Page 39 of Lusting for the Duke's Kiss
“If your outburst is quite done, madam,” said the bishop coldly, “then I might continue, with what I was saying.” He paused. “While the court does not believe it to be a gross impediment, it does not condone it. The fact that your estranged husband admits that he shall never be reconciled with youdoesmake for a stronger case, however.”
“I should not be so concerned about the infidelity,” said another judge thoughtfully. “What Iamconcerned about is the fact it appears that he always intended to desert you. The sale of the property is proof of this, in my opinion. Mr Blackmore’s letter confirms that he has no intention to return to you, and take care of you, as a good and proper husband should. And as the gentleman himself is not here to put his side of the case, well …”
Louis’s heart quickened as the judges conferred with each other, huddling in whispers. It was looking good. They had accepted that Blackmore was always intending to desert her and was not intending to return to his marriage.
He glanced at Hetty. She was pale, so very pale, but her blue eyes were sparkling with sudden hope. Suddenly, she gazed back at him. His heart beat faster still. He could barely restrain himself from leaping into the air and hollering in triumph.
She shouldn’t have confronted the judges about their flippantattitude towards her husband’s infidelity. She knew that they would have a casual approach to it; they had spoken about it often in the lead up to the hearing. That there was one rule for men, in that regard, and quite another, for a woman. No, it wasn’t fair, but it was the way of it, and confronting the judges about it would not accomplish anything and could, in fact, hinder her chances.
But while the bishop had censured her about her outburst, it seemed that luck was on their side. They were not going to punish her for it. He switched his gaze back to them. They were still whispering. One judge was frowning, looking displeased. The others were trying to convince him of something. They went back and forth for several more minutes. Was it ever going to end?
Abruptly, they disbanded. The bishop cleared his throat. He turned to Hetty.
“Mrs Blackmore,” he said slowly. “We have discussed what you have presented before us…”
But before he could get any further, the door opened. A man stood there, dressed in sombre, dark clothes. Louis’s eyes widened as he studied him. Who was he?
“Yes?” barked the bishop. “Who are you?”
“My lord,” said the man, in a polished, calm voice. “My name is MrDerrick Mitchell. I am a solicitor.” He took a deep breath. “I am representing Mr Frank Blackmore in this petition. And I think the court would be very interested to hear my client’s side of this.”
Chapter 17
Hetty felt her mouth drop open. She went cold all over as she stared at the man who had just walked through the door.
She had been hoping and praying that Frank would not make an appearance. And it had seemed that her prayers had been answered in that regard. But now, his legal representative had just waltzed into the room, as cool as a cucumber, claiming that the court would like to hear Frank’s version of events that had led to his desertion of her.
Suddenly, a wave of heat swept over her. A wave of anger, so intense that she wouldn’t have been surprised if she started to steam out of her nostrils, like a raging bull.
He was a coward, through and through. He had decided that he couldn’t, or wouldn’t, face her in this court. Instead, he had sent a solicitor. It was not Mr Baldwin, who had negotiated the sale of their house, and was well acquainted with the weasel that her husband was. No, he had employed another man. A younger man, who looked so very slick and confident in what he was about to say.
The bishop cleared his throat. “Mr Mitchell. We were wondering why Mr Blackmore had not seen fit, to be here …”
“My client regretfully cannot attend today’s proceedings,” said the solicitor smoothly. “He was not given sufficient notice in which tobook passage back to England. All of the ships sailing were full.” He paused. “He wrote to me, informing me in detail about what had happened within his marriage, and prior to it, that led him to the decision to leave his lawfully wedded wife. May I present this to the court?”
The bishop nodded. “If you would, Mr Mitchell. We would like to hear Mr Blackmore’s side of it before we make a final decision.”
The solicitor bowed, smiling. “Thank you, my lord.”
Hetty glared at the man, whose eyes swept over her without even taking her in at all. He cleared his throat, producing a letter, which he tended to the court. As it was handed to the bishop, she could clearly see the familiar scrawl of Frank’s handwriting.
The solicitor produced another letter from his pocket, unfolding it. “What I have presented to you, my lords is the original letter, which Mr. Frank Blackmore sent to me,” he said slowly. “I have copied it for my own perusal, so I may refer to it as I speak.”
The bishop nodded. “Go on.”
“Firstly, my client expresses his deep regret at any pain that he has caused Mrs Blackmore,” he said, frowning slightly. “He still holds her in regard, and does not wish to cause her distress, despite the extenuating circumstances that led to his desertion of her.” Hepaused dramatically. “He asserts that he has forgiven her, as a good Christian man should, but can no longer trust her …”
Hetty’s head started to spin with horror. She felt herself sway. What on earth was Frank claiming? And how dare he say that he had forgivenher,when he was the one that had caused all of this pain and upheaval?
The bishop was skimming the letter as the solicitor spoke. “Please continue, Mr Mitchell.”
The solicitor stared down at the copy of the letter in his hand for a moment. He then raised his head, his eyes boring into Hetty. He sighed deeply, shaking his head.
“There is nothing as detestable as an unchaste woman,” declared the solicitor in an almost regretful tone. “My client greatly admired his wife when he was first betrothed to her. And there is obviously much to admire. We can all see that she is a beautiful, well brought up young lady, from a proper home.” He paused. “Mr Blackmore had high hopes that she would be a good wife to him. But he had deep concerns about her throughout their engagement. He heard many rumours that she was behaving unchastely with other gentlemen …”
Hetty stood up, her chest heaving. “That is a lie!”
“Mrs Blackmore,” boomed the bishop, fixing her with a witheringlook. “Please, take your seat, and do not interrupt this court again.”
