Page 7 of Married to the Forbidden Duke
Frederick knew. People always talked. Even when they did not understand the scope of the subject they gossiped about.
“I cannot in good faith allow her to marry a man who would—intentionally or not—humiliate her on her wedding day. How many more women will there be coming out of the woodwork? What other aspects of your past will return to haunt you? Once you’re married, your problems become my daughters, and your scandals will taint her too.”
Frederick could have argued. Part of himwantedto—the part that still believed a marriage with Penelope would somehow allow him to outlive his past. But his past, in the form of a particularly angry stranger, had caught up to him anyway. And it wouldn’t have been dignified to demand to marry a man’s daughter when he had revoked his permission.
Another scandal to weather. This time, he would be reported to be left at the altar after the unknown woman assaulted him. A woman, moreover, with a limp. Regardless of the truth, or even what the Earl believed, people would think she was his mistress, abandoned and neglected now he was marrying. A mistress with a limp, wearing a hideous dress years out of fashion. Evidently poor.
He sighed, pinching his nose. “I understand,” he murmured, retrieving what remained of his dignity. There was nothing more to be done but accept the situation with as much grace as he could muster. “I can’t say I’m anything but disappointed, but I understand your decision.”
“I am sorry, my boy.”
Frederick nodded.
The church felt stifling, and he turned around to find the woman who had ruined this chance he had at carving himself some peace—only to find the door to the vestry was open.
The woman had gone.
How she’d disappeared through the crowd so quickly with her stick, he didn’t know. She barely seemed as though she could walk without assistance.
Thomas approached. “Out the back,” he mouthed, his face creased with sympathy. “The reverend isn’t happy about it, but he’s giving us a respectable way out of here. Come on, man. Quickly now. You can’t stop them talking about you, but at least you can stop them doing it to your face.”
“The girl…” Frederick’s voice was low, tight.
“She’s gone. I don’t know where, and frankly, I don’t care.”
His jaw flexed. “I’ll find her,” he snarled, following Thomas through the dim church and out into the garden beyond. The space was small, cold, bordered by nothing more than a few leafless shrubs.
His voice dropped to a dangerous murmur. “I will have my revenge, Denshire. Even if it’s the last damned thing I ever do.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Alice gathered her cloak more firmly around herself as the carriage rattled back down the street, and she forced her teeth to stop chattering. Much as she had wanted to see the fallout from the damage, she knew she didn’t have time to waste. She needed to return to her aunt and uncle’s home before they discovered she was missing.
Or, at least, before it got too late for her to travel. As it was, she knew she was not doing it respectably, but at least she had Jenny with her.
“How did it go?” Jenny whispered.
What a question.
Alice’s stomach twisted as she thought about the wave of shock she had left behind. With her limp, people would soon identify her—or at least, she would be identifiable from the scandal sheets. If her family found out—
But they wouldn’t.
Her aunt occasionally read the scandal sheets, but certainly not with any regularity, and only usually when she found them lying around. If Alice could contrive a way to hide them as soon as they entered the house, her aunt would never read them. After a week or two, the scandal would die down and new scandals would overtake it.
She drew in a deep breath. “I…” The chattering of her teeth wouldn’t stop. She twisted her hands together.
When she’d planned this, she’d felt certain that this would give her the overwhelming feeling of victory. Success.Righteous retribution.
Instead… she felt empty. As though she had spilled something vital there, in that church, in front of the man who had ruined her.
“Ma’am?” Jenny asked, her brows tightening in concern.
Alice shook herself and forced a smile she didn’t feel.
“I certainly caused a stir,” she said with a trying smile. “And hopefully it is enough to call off the wedding. I couldn’t risk staying to find out, but it seemed promising. I saw the Duke talking to the father of the bride as I left, and he looked very cross indeed.”
She let out a nervous giggle. “If I was the Duke, I would have expired on the spot. But he seemed perfectly composed.”
