Page 8 of The Duke's Accidental Wallflower
As she rounded the corner, her steps faltered when she spotted a familiar group up ahead—Cherie, along with Chastity and two of their other friends, Samantha and Cassandra. They were gathered near the door to the gardens, speaking in hushed voices. Relief coursed through Minerva as she saw Chastity standing there, unharmed and seemingly unaware of the chaos she had caused in her sister’s mind.
“Minerva!” Cherie called as she noticed her friend approaching, her voice relieved. “We found her. She was alone in the garden.”
Minerva’s jaw tightened as she stopped in front of the group, her gaze zeroing in on Chastity. “Alone, were you?” she asked, her tone sharp. “And just what were you doing out there?”
Chastity lifted her chin defiantly, her expression hardening. “I do not see why it matters. I can be alone if I choose.”
Minerva’s eyes flashed with anger, but she forced herself to take a steadying breath. “We shall talk about this at home,” she said through gritted teeth, her voice barely controlled. “You have no idea the panic you have caused tonight, and I will not tolerate this sort of behavior again.”
Chastity’s eyes blazed with sudden fury, and before Minerva could say anything more, her younger sister snapped, “You are not Mother, Minerva, so stop pretending you are!”
Minerva flinched at the harshness of Chastity’s words, her breath catching in her throat. For a moment, the world seemed to tilt on its axis, her sister’s words cutting deeper than she had expected. Silence hung heavily in the air between them, thick with years of grief, responsibility, and unsaid words.
Cherie, Samantha, and Cassandra exchanged uneasy glances but said nothing, clearly sensing the tension.
Minerva glared at her younger sister. She wanted to retort, to tell Chastity just how much she had sacrificed to keep their lives in order after their mother had passed, but she bit her tongue. This was not the time or place.
“You will not speak to me like that,” Minerva said softly. “Not here. We will talk about this later.”
Chastity’s eyes filled with defiance, her lips trembling as though she wanted to say more, but she swallowed whatever retort she had been preparing and folded her arms tightly across her chest. “Fine,” she muttered, looking away. “But do not think you can control me forever.”
Cherie stepped forward, her voice gentle as she placed a comforting hand on Minerva’s arm. “Let us get you both home.”
Minerva nodded stiffly, her throat tight with unspoken emotions. “Yes. We should leave.”
As they turned to walk toward the exit, Minerva couldn’t help but steal one last glance over her shoulder, back toward the corridor where the Duke of Colburn had remained. She half-expected to see him watching her, that maddening smirk still in place. But the corridor was empty, and for that, she was grateful.
However, panic surged through her when Cherie fell into step beside her and asked quietly, “Where were you?”
Minerva’s breath hitched, and she cast a quick, sideways glance at her friend, her pulse quickening again. “What do you mean?”
Cherie gave her a puzzled look. “After I found Chastity in the garden, I was looking all over for you. Did something happen?” Her voice was gentle, but there was an underlying concern in her tone that made Minerva’s heart race.
For a brief moment, Minerva’s thoughts flashed to the dark, cramped closet, to Evan’s closeness, his infuriating smile, the heat of his breath against her skin. The memory sent an unwanted shiver down her spine, and her cheeks flushed.
But she quickly forced the thoughts away, her expression schooled into one of calm indifference. “No,” she replied, her voice steady despite the way her heart thudded in her chest. “Nothing of importance.”
Cherie studied her for a moment longer, her eyes narrowing slightly as though she could sense there was more to the story. But Minerva did not allow her gaze to waver, did not allow the facade to crack.
“Let us go home,” Minerva added, turning her attention forward again, eager to put the evening—and everything that had happened—behind her.
Cherie hesitated but eventually nodded. “All right, if you are sure.”
As they walked toward the exit, Minerva felt guilt pool in her stomach from her lie. Nothing of importance? She might have been able to fool Cherie, but she couldn’t fool herself.
Nothing of importance indeed,she thought bitterly.
Four
“Stop fidgeting,” Minerva said tightly, her voice clipped as the carriage jolted along the cobblestone streets.
“I am not fidgeting,” Chastity snapped, her hand instinctively tightening over the pocket of her gown. She turned her gaze to the window, though the inky blackness outside offered no distraction from the charged atmosphere in the cramped space.
Minerva inhaled sharply, clearly holding back whatever lecture was brimming on the tip of her tongue. The silence that followed was stifling, broken only by the creak of the carriage wheels and the occasional muffled clatter of hooves.
Chastity’s heart pounded in her chest. She could feel Minerva’s eyes on her, piercing and suspicious. The letter seemed to burn against her hip, its presence as loud as a shout in the quiet tension between them.
“I do hope you are pleased with yourself,” Minerva said finally, her tone brittle. “Whatever you were up to tonight will surely find its way to the gossip sheets by morning.”
