you would say something to the Duchess, I will be at your behest to see it done.”

“An unlikely fate, my friend.” Richard shook his head, leaning back in his chair. “But I thank you nonetheless.”

Edward turned and headed for the door, securing Richard’s last meal for the evening. He was set in his mind, and the Duke knew all too well that it could not change. The world was not a kind place, and he would offer Amelia this act of benevolence when a different man would selfishly claim her and bend her to his will.

He would, despite how his chest cracked in half for the pain of it.

Chapter Twenty-Two

The tea on her tongue was bitter and nearly too hot. Amelia sat on the settee in Charlotte’s drawing room, and even though the drink had been prepared how she always took it, it tasted wrong.

Amelia, you are being melodramatic. You must put on a brave face.

She straightened, casting a happy glance at her friend as the finish of her laughter echoed through the room. Ethel and Selina were across from her on two seats, and Magnus stood with Isaac near the window. She’d asked to see her friends because Richard was leaving.

They believed they gathered in celebration while Amelia held the truth pinned tightly to her chest. She did not wish to be alone, nor did she want to remain in the house while the Duke had yet to make his exit. It was a pain she could not bear, and forcing herself to put on a happy act for her friends was a distraction.

“You have done it! You have sent the man back to his country home, no doubt with his tail tucked firmly between his legs.” Charlotte smiled at her, Selina cackling with glee as the lady spoke.

Amelia nodded, plastering on a firm smile that she dared not let fall. Ethel reached out and took the Duchess’s hand, squeezing her fingers.

“I am most happy for you that the scandal sheets have not affected your freedoms. Whoever continues to inscribe your name in their black books must certainly be tired of the hunt by now. You can rest at ease, which is much earned.”

Chuckling, Amelia reveled for a moment in the recollection. She had entirely forgotten why the Duke had come all this way, that scandal sheet long since pushed from her mind. It was a silly thing that had plagued her friend’s mind, and Amelia had half a mind to tell Ethel the truth, just so that she would not put so much weight into “publication.”

Still, there was no real good that would come from revealing all to Miss Ethel or any other in attendance, for that matter. It was Charlotte alone who knew more of the situation, and Amelia had done her duty to convince the lady that she was encouraging this get-together to enjoy the good news.

I cannot keep it from Charlotte forever, I fear. She sees through Amelia too readily, and this façade is one I will not wear successfully for long.

“It is a victory long overdue,” Amelia said, smiling before sipping at her tea once more.

“Indeed.” Isaac’s voice cut in from across the room, and he made his way to the seat near the settee on Amelia’s right side. “You are quite pleased then to have the Duke leaving?”

“Of course. He shall be out of my hair in three, no two days’ time, and I will return to my life spent amongst my friends.” She reached out and patted the back of Isaac’s hand, offering a smile that she hoped was warmer than the coldest claiming her. “While Lord Emerton may have hosted one of the finest dinner parties in some time, and though we may have lost that invitation, it is only a call to host an ever-more elaborate drum at Heartwick, to which you are all invited as always.”

Isaac grinned in earnest, and it appeared that he had accepted her statement as fact. He needn’t know that Amelia’s heart remained crushed beneath the heel of Richard’s boot.

“So shall I assume then that the greatest loss of your husband’s presence is the lack of invitation to a fabulous diner party?” Selina teased, a grin stretching her cheeks.

“You would be most certainly correct, Selina.” Amelia chuckled, but the pain behind her ribs kicked, and she was forced to take another drink of her quickly cooling tea.

“Perhaps you will now be once again able to indulge in the texts with me. I will never for the life of me understand theopposite sex’s issue with a woman who enjoys reading.” Ethel complained.

Magnus rolled his eyes so much that Amelia noticed it from clear across the room. Ethel was not entirely wrong, however. If anything, this time with Richard had shown Amelia that men were not of a similar mind in most things and too many were determined by circumstance and duty.

“Of course, Ethel. It would be my pleasure.”

Amelia swallowed, her sunny countenance faltering momentarily. She would remain a spinster wife for the remainder of her days, it seemed, and the thought hit with renewed accuracy as she fought to drink down another sip of her tea. Companionship was the desire of many, and it had become that much more difficult to ignore that ache in her chest after having enjoyed several experiences with Richard.

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