She stepped away from the door and walked on numb legs back to the bed. Crawling in, she clutched a pillow to herself for comfort. Was this simple jealousy run amok or something more troubling? Did he trust her so little that he meant not to allow her any friends of her own? She recalled his words about Lannister when they were in London and his insistence that he wasn’t a man Robert would tolerate her calling a friend. But there was a world of difference between the earl and the viscount. Her heart contracted with apprehension. Even if Robert loved her, and she wasn’t yet sure that he did, this was alarming behavior that she didn’t understand.
It was almost dawn before she finally fell asleep.
Chapter Twenty-Six
The papers werefull of the scandal. Madeleine read avidly.
A certain duke who was recently married has suffered an unwelcome lesson for marrying beneath him. His new bride has been caught in a compromising position with a certain viscount. Anyone who doubts the veracity of this shocking tale need only see the dreadful bruised eye the viscount is sporting as a result of the duke’s wrath.
We wait with bated breath on the sequel to this dramatic turn of events. A play upon the stage could not be more entertaining or shocking.
Madeleine sat back staring at the opposite wall of her breakfast parlor done out in pretty white and pale green striped wallpaper. She played absently with the teaspoon in the sugar bowl. How might this unexpected turn of events play to her favor? Would Robert seek solace with her now, after this shocking betrayal by his duchess?
Her hand crept to the curve of her belly, the evidence of her mistake she could no longer deny.Can I convince Robert that the babe is his?He would not turn his back upon her if he thought the child was his. She was bigger than she ought to be for only three months along. But she’d had her courses afterher last time with the duke, so it couldn’t be his, could it? But perhaps it was? She hoped, she prayed it was.
She didn’t know the identity of her mysterious blond lover from that night of the masked ball. They had only exchanged first names. It might be enough for her to track him down if she really tried, but she hadn’t tried, because she kept clinging to the hope that it was Robert’s child. She had even made up her mind last night that she ought to try to find him, then this...
What should I do?
*
Despite the dowagerduchess’s best attempts to quash the scandal, the tale of the duke’s attack on the viscount spread like wildfire, getting more lurid in the telling.
The viscount and his family left The Castle early the following morning, and it was easy to see that marital discord was high between Lord and Lady Ashford.
The lady ignored Sarah altogether and stalked toward the carriage, also ignoring her husband’s hand proffered to help her up the steps.
Ashford, his eye black and purplish blue this morning, swung up behind her, and the horses started forward, the lead carriage containing the lord and lady, followed by the second containing the couple’s valet, personal maid, and their three offspring.
Sarah turned to walk back up the steps into the house but was stopped by a hand on her arm.
“Will you take a walk with me?” asked Robert stiffly. They were the first words he had addressed directly to her since the previous evening. After finding his door locked against her last night, she was still both hurt and angry.I have done nothing wrong, so why is he treating me as if I have?
She inclined her head, every bit as stiff as he was, and allowed him to lead her round the side of the house to the south lawn. It was deserted except for a few birds pecking in the grass.
“I must apologize for my—loss of control last night.” he began.
“Did you apologize to Emrys?” she asked him.
“Not exactly.”
“Why not?”
“I was too angry last night, and this morning there was no opportunity.”
“He has done nothing wrong, and youhurthim!”
“You are mightily exercised over his welfare, madam!”
“And you are ridiculous! You call him your friend and you treat him thus?”
“Will you at least tell me what compelled you to hug him?”
“No! I will not!” said Sarah, furiously. “If Emrys did not confide in you, I will not break his confidence. If you have so little trust toward him and toward me, I see no value in satisfying your idle curiosity.”
“It is not idle curiosity; I simply wish to understand—”
“The reason was sufficient. And for that you will have to trustme!” She turned away from him, but he reached out and pulled her back around.
