Page 106 of His Forsaken Duchess
“Leaving?” Lilianna repeated, her voice rising slightly. She moved closer, her brow furrowed. “Audrey, what do you mean? What happened with Cedric?”
Audrey ignored the question, her movements precise as she folded a silk shawl and placed it into the open trunk. She focused on the rhythm of her actions, the soothing motions of folding, stacking, and arranging. Each motion was an anchor, pulling her back from the edge of chaos.
“Mother,” she said, her tone clipped, “could you oversee the packing of the other trunk? There is little time.”
Grace’s lips thinned, her worry growing. She exchanged a glance with Lilianna before moving toward the wardrobe. “Of course, my dear,” she said softly. “But I think you should?—”
“There is nothing to discuss,” Audrey interrupted, her voice sharper than she had intended. She paused, drawing a steadying breath. “Forgive me, Mama. Please, just… help me pack.”
The room fell into a tense silence. Audrey worked methodically, her hands moving with practiced precision, but her mind was a storm of fragmented thoughts and emotions. Cedric’s face lingered in her mind—his stormy gaze, his clipped words, the tension that had radiated from him like a physical force.
“What are you not telling us?” Lilianna asked suddenly, her voice trembling. “Audrey, please. I know something is wrong.”
Audrey stilled, the shawl slipping from her fingers. She turned slowly, her expression carefully blank. “If you must know,” she uttered, her voice quiet and controlled, “Cedric intends to duel Rashford at dawn.”
A gasp escaped Lilianna, and Grace’s hand flew to her mouth.
“A duel?” Grace whispered, her voice shaking. “Oh, Audrey. No.”
“I tried to stop him,” Audrey continued flatly, as though she were recounting a list of figures on a ledger. “I told him it would solve nothing. That he could be arrested—or worse, killed. But he would not listen.”
Lilianna’s eyes glistened with fresh tears. “Audrey?—”
“And so I told him I was leaving,” Audrey said, cutting her off. She lifted her chin, her voice hardening. “And he… he did not stop me.” Her voice cracked on the final word, and she quickly turned away, reaching for the nearest gown and folding it with trembling hands. “There is nothing more to say.”
Grace moved to her side, gently but firmly taking the gown from her hands. “Audrey,” she said softly. “Please, sit down. Miss Smith and the footmen can manage the packing.”
“I am perfectly capable?—”
“Sit down,” Grace said firmly, guiding Audrey to the edge of the bed. Lilianna knelt before her, her wide eyes filled with concern.
Audrey stared at her hands, her fingers twisting the fabric of her skirts. The walls she had so carefully built around her began to crack, her emotions pushing against them with relentless force.
“I told him I was leaving,” she repeated, her voice trembling. “And he let me go. He did not stop me.”
Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks, and she pressed a trembling hand to her mouth, unable to hold back the sobs that wracked her body. Grace and Lilianna enveloped her in a tight hug, their warmth and love breaking through the barriers she had tried so desperately to maintain.
“I hoped,” Audrey choked out between sobs. “I hoped he would stop me. That he would… that he would see me as something more than an obligation.”
“Oh, Audrey,” Lilianna whispered, her own tears falling as she held her sister tightly. “He does care for you. He must.”
Audrey shook her head, the words tumbling out in a torrent of anguish. “He doesn’t. He won’t. And I cannot stay here, in this house, waiting for a man who will never love me.”
Grace stroked Audrey’s hair, her touch gentle and soothing. “You will not stay here,” she said firmly. “We will find a way, my dear. You are not alone in this.”
Audrey pulled back slightly, her tear-streaked face filled with determination. “I thought… perhaps I could sell some of my jewelry. Buy a small townhouse somewhere.”
“No,” Grace said sharply, her voice leaving no room for argument. “I have saved enough—enough to buy a modest, comfortable home for you. I meant to keep it for emergencies, but this… this is an emergency.”
Audrey’s lips trembled, her heart swelling with gratitude and sorrow. “Mother, I cannot ask?—”
“You didn’t ask,” Grace interrupted gently. “This is what family is for. And you will always have us.”
Audrey nodded, fresh tears rolling down her cheeks as she clung to her mother and sister. For the first time in what felt like hours, the storm inside her began to die down, replaced by a fragile sense of peace.
And as she rested her head on her mother’s shoulder, she promised herself that she would never see Cedric again.
After this one last time.
