Page 68 of Her Cursed Duke
“Here, darling, have some tea. It will help you calm down,” Agnes urged, pouring Prudence a cup of chamomile tea.
Prudence nodded meekly, accepting the steaming cup silently.
Agnes sighed and patted her head gently, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. “Let me go and see if your things were packed properly. I shall return shortly to check on you, all right?”
“All right,” Prudence croaked, her voice hoarse from all her crying.
Agnes gave her another pat and then left the drawing room just as their grandmother was about to walk in.
“How is she?” Martha questioned quietly.
Agnes glanced back at her sister and shook her head. “She looks heartbroken. I’m not sure I want to know what transpiredbetween her and the Duke, lest I feel inclined to hunt the bastard down with my husband’s rifle.”
“Perhaps you should leave the acts of vengeance to someone less likely to bring tears to the eyes of an innocent man,” Martha advised kindly.
“What innocent man? He hurt my sister!”
“I was referring to your husband, dearest. He will surely lose his ever-loving mind if you get in trouble. Do not worry, Agnes. I’ll get down to the bottom of this.”
Agnes thought of protesting, discarding that idea the moment she realized there was no way she would win this argument if it spiraled into one. “Please take care of her,” she requested instead.
“Of course.” Martha waved her hand dismissively. “She is, after all, my favorite granddaughter.”
Agnes sighed and nodded, walking away.
Martha entered the drawing room and closed the door behind her. She headed to Prudence, whose face was paler than when she had caught a summer cold the year before. Her eyes were red-rimmed, a testament to the tears she had shed.
The sight of her precious granddaughter so heartbroken was unbearable, but Martha wanted to reason with her before choosing to exact revenge on her behalf.
But someone would undoubtedly have to pay for the sorrow Prudence had been put through.
“I will not begin by assuring you that it was not your fault. I will not imply that everyone who bought the story of the Duke courting you is an idiot—although there is something to be said about how many lacked perceptiveness to a concerning level. I won’t make any judgments. But I will listen, dear. If you wish to talk about it.”
Prudence said nothing at first, her gaze still fixed on her cooling tea, which was barely steaming. Then, she sniffed. “I’m sorry, Grandmother.”
“What for, Prudence? For being adventurous and partaking in an unconventional relationship? For falling in love? You did nothing wrong, darling, which is why there is no need to bring up faults.”
“I just—he asked for my help. And I understood how he felt. I… I used to think that perhaps there was something more I could have done for my sister when I heard she was to marry for our sakes. Of course, it all turned out for the better, but then the Duke… Aiden was clearly opposed to it and simply wanted to live peacefully, alone. And I couldn’t help but imagine his life as the opposite of what had befallen Agnes.
“What if he got stuck with someone who wouldn’t respect or love him? Someone else who would see him as a monster for the rest of his life? No one deserves to live like that. So, I accepted his request for help. It was supposed to be a simple affair. We would pretend to court, and then at the end of the Season, we would go our separate ways, claiming that, unfortunately, we were too incompatible to be together.
“But then… I fell for him. Somewhere between the orchestrated moments and our pre-planned meetings, I began to feel more toward him. I wanted to spend more time with him and know more about him. I-I never wanted our time together to come to an end. And it was stupid of me, I know, but I couldn’t help it. Up until today, he was sweet, kind, and thoughtful. But apparently, all that had transpired between us was merely brought on by our commitment to the farce, and it meant nothing to him at all.”
Prudence wiped at her eyes, and Martha said a silent prayer to God, hoping the girl would not burst into hysterical tears again, reaching out to pat her arm gently.
“Prudence, it was quite unexpected to hear that you agreed to carry out such a ruse. I assume that you also feel apologetic toward Beatrice, and while it is important to feel remorseful, don’t waste your strength on the guilt. She brought this on herself—that silly hag—by pushing that poor boy to such extremes. Could he have chosen to deal with the situation without involving you if there were better options? Perhaps. But I doubt any of them would have worked on that stubborn crone. But that is none of our business, it is up to them to resolve their issues.
“My concern and priority is you, Prudence. I know you merely wished to help, and I hope you never forget that. Do not punish yourself for how things eventually turned out. Of course, I am not saying that you should overlook his behavior. If you wish to flay him and send him off in pieces to a pack of wolves, simply let me know, and I can have that arranged—a matter we shall return to later. I want you to recognize that as much as there were wrongs here, there were also rights.”
Martha paused, then gently wrapped her hand around Prudence’s, the one that held her teacup, and guided the cup to Prudence’s lips.
Once she was satisfied with the quantity that Prudence had drunk, she continued.
“I’d never seen you look as happy as when you had been with him. Of course, we will claim it was all for show, and in some situations, you had faked the closeness between you two, but I do not believe that none of it was real. You had such a bright smile whenever you returned from your walks with him. You enjoyed playing croquet with him weeks ago—and you probably do not know this, but your eyes sparkled whenever he sent you gifts. Just because it started as a fake courtship does not mean there were no real moments. And you being the only one to fall in love doesn’t take away from the fact that your feelings are real and deserve to be respected.
“You had a lot of good times, and I am proud of you for making the most of it. You already know how I feel about traditional views, about people who insist that women must be marriedoff like livestock must either be put to work or in a stew to feed a hungry mouth. But I still worried that you would never try to find a companion that could potentially fill your days with better, happier moments. Meeting my husband was the highlight of my life. He was sweet, patient, and comforting. You remind me of him in many ways. I love that you and I interact in the same way I used to interact with him. He pulled me back when I needed to be calmer and gave me a push whenever it was required.”
Martha reached out and gingerly tucked a lock of Prudence’s hair behind her ear.
