Page 48 of Stolen By the Cruel Duke
James sat forward and looked at him very seriously. “I think you know what you have to do to protect your wife, and hopefully, if it’s not too late, earn her forgiveness,” he said. “You have to take down Carfield once and for all.”
Chapter Sixteen
“Ialways knew it was too good to be true,” Iris whispered as she allowed her mother to help her to her feet. “He could never trust me, after everything he’s been through.”
She wasn’t sure how much time had passed since Phineas had left them. All she knew was that she had been in a state of shock for some time, kneeling on the floor, either crying or staring off into nothing. Lady Carfield had at last pulled her to her feet, and now, her brow was furrowed with concern as she stroked the side of Iris’s face.
“Let’s get you some tea,” she murmured at last. “That always helps when I’m upset.”
“All the servants are traumatized from the break-in,” Iris objected. “I can’t ask them to make me tea.”
“Then I’ll make it,” Lady Carfield declared. “I’m your mother, after all, and I can make my child a cup of tea after such a shock.”
That is how, ten minutes later, Iris found herself sitting in the cozy kitchen of Eavestone House while her mother busied herself with a kettle. As she watched Lady Carfield fill the kettle, then light the stove with a matchbox not different from the one Phineas used to light his cigars, it struck her that she had never seen a woman of her own station do this kind of domestic labor before.
“How do you know how to do that?” Iris asked quietly as her mother began to search through the cupboards above the stovetop.
“Make tea?” Her mother gave her a baffled look. “It’s not exactly difficult. You just boil water and pour it over—ahh, here it is.” She had opened a cupboard full of pots. After sifting through them, she pulled out a glass one that had been stuffed full of tea leaves. Taking it down and opening it, she sniffed the contents. “Mmm, Earl Grey tea. Perfect.”
Lady Carfield scooped out several spoonfuls of tea leaves into a strainer and then set the strainer inside a teapot. Turning back around, she laughed at the astonished look on her daughter’s face.
“When you fall from grace in the eyes of every one of your acquaintances, you learn to stop living like them,” she explained. “After leaving you, I went to live with my sister, as you know. Her husband lost most of his fortune to gambling debts before he died, and she couldn’t afford many servants, so I would sometimes help around the house—doing the mending and ironing, cooking some of the meals, that kind of thing. Theservants she still had found my attempts very amusing, and eventually, we became friends. They taught me a great deal about life and the sort of people who live in this world, and I found a new appreciation for people who use their skills to provide for themselves.”
“And your sister allowed that?” Iris asked, amazed. “She didn’t find it undignified of you?”
Her mother shrugged. “I think she knew I needed to be kept busy. And what else was going to distract me? I could hardly spend my days doing needlework, reading, or playing the pianoforte. None of those idle pursuits would have been able to keep me from obsessing over what I’d done to you and your sisters. I needed hard, menial labor so I didn’t go mad. Mind you, there were still days when I felt as if I were going to end up in Bedlam. But I always managed to throw myself into my work. And it’s useful, knowing how to take care of yourself.”
Iris narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean?”
Her mother sighed. “I think if more women knew how to take care of themselves, if they could work and make their own money instead of relying on their husbands’ wealth to ensure their comforts, then the world would be a much better place. As it is, women of our social status are held captive by their husbands. We don’t know how to survive on our own or how to earn our own money. So, no matter how miserable our marriages are, it is usually impossible to escape.”
“You did, though,” Iris pointed out.
“Yes, but to do so, I had to learn practical skills and apply myself at a trade, work that most members of the tonwould describe as demeaning.” Lady Carfield smiled to herself, as if sharing some private joke. “But I never found that kind of work demeaning. In fact, I found it empowering to take care of myself. And I always wished I could have taught you girls how to be self-sufficient. Because I think when we women stick together, and take care of ourselves and each other, we can actually be quite powerful in a world that wants us to be powerless.”
The kettle began to make a high-pitched hissing sound, and she used a rag to remove it from the flame, which she then blew out. She poured the water into the teapot, and as the hot liquid covered the tea leaves, a wonderful smell filled the kitchen. Iris closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, letting the scent of bergamot wash over her. Her mother was right, a cup of tea helped.
Lady Carfield located a cup of sugar, took two teacups from the hutch near the table and a bottle of milk from the ice box, and then transferred the teapot to the table. Finally, when the tea was steeping in front of them, she sat down and fixed her daughter with a sharp expression.
“Now,” she said firmly, “tell me what is going on with your husband. Is there any truth to his accusation that you are working with your father to bring him down?”
“No!” Iris shouted at once, indignation making her furious. “How can you even ask me that after everything Father has done to all of us?”
“Well, he could have something on you,” Lady Carfield pointed out carefully. “Perhaps he’s threatening one of your sisters if you don’t help him?”
“It’s not true,” Iris insisted, tears of frustration springing to her eyes. If her own mother wouldn’t believe her, how could Phineas? “I would tell you if he was threatening Violet or Rose, and I certainly would have told Phineas. He already helped once, when Father threatened to marry Violet off to Lord Redfield.”
“Redfield?!” Her mother looked aghast. “That man is despicable! How could Carfield care so little for our daughters that he was willing to marry Violet off to someone like that?”
“Well, Phineas stopped him, and he made sure all the men of the tonknow that my sisters are under his protection. It was… the most noble thing a person has ever done for me.”
Iris dropped her head, no longer able to keep the tears at bay. When she had collected herself, she looked back up. Her mother was watching her thoughtfully.
“Father is evil,” Iris whispered, “and I would never help him.”
“Good, that’s what I thought,” Lady Carfield said, tutting slightly as she poured them both cups of tea and added milk and sugar. “But you can simply never be too careful when it comes to your father. However, I believe you, so let’s move forward. Why does your husband think you’re spying on him?”
Iris explained briefly how her father had arranged her marriage by coercion and then tried to get her to spy on Phineas, how she had decided to strike a deal with Phineas instead, and everything that had followed that. Her mother listened closely, nodding along. When Iris was finished, the Viscountess looked impressed.
