Violet laughed and pushed her away. “You don’t want to be embracing me when he gets in here,” she chided gently.
But Rosalie simply giggled and winked at her. She had just sat back on the sofa when the housekeeper reentered with Mr. Cain. She announced the gentleman, and Violet and Rosalie both stood up and curtsied.
“Your Grace,” Mr. Cain greeted, bowing to Violet before his eyes flicked to Rosalie. “Miss Rosalie. How wonderful to see both of you again.”
Rosalie blushed prettily but seemed surprisingly self-possessed as she invited him to sit with her.
Violet had to admire how confident and suited for courtship her sister was. It had never come easily for her.
She rang the bell for tea, then returned to her needlework. Although she sat across from her sister and Mr. Cain, she tried not to listen to their conversation and turned away so that they could have more privacy as they began to discuss last night’s ball and how much they had both enjoyed it.
When the tea came in, however, Violet’s stomach filled with dread. Because it wasn’t just teacups and a pot of tea that was sitting on the gold tray—there was also the latest edition of the scandal sheets.
I’m going to be in there.
She reached for the dratted thing. For a moment, as her fingers touched the paper, she wondered if it was worth looking at, but then she decided it was better to know what people were saying about her.
She picked up the paper and unfurled it, her hands shaking slightly with nervousness. Sure enough, right at the top of the paper were the words she had been dreading.
Last night’s ball was more exciting than most were anticipating, as it was witness to a dispute between a certainDuke with a colorful reputation and his usually recalcitrant Duchess. Was it an easily amended lovers’ tiff that members of the esteemed ton witnessed, or are there already cracks forming in this nascent marriage? Either way, this author believes that gentlemen of such high standing should not air their dirty laundry in public and that the only spectacles at balls should be the entertainment. Let us hope that the Duchess returns to her formerly quiet ways and that her husband seeks to right his devilish ways.
Violet thought she was going to be sick. After everything she had done over the last few weeks to try and prove she was worthy of being a duchess, none of it mattered anymore. This article would destroy any good grace she had earned over the years. It might even hurt her sister’s marriage prospects.
She glanced at Mr. Cain. He was laughing with her sister and looking at her with admiration in his eyes. Would he still look at her that way after he read this article?
And then there was her husband. He had certainly read the article this morning. It was his opinion that mattered the most to her. He had seen how hard she’d worked to be worthy of the title of Duchess. She’d rearranged and redecorated this entire house! What would he say now?
He’ll probably send me to the countryside.
She knew she was being dramatic. They’d reached a kind of understanding last night. But their truce was so fragile that she didn’t know if it would survive a public scandal.
“Your Grace?” The housekeeper was back in the room, looking irritated. “More flowers had just arrived.”
Violet shook her head and rose, walking to the door with great trepidation.
How many admirers did her sister have already?
It wasn’t that she was envious of her sister being courted by several men. Violet had never desired that kind of attention. However, it was hard to watch her sister be showered with romantic gifts when her own husband still denied her that part of their marriage.
It wasespeciallyhard now that she was worried her husband was going to come home and scold her for causing such a scene last night.
He’d said he wanted to talk that evening, and she was already nervous enough about that conversation. As much as she wanted to know why exactly James didn’t want to have children, she was also afraid that she wouldn’t be able to change his mind. What if he told her a story so harrowing that she had no choice but to give up her dream of ever having a family with him?
Or what if he says he didwant to have a family until this article came out?
Despite her nerves, her curiosity had gotten the better of her, and she had gone down early to breakfast that morning inthe hope that he might be there and ready to explain himself. However, when she’d walked into the breakfast room, she’d been told that the Duke had risen earlier than usual and gone out. It was midday now, and he hadn’t come back home yet.
“Is my husband back yet?” she asked the housekeeper. “And do you know if he read the paper before he went out?”
“I don’t know, Your Grace. Nor has he returned home. But he is certainly making his presence known.”
“What do you mean?”
“The newest flower shipment,” the housekeeper said. “It is from him.”
“For my sister?”
The housekeeper raised an eyebrow. “No, Your Grace. For you.”
