Page 10 of The Unwanted Duchess

“Graham,” she sighed, rolling her eyes, “I mean that there was a party last night, and that you were there, and now, you have awoken in good spirits. That is all that was meant, fear not.”

“My apologies, Pen,” he sighed.

“Isthere something I should be interrogating you about?” she asked, half concerned and half excited.

She certainly was more like an older sister to him though he could never say to her face that she was older than him. At least, she wanted what was best for him which not many others had ever done. Even so, he could not tell her what had happened with Lady Samantha; it was far too dangerous and would only lead to word getting out, and the poor girl being ruined.

Graham cared only due to his honor, of course.

“Well?” she asked, and he blinked at her.

“No,” he replied rather too quickly to be convincing. “When have I ever needed to confess something to you?”

“I did not ask for a confession. I asked if there was something that I needed to ask you about.”

“Well, there is no need for that either. It is as you said; it was a wonderful evening, and there shall be another tonight, and then soon enough, all of this will be over, and I can return home.”

“You do not mean that. You adore Oliver’s parties.”

“More often than not, yes, but not in the presence ofthem.”

“Nicholas and Emma are not completely insufferable.”

Graham stifled a laugh. His brother and the wretched lady he was courting were not who he had been referring to, but he understood completely why Penelope might have thought that.

“Besides,” she continued, “it is not as though they are the only ones here. Why, I found Lady Samantha to be rather lovely last night. She was quite timid, I thought, but she soon opened up.”

“She is awful.”

He did not mean it, and he did not know why he had said it. It was a cruel thing to say about someone, and it was not even true if he were honest with himself.

“You cannot simply say that about a young lady because she did not care for your advances, Graham.”

“What advances? What have you heard?”

Once more, he had leaped onto the defensive, and he did not know why because Penelope clearly did not know what he was so concerned about. This time, however, instead of only being half excited, she seemed fully immersed in whatever it was that he was hiding.

“I only ever heard what is told to me,” she sighed with a smile, “and so perhaps you might wish to tell me yourself?”

“There is nothing to tell.”

“You are not being honest with me, and you ought to. I always uncover the truth, you know.”

“I know that perfectly well,” he grumbled, “which is why I am telling you with full honesty that there is nothing to say.”

“Very well,” she laughed, “but I know what I saw. You came to breakfast differently today. I have never seen you look like that. So, when you feel willing and able to talk to one of your closest friends, you know where I shall be.”

She left the room, and at last, Graham allowed himself to chuckle. She was right about everything, and he knew that her not knowing the truth would eat away at her, but he was grateful for her, nonetheless. Those that knew Graham at all were very few and far between, and Penelope had at least been good enough to him that his tendencies to jump to dislike did not scare her off.

But he would not tell her about it. He could not, and he apologized to her in his mind for it because she did not deserve his deception, but he had to prioritize the fate of the young lady that could be ruined by what had transpired the previous night.

Whether it had been accidental or not, Lady Samantha was a person, and she deserved more than ruin. More than her father’s anger at her ruin, anyway.

At least, he decided, the gardens would be quieter than it had been inside the house. Those in attendance were not particularly enamored by nature, and so he felt quite safe venturing outside to spend some time alone with his thoughts and nothing else. For the briefest of moments, he could simply be Graham, and that was exactly what he required.

“Oh! Good morning, Your Grace,” a small voice came as he stepped out of the door.

There she was once more, showing up to ruin his day. He was about to turn away, but then he saw her face.

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