“Yes. And I know the Duke blames himself.”
“He does,” Vanessa said sadly.
“Of course, it is not his fault; it is that vile Egerton’s fault. But ever since then, the Duke has pushed away all intimacy. The family cannot get close at all. The only person he talks to is Lord Kingsley.” She gave Vanessa an encouraging smile. “But he seems to be getting closer to you, so that is something. Do not let him push you away. He deserves happiness, and I think you two could truly be happy together.”
Vanessa smiled gratefully at her friend. “Thank you. I think so as well.”
There was a knock on the door, and a footman came holding a silver tray with a letter on it.
“For you, Your Grace,” he said, bowing to Vanessa and holding out the letter. She took it and slit it open. Her eyes had just begun to sweep over the words written, and she felt her stomach plummet and her blood grow cold.
The letter was from Lord Langdon.
If you think you can flaunt your new marriage all over the ton, behaving so brazenly and taunting me with the seeming happiness of your match, then you are very much mistaken. I promised you that you would be mine, and I still mean to make good on that promise. You will not escape me for long, Vanessa. Your husband will not always be around to protect you. And when he abandons you to pursue his vengeance, then I will make sure you are mine forever after.
Lord Langdon
Vanessa was shaking as she crumpled up the letter in her hand. She looked up at her friends, who were both staring at her with concern.
“Vanessa, what is wrong?” Lady Selina asked at once. “You have gone very pale.”
“You look as if you have seen a ghost!” Phoebe said.
“I have, in a way,” Vanessa explained. “The letter is from Lord Langdon. He writes that he still plans to have me as his wife.”
“That snake!” Phoebe snarled at once. “How can he write such terrible threats? You are married! He has lost!”
“I do not know,” Vanessa said. She felt very weak all of a sudden, and she wished she could go upstairs and lie down.Will this man never let me be free of him?“He seems to think Winston will abandon me for his vengeance? What does that even mean?”
“I am not sure…” Phoebe looked at Lady Selina, who also shook her head.
Maybe he knows, or suspects as I do, that Winston is part of the Vigilantes of Virtue. Maybe he thinks he will be arrested.
Or,a smaller voice in the back of her head whispered,he is not being so literal. He simply thinks Winston will push you away so that he can live forever mired in his self-loathing and anger at what happened to Clementine.
“I think I should retire for the afternoon,” she said. “Would you ladies mind if I cut the tea service short?”
“Not at all,” Phoebe said at once. “Will you be all right?”
“Yes, I just need to rest for a bit.” She stood up and turned to leave then paused. “Do not tell Winston about the letter from Langdon,” she pleaded, turning back to her friends. “I fear it will only make him more likely to push me away if he fears for my safety.”
“Are you sure?” Phoebe asked, looking uncertain.
“Perhaps he could help protect you from Langdon,” Lady Selina suggested. “Perhaps he ought to know.”
Vanessa shook her head. “I would prefer he did not know. It is better that this be a secret between us.”
The two ladies nodded, and Vanessa turned and left the room, a feeling of foreboding growing with every step she took.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“That was the most fun I have had at a dinner party,” Vanessa said, as she and Winston came in through the front door of their townhouse. “I had no idea that Lord Kingsley could host such a scintillating affair!”
“Oh, Leo is the best host,” Winston replied, smiling as he turned to his wife and took in the bright, happy expression on her face. In the week since he had first seen her genuine, happy smile, it had become commonplace. Every day now, he saw it adorning her face, and nothing could make her more beautiful or fill him with more happiness.
She is finally out from under the yoke of her parents’ control.
“He is a charming, very outgoing man,” Vanessa agreed.
