Page 93 of A Duchess Bound
“A worthy goal,” Lady Amelia said suddenly. “I think you are right. We…we should not gossip.”
“You only say that because you are her friend,” Lady Hart said. “That does leave me wondering about His Grace’s motivations, however.”
“There is nothing to wonder.” Lady Everleigh joined them, her chin tilted imperiously up. “His Grace is right. It is ignoble of us to gossip about Lady Bridget.”
Gerard cast her a grateful look.
“Well, I intend on learning what the rest of the tonbelieves,” Lady Hart said.
The lady snapped her fan closed and strode regally away, joining a cluster of gossiping young women. Gerard cast Lord Ashmore a sharp look, and he shook his head, his expression somewhere between confused and amused. He turned away, and after a moment of hesitation, Lord Darlington followed.
“Thank you,” Lady Amelia mumbled. “I know that Bridget did nothing wrong.”
“Of course.”
She returned to the ballroom and was quickly lost in the crowd. Gerard let himself relax a little. In truth, he had done very little,but maybe he had given Leedway and Dorothy enough time to flee with Lady Bridget.
“You like her,” Lady Everleigh said quietly. “I can understand why.”
“Lady Bridget?”
“You know who I mean.” Lady Everleigh paused. “How could I not when you were staring at her as if she held your own life in her hands?”
He shook his head. “That is untrue. We are acquaintances—nothing more.”
“I see.”
Gerard glanced down the corridor. “I am going to see if they have succeeded.”
Without awaiting a reply from Lady Everleigh, Gerard hurried down the corridor. It seemed too soon that he reached the door that opened into the gardens. He heaved it open, a cool wind sweeping over him.
Gerard listened carefully as he followed the path outside. For several minutes, the only sound was the stone crunching beneath his boots. Then, he spied three figures in the dark, moving slowly toward him. “Dorothy?” he asked.
Belatedly, he realized that he had neglected to use her title. Gerard hissed between his teeth, hoping that whoever approached would not notice.
“Your Grace,” Dorothy said.
At last, he could make out the pale faces of Leedway and his sisters. Lady Bridget sniffed, her breath hitching. Even in the dark, he could spy the trails that tears had left down her face.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Gerard asked.
“No,” Leedway said. “Thank you, though.”
Leedway walked past him with Lady Bridget following. Dorothy paused for just a moment. Time seemed to halt in that instant, and Gerard raised his hand, intent on stroking her cheek or taking her hand. But he?—
He could not do that. He had rejected Dorothy, and it would be cruel to touch her again and tempt her love.
“I am sorry,” he said softly.
“For what? You are not to blame.”
“I know,” Gerard said.
He was not entirely certain that he was talking aboutLady Bridget. Gerard was thinking about how he had rejected Dorothy, and that, indisputably, was his fault. Now was not the time to discuss how he had hurt her, though. Lady Bridget took precedence, as he suspected she had throughout Dorothy’s life.
“This is not your fault either,” he said, remembering how her first impulse had been to blame herself. “You deserve good things, my lady.”
She shook her head. “No, I—if I had been there?—”
