Page 74 of The Duke and the Hellion Bride

Her chest tightened as the guilt compounded. “Evelyn, there is something you need to know.” She felt herself begin to shake and couldn’t bring herself to look at her. “The reason that I have left His Grace, it is not a simple matter – at least not as I have made it seem to Mother.”

“I can’t imagine it would be.”

“I...” The words caught in her throat, and she swallowed as she forced herself to meet her cousin’s eyes. “I am to marry Lord Herrod instead.”

Evelyn frowned. “You are... excuse me?”

“It is not what it sounds like,” she then hurried. “And truly, it is not what I wish. I do not want to marry him. I would rather anything else. But I have no choice, forced into it so that if I did not agree those I love would suffer.” She winced. “Although in doing so, those I love are bound to suffer regardless. It is a wretched situation and all I can ask is that you forgive me. But if you cannot, I understand. Truly, I do not deserve your forgiveness.”

“Forgive you?” Evelyn frowned. “Why on earth would I need to forgive you.”

“Because you and Lord Herrod. You are... the two of you are courting, are you not? Clearly, he has not told you what he plans to do. Which is not surprising, for he is a monster that deserves a stake through the heart and --” She caught her tongue and took a breath. “No, I am through passing the blame. Your anger should be for me, and I take it willingly.”

“Diana...” Evelyn crept closer to the bed. “I do not know what has happened, but I do hope that you know my courtship with Lord Herrod...” She scoffed and curled her lip. “It was not one that I was particularly excited for. In fact, since the day that he began courting me, my life has been so miserable that I am honestly trying my best not to smile right now at what you say...” She smiled softly but then turned it into a frown. “Perhaps I will save it for later? I do not wish to gloat.”

“Truly?” Diana perked up hopefully. “You are not mad?”

“Mad?” Evelyn laughed. “How you could think that I would ever want to be with a man likethat. Urgh,” she sneered and then winced. “Sorry.”

“But... but... but then why? Why were the two of you together?”

Evelyn sighed and then came in closer to the bed, sitting down and taking Diana by the hand. “Why do you think? Your mother...” A shake of the head. “And my own parents, of course. My father borrowed quite a large sum from him, and where he did not force me to accept his courtship, the implication was plain. And with your mother whispering in my ear and forcing my hand, well...” A shrug. “I had little choice, really.”

“Oh, Evelyn...”

“The man is a pig,” she said firmly, nodding her head once. “And truly, I never got much sense that he even liked me. It was all very strange... made stranger now by this.” She looked worryingly at Diana. “Tell me what is going on, Diana. The last time I saw you and His Grace, I could not believe how happy you were. And I refuse to believe such happiness could end so quickly.”

“It is not a simple thing.” Diana looked away, the memory of it all crashing down on her like waves on the shore.

“Tell me,” Evelyn pressed on her, squeezing her hand. “At the very least, speaking it might make you feel better.”

“I doubt that.”

“It cannot hurt.”

She was right. All these feelings could not be kept bottled up and Diana felt that she needed to speak them. And knowing now that Evelyn hated the man she was set to wed as much as Diana did, well it might not change anything, but it might also make her feel slightly better.

So, with nothing else for it, she told Evelyn the full story. From start to finish. She and Magnus making love, his fleeing the room right after, the way he acted the next day, Lord Herrod’s blackmail, and Diana’s using of the previous events to convince her husband she wished to leave him.

As she spoke, Evelyn’s face turned from curious to concerned to disgusted to utterly tragic. Her chin began to wobble and by the time Diana was done, Evelyn was almost in tears.

“Oh, Diana!” She threw her arms around her, holding her close. “That is... it is worse than I thought!”

“Typically tragic, isn’t it,” Diana said bitterly, taking some sense of comfort in the way her cousin held her. “Worse that there is nothing I can do.”

“Can you not tell His Grace?” Evelyn asked. “Surely, if you were to explain to him what Lord Herrod has done?”

“Technically he has done nothing,” Diana said, for she had thought on this already. Of course, she had. “Words only, which Lord Herrod would just deny. My fear is that even if I were to go to Magnus and tell him of Lord Herrod’s threat, that Lord Herrod – you did not see him that day, Evelyn. He was incensed. Mad! I fear that if he suspected at all that I would not do as he asked, then he would not hesitate to hut the girls.”

“But His Grace, he can protect them.”

“For a time,” Diana agreed. “It is as I said, Lord Herrod has technically done nothing wrong, meaning that Magnus can do nothing more than warn him off. And once he does, there will be nothing to stop Lord Herrod from coming after the girls. It could be a week. A month. Even a year later. But the man is crazed, and I suspect that he would hurt them out of pure spite.”

“So, that is it, is it? He wins?” She shook her head. “I cannot accept that.”

“I have no choice...” Diana had thought long and hard about this, and she more than anyone did not wish to see Lord Herrod get what he wanted. Despite Magnus’ actions, she still loved him. Dammit, his pleas to her when she left still rung in her eyes and made her want to wretch, such was the guilt she felt! But the girls... she could not put them in danger. Even if it meant she was forced to suffer for the rest of her life.

“Then what? What shall you do?”

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