Page 16 of A Wicked Duke's Redemption
That was likely true. Lady Priscilla was a dear friend and loyal to a fault. If Leo asked for her hand in marriage, he had no doubt that she would make all haste to meet him in Essex.
“I do not wish to make her feel as if shemustmarry me,” Leo said. “I fear that would be the result if I were to ask her to wed me. She would believe it was an obligation, and while I am not opposed to marrying for mutual benefit, I fear that doing so might do some harm to our many years of friendship.”
That was why he had refused when she first suggested marriage, three months following Lydia’s death. “The ton will have more faith in your innocence if you are wed again,” she had said. “Marriage to me will prove that I believe in your innocence, and with time, the rest of the ton will see that I remain happily married to you. That will make them realize that you were not at fault and that Lydia’s death was just a tragic accident.”
Leo remembered the quiet desperation in Lady Priscilla’s voice and the determination in her brown eyes. She would do anything to see that he did not suffer, even if it meant ruining her own reputation to do it. Leo’s chest ached. He was cruel for having ignored her for so long. Lady Priscilla had always been at his side, supportive even through the worst of it all, and he had utterly neglected her.
“Then there is the woman from the village,” Mrs. Gunderson said. “You liked speaking with her, but there is no friendship to ruin. She has no title, but she is educated. If she is as clever as you say, I imagine that she would learn quickly how to be among the ton, and Lady Priscilla would certainly help her.”
Leo hummed, considering the idea. There was a certain appeal to what Mrs. Gunderson was saying. A marriage of convenience to someone who was reasonable and clever, whose company was not a chore to endure, did sound like a fair solution to a complicated problem.
“I would need to learn more about her,” Leo said. “I would want to know what benefit she might hope to gain from the arrangement, and I would need to be certain that she has no sordid past to worry about.”
He doubted that there was anything troublesome in Violet’s past. Innocent country girls rarely had scandals in their past. They often did not even have the opportunity to become involved in them.
“Those should be easily done,” Mrs. Gunderson said.
Leo finished his brandy and hummed. The thought of being wed to Violet was not an unpleasant one. His loins ached at the thought of her being his duchess. Of course, he could not indulge in that particular pleasure until he was certain that she desired it, and that might take some time.
He swallowed hard. Was he a rake for wanting all the fruits of marriage with this young woman? He could not quite decide. The only thing Leo knew for certain was that he did not detest the idea like he probably ought to. “I want to think it over. I must admit that this is a rather sudden proposition, and I do not trust myself to think it over as much as I ought to so late at night.”
“Of course, you shouldn’t.”
Leo stood and looked thoughtfully across the study at the untouched shelves of books. He did not keep as many volumes in his study as he did the library, but Leo still owned more volumes than most men. Certainly, more than any of the people living in the village. Perhaps it was the brandy and the excitement of the night making him impulsive, but the idea seemed to have considerable merit to it.
Maybe he could be the fairy tale ending that Violet desired. Maybe she would be Cinderella, after all. After some time, maybe she could even be Dame Ragnelle, eagerly falling into the bed of Sir Gawain and staying there until midday engaged in the most delightful of activities.
Chapter 8
Violet peered out the window at the waiting carriage. Her heart ached, and a lump rose in her throat. Behind her, she heard Liza searching the bedroom. It was time for her to make her way to London with Captain John Everleigh, and Liza was ensuring that she not neglected to have anything important packed.
Violet breathed in and out, taking her time. Throughout the morning, Violet had tried to smile and act as if she did not feel so terribly fragile at the thought of her dearest friend leaving. Sure, their farewells would not be forever, but it would be months in all likelihood before she saw Liza again.
“I suppose that is everything,” Liza said.
Violet forced a smile and checked her reflection to see that it appeared genuine before she turned around and faced her friend. “Then, you are ready to leave with your prince.”
Liza’s face was soft, her eyes full of understanding. “I will not need to leave for another week. Perhaps, I can help you find your prince before I do.”
Violet nodded, although she was not certain how likely she was to find the mysterious man who had danced with her only two nights before. Over the following days, she had wandered into the village and tried to find him. Her body tingled still with the memory of his kiss and his hands upon her, heated and confident despite his obvious unfamiliarity with the steps of the dance.
Although Sir Gawain had worn a mask, she had some idea of what he looked like. He was tall with blond hair and blue-gray eyes, but only a handful of men in the village matched that description. Of those few, Violet was unable to determine if they were her dancing partner.
None of them seemed to recognize her from that night, and when she described her attire, none of the men recalled dancing with her. It seemed as though the man had come out of thin air and disappeared just was quickly, and the realization left her aching and awake in the dark hours of the night.
The world was cruel, and Violet knew that no woman could shamelessly indulge in the pleasures of the flesh, not like a man could. She still wished, though, that her family were not formerly aristocratic. Then, she might have been forgiven a little more for the transgressions she wanted to commit; then, her family’s reputation would not suffer so greatly.
“It is strange,” Violet mused. “I know that he is not from the village, but I wonder what brought him to this part of Essex.”
“Perhaps, he is on his way somewhere else and merely passed by,” Liza said. “Maybe his attendance at the dance was not planned and merely happenstance.”
“I suppose it could be.”
Violet felt a spark of dismay. If her dancing partnerwastraveling elsewhere, he had likely already left, and she would probably never see him again. It was a pity, too. That night had been so magical, and it seemed unjust for it to have come to such a sudden end. She was left with no way to sate the longing inside of her.
It had been there since she reached womanhood, but the dance with that gentleman seemed to have strengthened it, to have created an inferno where once there were only smoldering embers. A small part of her had hoped that the man would seek her out and announce his love to her. She knew that was unlikely to occur, but Violet had to dream. Surely, no one could fault her for that. But she might very well have lost him and now, Liza, too.
“We must make the best of our week together,” Violet said. “If we do not find my prince, I will have some time with you, at least.”
