Page 56 of Elixir of a Duchess' Passion
“Oh no, just what we all already know,” Mrs Bloom said, shaking her head.
Does this woman have no respect?Melissa wondered, gritting her teeth. She had always hated gossips. It was bad enough when her best friend came to her home and insisted upon telling her all that was going on and all that she had heard from her correspondence with her other friends, but it was quite another thing to sit and listen to a perfect stranger talk about someone she felt she had known quite well.
How well did I really know him?she asked herself, trying to force herself to remember how he had betrayed her trust by keeping the London doctors’ diagnoses from her.
“What exactly is it you think you know?” Mrs Rend put in before Daisy could respond, and suddenly it seemed that the entire table was talking about Lord Spurnrose.
Out of the corner of her eye, Melissa saw Lady Becker whisper something to her husband, but it was Mrs Bloom who again caught her attention as she explained, “Lord Spurnrose is known to be a rogue and a rake, and he has caused quite enough trouble in London already this year. I shan’t imagine anyone shall be pleased to see his return.”
Melissa’s entire body tensed at her words, not only because she was being entirely disrespectful to Lord Spurnrose but also because she couldn’t stop from thinking,can he not leave me be? Must he follow me everywhere?
Blinking her eyes closed for a second, she thought of the last time she had seen him, how he had been standing with her beneath the willow tree, and how she had kissed him out of sheer instinct. She could still see him now, how his handsome face had been radiant in the sunshine and how he had smelled of musk, sweet sweat, and masculinity. And suddenly, she could not stop from exclaiming, “That is not the man I have come to know.”
When she blinked open her eyes again, there were several gazes filled with horror looking in her direction.
“Excuse me?” Mrs Bloom gasped, looking entirely shocked that Melissa would ever suggest she was a liar.
“Have you ever actually been in the presence of Lord Spurnrose, Mrs Bloom?” Melissa asked. Though she knew it was stupid and dangerous to make such a commotion in front of so many people, Melissa found she felt much more like herself than she had in days as she glared back at the woman. “For I have known the man these past few months in Oxfordshire and the man you speak of is definitely not the same man I spent time with.”
A single glance at Daisy told Melissa that her friend was horrified she would have such a disagreement at her dining table.
“Lady Belmont, perhaps if you came to London a little more, you might be better aware of the company you keep,” Lady Becker suggested. With her nose upturned as if she wished to look down it at Melissa, she brushed back her blonde hair from her face and added, “Lord Spurnrose has been well known to disrespect women, to gamble and drink and leave chaos in his wake wherever he goes.”
Melissa’s heart skipped a beat at the very last part. He had caused chaos in her life, though she wasn’t sure it was entirely bad. After all, he had got her out of her solitude and caused her to step out of her comfort zone several times over the last few weeks.
And I ran away to London to avoid him,she thought, thinking suddenly about how foolish she had been. Yet she thought she might have been even more foolish if she had remained home alone and allowed him to visit her again.
“And have you seen this with your own eyes, Lady Becker? Or are you simply spreading scandal without the knowledge of its source?” Melissa demanded, her hands tightening into fists upon her lap.
At the clearing of Lord Fenchurch’s throat, Melissa realised that she wouldn’t get anywhere with these people. Lord Spurnrose could have been an absolute saint for all they cared, and they wouldn’t have listened so long as the rest of thetonagreed with them.
Melissa turned her gaze to her friend, hoping that Daisy might actually have something to say about the viscount. After all, she hadn’t been the only one to meet him in Oxfordshire. Yet, Daisy was gazing at her plate and clearly had no intention of getting involved.
Clearing her own throat, Melissa removed her napkin from her lap and pushed her chair back from the table. “If you will excuse me, I fear my stomach has turned. I think I shall retire before dessert.”
“Oh no, Mel, please,” Daisy said then, her gaze lifting from her plate. Melissa’s throat constricted. Why couldn’t she have said something before now?
“Please, Daisy, do not fret over me,” Melissa insisted, shaking her head. She forced a smile and pushed herself up to her feet as one of the servants hurried forward to pull back her chair the rest of the way. “I can see myself upstairs while you entertain.”
Daisy looked as though she was going to give further protest, but Melissa dropped her gaze and curtseyed to her and her husband before making her way from the room.
As she went, she heard Mrs Bloom whisper in a none too quiet voice, “I do hope I have not upset her,” though Melissa thought there was a certain amusement and scorn in the woman’s tone.
She would be happy if she never met the businessman’s wife again. In fact, she could have happily gone the rest of her life without so much as laying eyes upon a single one of the guests at that table again.
The moment she stepped out of the room and Flit appeared at her side, she already started to feel better.
“Come on, boy, let’s go for a walk,” Melissa suggested, half-crouching for a second to rub his head between his ears before she turned and started down the hallway towards the back patio and the walled garden beyond. A little slice of nature was just what she needed to cool down after that confrontation.
Why couldn’t I just keep my mouth shut?she thought as she stepped out into the cool night air. But the answer was obvious. Lord Spurnrose, though foolish enough to believe that a marriage proposal was a suitable thank you for her healing him, did not deserve any of what had been said about him at that dining table, at least not by anyone who had never taken the time to try and get to know him as she had.
As she walked through the gardens, she realised something more than a little traumatising. She actually missed him.
That night, though she had retired to her guest room early, Melissa found sleeping almost impossible. The words of the other guests at dinner continued to haunt her, as did the sensation in her heart that made her almost constantly think of Lord Spurnrose.
She was so lost in thoughts of what had been said and of the viscount, that she almost jumped out of her skin when she heard someone knock on the door.
Flit, who was sleeping at her feet at the end of the bed, did not so much as bat an eyelid, so she was quickly reassured that she was in no danger.
