Page 2 of The Scarred Duchess Deal
“Do you already have a gown in mind, child?” one of Anna’s friends asked.
“Oh, but of course!” Sophie exclaimed. “It is the first big ball of the Season! I have been plotting the best outfits to wear for the last few months. Everything is prepared. Of course, I had to wait for the invitation, but now that I have it–”
“Now that you have it, you intend on capturing a husband straight away, I hope,” another woman added with a wicked grin.
“A girl as pretty as you ought to have no trouble whatsoever in having any man she wishes.”
“Well, she ought to set her sights as high as possible. Use that pretty face to trap a husband well above her station. That is what I did, back in my prime.”
“Trap! I never would have thought that you would admit to such a thing, Barbara!”
“Well, Dorothea would know all about that – tell us how you gotyourhusband!”
The women all spoke over the top of one another. Were it not for pure shock over the nature of their conversation, Tessa would have been tempted to sneak out of the room at such a perfect moment.
“What you have to do, Sophie dear, is be sure to be seen dallying with an earl–”
“Nay, aduke,” another interjected.
“Perhaps we ought not to be coaching my daughter in how to manipulate men.” Anna attempted to chide the women, but Sophie was raptly paying attention to their words. Her focus was so intent she was practically taking notes.
“Love matches are all well and good, my dear Sophie, but comfort and stability are what you really want. If you are seen in even a slightly compromising position with a duke then you certainly run a risk to your reputation, but he will be forced to marry you!”
Sophie nodded and leaned closer to hear more.
“May I be excused?” Tessa interrupted, standing up. She could not listen to this for another second. She clasped her hands in front of her softly and looked only at Anna.
“What? We have not finished… of course, you cannot–”
“I have no intentions of attending the ball, Aunt, and I would like to be excused if I might? I am feeling poorly.”
Sophie’s jaw hung open. Her eyes narrowed bitterly at having her spotlight stolen. “Nobody cares if you are attending the ball or not, Cousin.”
“Sophie!” Anna exclaimed in shock.
“What? I am merely saying what we are all thinking. With a face such as hers, she will be doing everyone in thetona favor since she is so dreadful to encounter,” Sophie continued.
Some of the women laughed.
Tessa felt sick to her stomach. It had been a lie that she had felt poorly… it was not a lie any longer. She needed to leave this room as quickly as possible. She was only moments away from running away without being properly excused. Their eyes were on the scarred side of her face, she could feel the heat of their gaze and had to bite down on her tongue to keep from commenting on it.
“Of course Tessa will be in attendance,” Anna stated, and the room fell silent. “She is the reason that we have been extended an invitation in the first place, daughter mine. You would do well to remember that without the Earl’s sister, your presence would be overlooked. It would be highly improper to attend without her.”
Sophie’s jaw clenched, and it seemed she was chewing on the inside of her cheek. There was no way that she could argue with that. She knew her mother spoke the truth, no matter how much she disliked it.
“They only invite her because they wish to talk about her,” Sophie remarked rudely.
“Watch your tongue,” Anna warned.
“If not that, then they only invited her because they wish to press her about the rumors surrounding her brother. It would be cruel to force her to endure such a spectacle. Would you not agree, Cousin?” Sophie added.
Tessa wished to shout that Sophie was the one making a spectacle of her, but there was some truth to her words. It was public opinion that Tessa’s own brother, Mortimer Windrop, the Earl of Rummington, was the person responsible for the accident that had burned down her family home. Over the years, they had managed to concoct all sorts of horrible, cruel, rumors as to why he would be compelled to set fire to the place with his sister inside. Most claimed he did it in order to quickly inherit the title as the accident killed both of their parents. The worst of them claimed it was a murder attempt gone wrong. Those same people tended to be of the opinion that Tessa would have been better off dead rather than alive with such terrible burns on half of her body.
The last three years of Tessa’s life had been a constant waking nightmare that people would not let her escape from no matter what she did.
How could they not see that?
Tessa could not hold her tongue for another moment. “I agree that they will be disappointed by my lack of presence to make a spectacle of – just as you will be disappointed to spend the evening at home, Sophie!”
