Page 59 of The Duke of Seduction
“The man I was foolish enough to meet alone? Yes. He possessed an exceedingly charming demeanor. I had no idea he wasn’t sincere in his pursuit of me.” Her lips quirked up into a self-deprecating smile. “It turned out he was pursuing many young women. With no apparent intent to wed any of them.”
“He strung them along with empty promises.”
“He certainly did me,” she said. “And I was the perfect target—young, foolish, and desperate to marry.”
Exactly like Helen. Had she fallen prey to Haywood or someone like him?
“I’m happy things worked out for you.” Beck smiled at the duchess despite his sorrow at how thingshadn’tworked out for Helen.
She let out a light laugh. “Exceedingly well, thankfully! And now I must be off. I have children to attend at home.” She glanced about briefly before returning her attention to Beck. “First, I must find Ware and thank him for this charming affair. Did you happen to listen to Lady Lavinia talk about the stratification in the sand pit? It was absolutely fascinating.”
“I did, and I agree.”
She bid him farewell, and Beck found himself drawn back down to the sand pit. There was no one there at present, and he wondered where Lavinia had gone. He meandered to the exposed layers she’d talked about earlier. Removing his glove, he ran his bare fingers over the lowest band of dirt, wondering at what things might have lived on it.
His mind turned to a more recent history—that of his sister’s last Season. Now that he knew who those women were, he wanted to ask them why they’d tormented Helen.
Beck’s family knew little of the circumstances of Helen’s death. Could these women shed any light? Would Beck trust anything they said?
The satisfaction he’d felt at learning their identity faded away. The helplessness and despair and anger he’d nurtured for years flooded back over him, driving him from the sand pit toward a copse of trees away from the revelers. People were beginning to depart. Good. He’d hide until then. He didn’t want to see anyone in his current mood. He’d leave, but he’d come out with Felix and would have to find someone else to take him back. The only person he thought he could suffer right now was Felix, and so he’d wait.
The only other person?
Lavinia filled his mind—her wit, her beauty, her keen intellect and confidence. Yes, he could suffer her quite well. Too bad their courtship wasn’t real.
