Page 90 of The Princess Stakes
“Oh, hell on wheels,” Ravenna squeaked, brushing the crumbs from her chin and shoving her overfull plate toward the waiting footman. “Camden, take this, for the love of all things holy, before she sees! She’ll sack you for feeding me. Trust me, she’s done it before.”
The footman blanched and hurried to take the plate. Rhystan shook his head at Ravenna’s antics, but he had to admit, his spine went a little straighter, too. It was appalling the effect his mother had on them. He had the sudden urge to pull off his cravat, muss his hair, and smear jam on his pristine shirt.
“Thank you, Morton. Instruct the footmen to set another place in case Her Grace decides to stay,” he said instead and braced himself.
The dowager duchess swept into the room, elegantly appointed from head to toe. Besides being paler than usual, she had a fight in her eyes. By God, Rhystan had had enough and she hadn’t even spoken. He opened his mouth to say so and stopped as she lifted an imperious hand.
“Allow me to apologize.”
Rhystan swore he could hear half a dozen jaws hitting the floor—his, Sarani’s, Ravenna’s, the butler’s, and even those of a couple of the footmen. A small part of his brain wondered if she might be ill or going mad. Either was possible.
Still, he wasn’t going to allow his mother to lower herself in front of the servants. He waved a hand, and the footmen cleared the room, Morton closing the door, until it was only the four of them. His mother gave him a grateful look.
“I was wrong, Embry,” she said haltingly. “About all of it. What you said there at the end about my reign made me think. You were right about me and the silly things I valued, and I asked myself, for a woman who has lost so much, would I be willing to lose the family I have left to preserve the status quo? To care for those who would cut my family down for sport without blinking? I’m ashamed to even think I put them first.” She drew a shattered breath. “Because the answer is no. I don’t wish to lose you.” Her gaze slid to Ravenna. “Or you. You’re all I have left, now that Elodie has remarried and taken my granddaughters to Northumberland.” She walked to the table where Rhystan sat, calmly picked up the newssheets, and ripped them in half. “And no-goddamned-body vilifies my family and gets away with it.”
Ravenna gasped, staring at their mother like she’d grown wings and a tail, her mouth ajar. Even he was shocked speechless.
The duchess sent them an arch glance. “What? You thought your straitlaced mother didn’t know how to swear?”
Sarani, for her part, held her composure, though something like shock flashed in her eyes. She tensed when the duchess turned her gaze toward her as though uncertain of what to expect. “I was wrong to judge you so harshly. What you did for Ravenna when that man had her in his grasp…” She choked up, a hand coming to her throat. “I made a horrible mistake. I was so afraid for her, so afraid I’d lose her, too, and I admit my reaction was cowardly in the extreme.”
“Your Grace,” Sarani began, but his mother held up a palm.
“Please, before you say anything, I have something more to say. I know it’s asking quite a bit, but I hope you have it in your heart to forgive me. My very smart son has the right of it. A person should be judged by their conduct and character, not by the color of their skin or their place of birth. I was wrong.”
A stunned Sarani looked like she was considering her reply before she spoke. Rhystan would back her up no matter what, but he waited. “Thank you for saying that, Your Grace,” she said softly. “It’s hard when those who are different from others have toearnrespect instead of it being afforded as a basic courtesy, but I can’t fault you for owning up to what you did. It takes great strength of character…and if I hope to honor my own mother’s and father’s teachings, it would behoove me to be equally gracious. We all make mistakes. What matters is that we learn from them.”
God, Rhystan wanted to take her into his arms and kiss her. She was in a word…queenly.
The duchess bowed her head. “I intend to. I truly am sorry.”
“Then I accept your apology.”
His mother let out a ragged breath. “So that’s it,” she said, her gaze drifting to Rhystan. “That’s what I came to say.”
She stood there, uncertain, and suddenly looking rather old and frail. He let out a breath. It took both courage and humility to admit when one was wrong, reinforcing his thought that the duchess was one of the strongest women he knew.
He stood and pulled her into his arms. “Thank you, Mother.”
“Oh,oh, dear boy,” she whispered, hugged him back, and then pulled away, dabbing at her eyes. “That’s quite enough. Wouldn’t want the servants eavesdropping outside that door to think I’ve gone soft now.”
Ravenna’s cheeks were wet, and even Sarani had a suspicious sheen to her eyes.
“Would you like to stay for breakfast?” Rhystan asked.
The dowager duchess smiled. “I would like nothing more.”
* * *
Sarani’s heart had swelled for both Rhystan and Ravenna. What had happened at breakfast had been a step toward them reconnecting as a family and the only thing she had ever wanted for him. For someone who had no family left, she knew how important it was to hold on to the loved ones you had. Her Grace’s astonishing confession, while heartwarming, didn’t change anything for her, however. She still had to leave.
“There, Princess, those trunks are packed,” Asha said, neatly stacking a few hatboxes to the side. Most of the fancier clothes would be donated to a local orphan asylum, where the residents could take what they needed and sell the rest. A sleepy seaside village in Cornwall did not require formal ballgowns. And now that Sarani’s banker in Bombay had been able to transfer the rest of her inheritance to London, she had no immediate need of money. Once the dust settled with Talbot, she intended to return to Joor. Something would have to be done about Vikram.
“Thank you, Asha.”
Tej pouted, sitting on one of the trunks. “I don’t understand why you have to leave. Everyone is talking about the duchess saying she was sorry.”
It amazed Sarani what got out through perfectly solid, closed doors. Then again, she wasn’t surprised. The duchess’s declaration had floored them all.
