Page 75 of The Undesirable Duke
Lord and Lady Welsford exchanged glances, and their brows furrowed.
“She is not unhappy. She is merely sulking as she is facing the repercussions of her actions,” Lady Welsford stated.
“That is not true, Mother. She is miserable, and I cannot idly stand by and see my sister with a broken heart.”
“What do you suggest, Timothy?”
“It is clear that Lord Bertram is no longer an option for marriage, as he threatened to ruin her reputation so that no one else would wish to marry her, and that is certainly not the kind of man I wish my sister to marry.”
“While I do agree with you on that aspect, Timothy, I am not certain that I understand what you are suggesting.”
“Lillian is in love with Yarmouth, although she would never openly admit it to either of you. You have made it perfectly clear that she is not allowed to bring up the subject in any way, and it has been driving her to such a deep level of unhappiness that it has started to affect me. I cannot see my sister in such a state any longer.”
“But the Duke has left for Cornwall. Certainly, you do not suggest that we send someone to make him turn his coach around?”
“Anything would be better than hearing my sister’s sobs at all hours of the night.”
Lord Welsford approached Lillian and touched her shoulder.
“Is this true, my dear daughter?”
“Timothy exaggerates,” she spoke through her tears.
Lord Welsford touched her chin and tilted it upwards. The moisture of her tears was clearly visible and Lord Welsford's eyes softened.
“My dear child. How did I not notice this? You are in agony.”
“I have brought this on myself, Father. I am the only one to blame. I fell in love with a man, regardless of his reputation, and not even the rumors of him stopped me from falling in love with him. Although it did not matter whether they were true or not, I knew they were lies. His eyes were much too soft, and his touch was much too tender for it to be true.”
“Men can be excellent liars, Lillian,” Lady Welsford pointed out.
Lillian shook her head.
“But the Duke was not. He is a kind man, a man with integrity and grace. I have said all this before, but it did not reach your ears. You shunned him based on rumors alone, and you do not know him as I know him. You do not know him as Timothy knows him.”
“It is true. The Duke is a good man, and his only vice is caring too much for people who are important to him. He protected Lillian by telling her that they should not have any more contact. That was why he wished to leave London; he was trying to keep Lillian from harm.”
Lord Welsford glanced at Lady Welsford and cleared his throat.
“It appears that you have acted rather rashly when it came to Yarmouth.”
“I was merely protecting our daughter,” Lady Welsford defended.
“And while I appreciate that, my dear, I agree with Timothy. It is not fair to Lillian to keep her here at home. And for her to be as miserable as she is.”
“I was not going to allow her to marry Lord Bertram either, if you must know. I heard from Lady Montague that he does not possess the fortune and good name that we initially believed he had. Not that it matters, since Lillian was never truly interested in becoming his wife.”
“Not in the least, Mother.”
Loud footsteps were heard in the hallway and a footman cleared his throat.
“Pardon the interruption, but there is a caller for Lady Lillian.”
Lord and Lady Welsford exchanged perplexed glances and even Lillian frowned at the news.
“I am not in any mood to entertain Lord Bertram, or anyone for that matter, Peters,” Lillian sighed.
“Not even me?”
