Page 76 of The Duchess' Ultimatum
“He didn’t do anything,” Barabra hurried. “Not like that. But he threatened me and promised to ruin me if I ever… if I told anyone… I was so scared.”
Dorian was shaking. Eyes aflame. Jaw clenched. Face turning a dark shade of red. “Lord Kenbrook is the reason. He… all this time… and now…” He was struggling to put two words together. “And now he thinks to… his son…”
Penelope reached for Dorian’s hand. “Dorian, now is not the time for –”
“I’ll kill him!” Dorian was on his feet.
“No!” Barbara cried after him. “Dorian, please!”
Halfway toward the door, he turned back and snarled. “What do you mean no? He can’t get away with this – he will not get away with this.”
“Please…” Barbara appeared terrified.
Penelope looked between Dorian and his sister, coming to a quick decision. “You’ll only make things worse,” she said as she stood and swept to Dorian. There, she rested a hand on one shoulder and took his arm with the other. “And this entire weekend will be marred –”
“And I care?!”
“It is all anyone will talk about,” Penelope pressed on him. “You might have your revenge but the effect will be felt by Barbara. You know how this town is, how its people are. Even if they understand what happened, some will still lay the fault of it at her feet.”
He was still shaking, seething through his teeth. “I can’t… he cannot get away with this.”
“Leave it for tonight,” Barbara implored him. “Have him removed from the estate tomorrow – quickly and silently. Have the staff do it. There is no need to make a scene from which you can’t come back.”
“Please, Dorian,” Barbara added. “Don’t…”
Thankfully, Dorian understood the logic of Penelope’s plea. He still looked as if he might explode from anger, but he forced some sense of calmness. “He will not get away with this. I promise you that, Barbara.”
She smiled through the tears. “I know he won’t, Brother.”
Dorian nodded his head as he came to a decision. “I will speak to the staff now, have the arrangements made.” He pulled from Penelope’s grip and swept toward the door. It was only once it was opened that he seemed to realize what he was doing, wincing as he turned back on his sister. “Barbara, I… I will be return as quickly as I –”
“It is fine,” she assured him, sniffing back the tears. “I will be fine. But Penelope…” She looked hopefully at Penelope. “Might you stay with me for a while?”
“Of course I will,” Penelope said. “Anything you need.”
Dorian left quickly after that, at which point little was said between Penelope and Barabra. It felt like that was for the best, as Barbara lay her head back on the bed, as Penelope snuggled in beside her and stroked her hair, and as Barbara slowly drifted off to sleep.
Where the moment was startling and revealing in one, it further confirmed for Penelope that she was doing the right thing. How hard Barbara’s life had been so far, how unfair, and the last thing she would want to do was make it worse. The young woman needed all the help she could get if she had even a tiny chance at being happy, and Penelope was glad to help in any way that she could.
Even if it means giving up my own chance at happiness.
It wasn’t until Penelope heard Barbara snoring that she felt comfortable leaving her alone. Slipping quietly from the room and closing the door behind her, she thought to return back to her own room and go to bed. It had been a long day and a longer evening and she needed sleep.
However, the time for that was not quite upon her. There was still one thing she had to do… and that was to say goodbye.
It was a minute later when she found herself outside of Dorian’s bedroom. The door was cracked open, and she could see movement coming from the other side.
A soft knock and she gently pushed open the door. “Dorian…”
He was pacing the room, fury still burning through him. But when he heard her voice and saw her step through the door he came to an abrupt halt. “Penelope, I –” He grimaced. “I meant to come and find you. And to check on Barbara. Only…”
“It has been a long day for all of us,” she agreed.
“How is she?”
“She is asleep,” Penelope assured him. “Nothing more to be done until tomorrow. And Lord Kenbrook?”
His lips curled into a snarl. “I have informed the staff to escort him from the property as soon as the sun rises. To do so quietly, and without incident or explanation.” He laughed bitterly. “Let us see him puzzle out exactly why he is being asked to leave.”
