Page 59 of Her Devil of a Duke
Yet something kicked in his gut against this idea. If that was the truth, he couldn’t make sense of why she had been so upset when she had discovered that mask.
“Why do I feel as if there is more going on here than you are willing to disclose?” Simon asked, tilting his head to the side again as he examined Rafe. “You are keeping a secret.”
“And it is one I must keep,” he murmured quietly, even as it pained him to do so. “I hope you enjoy your ball tomorrow night, and I profusely apologize I won’t be there to celebrate with you.”
“Yet you will not come?”
“I cannot.”
CHAPTERTWENTY-SEVEN
“You look simply beautiful,” Hester whispered, standing behind Evelyn as they looked in the mirror together.
“You are very kind.” Evelyn forced a smile for her cousin, as did she. They had both barely smiled at all that day. After the night Evelyn had spent alone in the darkness of her chamber, finding that there were no candles to offer a light to bring herself comfort, she’d made something of a mess of the room. Fortunately, the next day, the family had been transferred to the country estate, and Hester had made sure that in this chamber, Evelyn was given candles.
Hester had kept sneaking in to see her ever since. To Evelyn’s surprise, Kitty and Bridget came on occasion too, though Bridget looked more like a deer at the end of a shotgun, with wide eyes, as if she was afraid to disobey her father’s orders so much.
“Evelyn, you do not have to do this,” Hester murmured, her smile falling away. Evelyn turned to face her cousin. They had both dressed for the ball as per Peter’s orders. Yet where Hester stood tall, Evelyn’s shoulders were hunched.
“You know I must.” Evelyn stepped forward and took Hester’s hands.
“But… you do not love Mr. Windham,” Hester declared with sudden passion. “You cannot marry him just because my fool of a father orders it.”
“Yet he made a good point a few days ago. Because of what I did,” she paused, thinking of the nights she had spent with Rafe. A rush of heat passed through her, and she had to push it away, knowing she would never feel such heat again. “Once the whispers are out, my ill reputation would damage your chances of marrying well. How could I live with the knowledge that I had divided you from the man you love?”
Evelyn once more looked around the room, in some desperate hope that the diary she had lost would appear. She longed to seek comfort in her diary, but she hadn’t been able to find it since she had left Rafe’s estate.
“Oh, dear cousin,” Hester sighed deeply, with her hands clasping Evelyn’s tighter than before. “Simon would accept me no matter my reputation. I am sure of that.”
“Even if that should be the case, I need to think of Bridget and Kitty too. At least this way, we can all be certain.” Evelyn was no fool. She had come to accept that her uncle and aunt were right. If she refused to marry, then Hester and her other cousins could be damaged by association. For their sake, she was trapped.
“I cannot bear to live with the knowledge that you must marry a man you despise,” Hester whispered, drawing Evelyn toward the door.
“You know me. I will be fine,” Evelyn insisted, trying to keep her voice level. “Do not worry about me.”
The way Hester clasped her hand showed very much how her cousin did worry and wasn’t going to let the matter go.
They walked through the house and headed toward the front door where Peter was making urgent demands to the servants to have the house as ready as it could possibly be for the ball.
“Is it not something special?” Kitty said excitedly, standing in the doorway that led to the ballroom. Evelyn followed Hester and Bridget to peek through the door at the grand decorations.
Mavis hadn’t spared on expenses for the ball. Each surface glittered with ice sculptures, and swathes of white and silver cloths that hung from the ceiling like ribbons. The tables were scattered with crystal glasses, all gathered in towering and delicate structures. The chairs where the violinists now sat, warming up their instruments, were wrapped in evergreens.
“It matches the weather, I’ll say that.” Bridget huffed a little as she stepped into the room, apparently taking no pleasure in it. “Though I wonder if in this snow we’ll have any guests at all.”
Evelyn stiffened at the words. She walked past Bridget and moved to a window in the ballroom, looking out at the world beyond. A light snow had begun to fall, as if cotton wool balls drifted down from the fluffy clouds above. With light falling, and candles being lit around her in the room, the only brightness outside came from the whiteness of the snow.
He will not come for me in this, will he?
The thought cut Evelyn deeply. She had barely realized that a part of her had held onto some foolish hope that Rafe might come to the ball. It was an idiotic idea, even more so now, for he had made it quite clear he would never traverse through the snow.
“Evelyn? Evelyn!” Mavis hissed, appearing through the door of the ballroom.
Evelyn looked away from the first carriages that were arriving outside on the drive. Her aunt crossed toward her and grappled her wrist.
“You are to stay by our side until Mr. Windham arrives. Is that understood?” Mavis didn’t wait for her answer. She hooked their arms together and towed Evelyn away.
Evelyn glanced toward her cousins who all offered sympathetic looks. Hester reached for a glass of wine from a passing footman carrying a tray and downed a significant part of it without hesitation. Evelyn could hardly blame her for it. If she could have gotten near a tray, she would have done the same thing.
