Page 9 of Married to the Forbidden Duke
If they knew what she had truly been up to, all the more so.
Alice tasked Jenny with procuring her the scandal sheets before they left the servants’ quarters, and on any occasion where Jenny was unable to do so, Alice stole them herself. Once in her bedchamber every morning, she would read through the latest updates from London.
To her delight, she discovered the Duke of Langford appeared more than once.
The Duke of Langford found himself in a peculiar predicament yesterday when a young lady interrupted the wedding before it could take place, accusing L. of acting terribly against her. The lady’s identity is a mystery, but it’s widely believed that L. has done wrongly by her. Will she step up and demand recompense in the form of marriage? Our scandalous Duke finds himself in want of a wife once more!
There were several along similar veins. Several mentioned the Duke having a broken heart, seen drinking away his sorrows at any number of places. There were also reports of him at several houses of ill repute, although there seemed to be no credible sources for those claims, and they were worded in such a way that made Alice doubt their veracity.
Still, she found an odd satisfaction in knowing that once again, he was the center of attention—and not in the way he had no doubt hoped, the owner of a fine young wife.
Finally, she had succeeded in ruining his life the way he had ruined hers!
Revenge was certainly a dish that could be served cold, and she found it just as delectable now as she would have done when the accident had first happened. Perhaps more so; back then, she had been a shell of a person, barely functioning enough to sit up and eat. Now, she had regained a little of her fire, her passion, and her hatred. It burned bright inside her every time she saw his name, saw again the manner by which he had addressed her.
How she despised him.
How she gloried in his downfall.
Her name did not seem to have been released—or perhaps even discovered—but there were enough descriptions of her that Alice knew if her aunt or uncle were to discover the scandal sheets, they would recognize her immediately. So, after she read each she burned them. Busy with preparing for Harriet’s Season, her aunt didn’t seem to notice.
Bit by bit, Alice began to relax.
By the end of the third day, even her uncle seemed to have forgiven her for riding without his permission.
“In our absence, I’m sure you will find plenty to occupy yourself,” he noted at dinner, sympathy in his eyes. Although it wouldn’t change his mind about leaving her behind, at least he felt guilty about it. “And we shall write to you often. Won’t we, dear Harriet?”
Harriet, dozing at the table, jerked upright again. “Yes, of course. Every day.”
Alice smiled. Ordinarily, she might have been angry at their dismissive behavior—as though she could be appeased by letters detailing everything she was missing—but her relief at not being discovered made her pliant.
“Thank you, Uncle,” she nodded warmly.
Still, even her relief could not make her wish to sit with the family after dinner, and she retired to her room, intending to write in her journal. The journey upstairs was arduous, and she had only just settled herself at her desk when she heard a disturbance through the house.
No, not heard it—shefeltit, like an earthquake rippling through the building.
Her first thought was that her aunt had received a letter from someone who had recognized her from the scandal papers, and her fingers tightened around her pen.
“Alice!” Her aunt’s voice was strident and angry.
“There goes my hope of remaining undiscovered…” Alice sighed bleakly, reaching for her stick and hobbling to the door. She opened it to her aunt storming up the stairs, her face tight.
“Aunt, I—”
“A gentleman is here to see you.”
Shock spiraled through her body, cold as ice. Agentleman? In all the time she’d been here, she’d never once had a gentleman caller. Not once.Ever.
This could not be unconnected.
Her heart lurched into her chest as she stared at her aunt in horror. “A gentleman?”
“The Duke of Langford.” Her aunt bit off the words, her eyes glittering dangerously. “He says he is going to demand recompense for the ways you ruined his life. So tell me, Alice, what in heavens have you done?”
CHAPTER FIVE
Frederick sat in the pleasantly appointed drawing room, his foot tapping gently against the carpet as he waited. Lord Timberley sat opposite him, looking equally as discomfited as his wife, Lady Timberley, went on the hunt for Miss Ravenshire.
