Page 9 of Disguised Desires of a Scarred Duke
“I suppose you’re right, Lady Whitfield. It’s been a long, long time.”
Eleanor looked pleadingly at her stepmother to smooth things over, but Margaret never looked up. As Harrison rose from his chair to quietly take his leave, Eleanor did the same.
No goodbyes were exchanged between Eleanor’s cousin and stepmother. Regina winced and shrugged her shoulders as Eleanor looked to her for more support with their mother. But neither daughter knew how to change Lady Whitfield’s mind once made up.
Margaret continued sipping her tea in silence as Eleanor followed Harrison to the front door.
“Please forgive her, Cousin. I don’t think she knows what she says sometimes. At least, that is my hope.” Eleanor handed her cousin his hat and gave him a weak smile.
“Do you need more money, Eleanor? Maybe Margaret is right, and I should try to raise your income somehow.”
Eleanor gave her dear cousin a warm hug. “We are perfectly fine, I promise. We want for nothing but a kinder word in this house now and then.”
Harrison and Eleanor laughed quietly together at her joke at Margaret’s expense. Then she thanked him for the dresses and his visit before he departed back to their large family estate.
The same estate that Margaret may never forgive the new Earl of St Coeur for taking away from her.
When Eleanor returned to the drawing room, Regina was in tears, and Lady Whitfield’s expression was even more pinched than usual.
“We are returning these gowns at once. The Earl of St Coeur needs our help to understand his true duty and your birthright. We will visit the modiste tomorrow to get proper masquerade gowns and send the bill to Cousin Harrison.
If he protests the expense, I will remind him that the successful marriage arrangements for his charges depend on doing thingsmyway.” Her stepmother snapped her fingers, and then the footman removed the dress boxes that held their cousin’s thoughtful gifts.
Eleanor wrung her hands together as her blood boiled. Margaret’s impossibly stubborn stance on what she thought they deserved could one day send them all to the poor house. At the very least, it could eventually break all cordial ties with what little family they had left.
Later that evening, while trying to focus on the pages of her book, Eleanor vowed to stay true to herself no matter her stepmother’s plans.
That included ignoring silly suitors and their insincere charms. No more time would be wasted on Cecil Phillips or any other man of the ton who thought her suitable for producing an heir.
In fact, Cousin Harrison’s masquerade ball presented an excellent opportunity to reject all the eligible noblemen who dared fill her dance card. She was certain that, after surviving her scrutiny, not a single one of them would ever bother her again.
Chapter 5
After a few days of visiting his own family, Edward Montrose returned to William’s townhouse waving a piece of paper high in the air.
“Darn your socks and patch your breeches, Your Grace! We’re going to a ball!”
William looked up from his desk in the study and frowned. It felt like he’d been frowning constantly since leaving the solicitor’s office. Many discrepancies in his father’s financial books made no sense.
Finding the sources of the many errors throughout the ledgers was proving difficult. So much so that it made the duke hope that his friend’s flask was full.
“No, Edward.Youare going to a ball. I am steering clear of the ton and their useless gatherings, remember?” William pushed his chair back from the desk and rubbed his temple. The long, thick scar beneath his fingers served as a reminder of why he would rather stay in.
“Ah, but this is amasqueradeball, Will. Where a duke and his irresistible friend can flirt with fine women without having to know who they are.” Edward’s eyebrows danced up and down above an excited gaze as he presented his invitation as proof.
“The Earl of St Coeur’s estate will be magnificently decked, I’m sure. And we can leave London for a night! We can press up against beautiful feminine bodies and drink our fill of punch in the grand English countryside. How can you resist such a divine temptation?”
Without reading it, William tossed Edward’s invitation aside. “You’re the only one in this room invited to this ball. Nobody knows I’m in London. So, stop pestering me with your annoying positivity and go enjoy the party without me.”
Despite his refusal to celebrate the invitation with Edward, Willam’s lips reluctantly pulled themselves up into a smile. A masquerade ball might actually be just what he needed to let off some steam without revealing his identity.
“Ah, you don’t fool me, Your Grace. You’re coming, too!” Edward said, then poured them both a drink from the silver flask that he’d topped off with his father’s bottle before returning to William’s home.
The men clinked glasses, tossed the shots of brandy down their throats, and then slammed the tumblers on the desk at the same time.
“When is this ball of yours taking place?” William asked as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
“This ball ofoursis happening tonight. So, go scrub behind your ears, Captain. There’s no time to waste!”
