Page 75 of Her Lion of a Duke
She did not wait for him to respond. Instead, she led him to the stairs. He followed her to his study, and she waited by the door for him to let her in.
“Mrs. Herrington, what is this?” he asked as they entered.
“I did not want to be overheard. The servants gossip.”
She handed him the paper she had been holding. It was damp on one corner and unmistakably chewed in places.
“A maid saw Brutus leave the Duchess’s rooms with it. She did not look at it, assuming it was Her Grace’s diary, but she gave it to me so that I could explain to Her Grace when she returned. When I looked at it, however…”
Leonard was already reading it. It was unmistakable, something he had read dozens of times before. It was an essay written by none other than Felix Gray, and it had been taken from Cecilia’s room. That was why she had been acting out of sorts since he had told her about the investigation.
“You may be angry with me,” Mrs. Herrington continued, “but I also found these.”
She handed him what seemed like endless bundles of cash, followed by more essays. It was all the proof he needed to know what had happened. He had been searching for Felix Gray, all the while the culprit had been living under his roof.It was his own wife.
He intended to find out why she had done it.
CHAPTER 26
Cecilia could scarcely breathe.
She paced her room, knowing that it was too late. It did not matter that she had decided to tell Leonard the truth, for he would not believe her.
If he knew the truth, there would be no excuse for it. He would not want to hear it.
Even so, she had no choice. Whether she had done wrong or not, Leonard was her husband, and she had to trust that he would try to understand.
With a deep breath, she left her room, searching for him.
She found him in the hallway, a bundle in hand.
“Leonard,” she said quickly, “can we?—”
“We can discuss this in the study or here. The choice is yours.”
Cecilia said nothing further, walking toward his study. He followed behind silently, and she wished that she could read his face. There had been nothing; no anger, no betrayal, no hurt. She did not have the first idea of what he was thinking, and it was that uncertainty that made her uneasy.
They remained silent when they entered the study. Cecilia wanted to take a seat, but he had not suggested that she do so. They were standing on opposite ends of the room, Leonard looking directly at her while she averted her gaze.
“I can explain,” she began.
“I expect you to do so now,” he said quietly. “I believe that you have kept this from me long enough, do you not?”
“Leonard, you must understand that I never had any intention of hurting you. What I wrote?—”
“So you admit it,” he interrupted. “You wrote those essays. You are Felix Gray.”
“I am, indeed,” she admitted. “I hope that, knowing me, you would hear his words—my words—differently. You know that I’d never want to hurt you.”
He leaned against his desk. “As it stands, I do not know what to think. I wanted to believe that all of this had been a terriblemistake. I hoped that you would have a reasonable explanation, so I could scold Mrs. Herrington for looking through your affairs and then forget about the matter altogether.”
“She searched my things?” she gasped.
“With good reason, it would seem, so you shall refrain from passing judgment on her. You can be as angry as you like, Cecilia, but you have no one to blame but yourself. Nobody forced you to write those things, to trigger the rumors. You made that decision, and the consequences are yours to face.”
“Is that what you think?” She let out a shallow laugh. “Do you think that I would have done all of this if there was any other way? Truly, you will never understand what it is like to be a lady. We have nothing. I had nothing —no titles, wealth, or power of my own. My entire life hinged on the men in it and how they were perceived. If I wanted anything for myself, I had to become a man.”
He looked at her askance, not answering.
