Page 64 of The Undesirable Duke
Samuel drew in a deep breath and glanced briefly at Lady Lillian.
“Do you recall the rumor about Lady Bertram being involved in a scandal with a footman?”
“Indeed. It insinuated that the late Lord Bertram was not Lord William’s father. That rumor spread like wildfire through the university.”
“I began that rumor.”
“What?” Lord Timothy gasped.
“Why on Earth did you do such a thing?” Lady Lillian asked.
“I was young and immature, and very unwise - I did not imagine that it would spread so quickly, or spread at all, given the circumstance in which it was created. It was not true, in fact, or shall I say, that we know of,” Samuel sighed, angered by his own actions of the past. “I was in a tavern with a number of the other students, and someone suggested that we each invent a scandalous rumor, just to see what people might believe. Wewere in our cups, and thought the idea funny at the time. When it came my turn, I just picked the first Lady’s name which came to my drink addled mind, and used that in my story of a woman having relations with a footman, and that resulting in one of her children being rumored to have come of the liaison. Someone else in the tavern must have overheard our conversations, for soon the rumor took on a life of its own, and spread about the town, as did the things invented by a couple of the others who were with me. It was only much later that I realized that the name I had picked randomly was Lord William’s mother. I then apologized to him as I had not truly meant any harm, but clearly, he did not accept that apology. The rumor died away, like all rumors eventually do, but it took more than a year to do so.”
“He has been carrying that grudge all this time?” Lord Timothy asked.
“It would seem that way,” Samuel nodded. “He was, after all, shunned from all social activities. People whispered behind his back, some even within earshot of him. I felt very guilty about it at the time, and tried to start a counter rumor, that the first one wasn’t true – but it simply didn’t spread.”
“That must have been terrible for him.”
Lord Timothy narrowed his eyes at Lady Lillian.
“Do not tell me that you feel sympathy for the man, sister.”
“It is quite alright if she does, Colborne. I did a terrible thing.”
“But you apologized for it, sincerely. That does not mean that he should do this to you,” Lord Timothy stated.
“Clearly, His Grace’s apology did not mean much to the man. He carried that anger inside him for years, and it had to find its way to the surface eventually. What better way for him to release it than for him to ruin the reputation of the man who ruined his, and made him an outcast.”
Samuel stared at Lady Lillian, and despite the situation, he could not help himself from smiling. He was in awe of her. Lady Lillian had been the key to solving this mystery.
“But why now?” Lord Timothy inquired.
“I can answer that,” Lady Lillian replied proudly. “It was Lord Bertram’s plan to lure Your Grace to London, to allow a public shunning by theton. Lord Bertram knew that you would not allow anyone to sully the great Fletcher name, and that you would stop at nothing to restore your reputation. As a member of theton, he could go very much unnoticed. What he did not anticipate was that you and I would begin spending time together, due to your ever-looming presence in our lives.”
Samuel grinned as Lady Lillian flashed him a sweet smile.
“Of course, this was not going according to plan for Lord Bertram, and he certainly did not wish me to get involved with Your Grace, which was why he sent me that threatening letter, urging me to stay as far away from you as possible. And if I did not, my reputation would be next. That would have worked in his favor as well. Who would want to marry a young woman with a ruined reputation? Lord Bertram, of course.”
“What a sly man,” Lord Timothy muttered. “Yet another reason why he is not right for you, sister.”
Lady Lillian rolled her eyes and clasped her hands together.
“Lord Bertram was well aware of our family’s wealth, influence, and reputation, hence the threatening letter. He knew that I would not allow myself to be ruined, thus ensuring that I would not spend any more time with Your Grace. All was going according to his plan until the Duke and I were spotted together, somehow, by Lord Bertram. Perhaps he walked by or hid in the shadows himself, but he saw us, which gave him the perfect opportunity to break into your house, while he knew that you were elsewhere. What I do not entirely understand is what he aimed to achieve by doing so. Was anything stolen? Do you thinkthat he was looking for something in particular? Or perhaps he was just venting his anger upon you in acts of destruction?”
“The maid’s description of the person they saw ransacking the study matches Lord Bertram perfectly – I should have realized immediately that they said the man had a crooked eyebrow. But I agree that I do not understand the reason for that action – I am not aware of anything having been stolen, but we are still cleaning up the mess he created, so perhaps…”
“We must confront him,” Lady Lillian announced and walked to the drawing-room door with determination.
Samuel and Lord Timothy’s eyes widened significantly, and Samuel called out, “Wait a moment.”
Lady Lillian spun around and gazed at them expectantly.
“I do not feel comfortable with you joining us in this confrontation, Lady Lillian,” Samuel said diplomatically.
Lady Lillian tilted her head to the side and appeared rather perplexed.
“And why not?”
