Page 46 of The Duke of Desire
Mrs. Pippin nodded profusely. “Indeed. It’s no wonder the Forth-Hodgeses didn’t come down tonight. I wonder if they’ll leave the party altogether.”
“I wouldn’t blame them. And really, what else can they do?” Mrs. Chalmers’s tone was blithely superior.
West inched behind them as they moved toward one of the tables. He didn’t usually care to eavesdrop, but he knew that Miss Forth-Hodges was a friend of Miss Breckenridge’s. He wanted to know what the “scandal” was.
Mrs. Pippin exhaled. “There’s nothing they can do. Miss Forth-Hodges has cast a blight on all of them.”
Though he wanted to go directly to the library to speak with Miss Breckenridge, West bided his time. Then he went to the gentlemen’s parlor and had a glass of whiskey with Axbridge before finally making his way to the alcove where he typically met Miss Breckenridge.
She looked up at him as he approached. “That took you long enough.”
He claimed his usual chair. “Yes, well, I was trying to be discreet. It seems there’s already a scandal afoot, however.”
Miss Breckenridge pressed her lips together and closed the book in her lap. “Unfortunately, yes. I was so hoping the Forth-Hodgeses would be able to keep Emmaline’s disappearance secret, but Mrs. Forth-Hodges made the mistake of asking Lady Wendover if she’d seen Emmaline.”
“I don’t suppose you can fault her for being concerned for her daughter.”
Miss Breckenridge exhaled. “No, you cannot. Of course it couldn’t be kept secret.”
“Do you know what happened?”
“Not for certain, but we believe she eloped with Townsend.”
Thatwasa scandal. West should’ve talked a bit more sense into Townsend’s head the other day. Not that Townsend had given any inkling of elopement. But then, at that time, he hadn’t yet had his suit denied. Thinking back to their conversation, West could see Townsend planning such a rash action as elopement. “I don’t know Townsend well, but he seems impulsive.”
Miss Breckenridge lifted her gaze to the ceiling for a brief moment. “And I think Emmaline believed she was in love.”
“You don’t think she was?”
“I think eloping with a man she barely knows is incredibly foolish.” She focused on him intently. “Don’t you?”
He rested his arms on the chair. “In fact, I do.”
The intensity of her gaze didn’t lessen. “It’s strange, isn’t it? That you don’t find that romantic given your…proclivities.”
“I don’t intertwine the two.”
“You mean you don’t ever fall in love with the women you…help?”
He stared into the arresting green depths of her eyes. “Never.”
She blinked. “You’veneverbeen in love?”
“Never.” He found her interrogation fascinating. And perhaps telling. “Have you?”
Her gaze faltered at last. She looked down at her lap and turned the book over in her hands. “No.”
He didn’t believe her. He also didn’t think she would discuss it with him if he pressed her.
“Well, even though I haven’t been in love, I recognize that some have. Someare. Townsend may be impetuous, but he did seem to care for Miss Forth-Hodges.”
“Seem. You can’t really know.” She leaned forward and lowered her voice to just above a whisper. “What if he lured her away so he could have his way with her?”
The pieces fell together in West’s mind. “You’ve been in love and had your heart broken.”
Her eyes widened, and she pursed her lips. “I have not.”
He scooted to the edge of the cushion and leaned forward. “You don’t have to hide the truth with me. Yesterday, you revealed quite a bit—I was paying close attention—and there was no harm done to you, was there?”
