AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“If I do not, she will be ruined.”
Constance stuffed a fist in her mouth to prevent her sob. More than anything she wished she had not stayed. Ruined. Her brothers thought her disgraced. They would definitely not rest until she was wed, and Lucan would not bow to their will. She knew it with every fiber of her being. That meant she would be persuaded to wed Litchfield. Bile rose in her throat and despair shafted through her heart. She would not do it. She had never rebelled against her brothers’ gentle directions before, but she would not enter a union so permanent, so sacred, with a man she did not love or even possess a morsel of affection for.
“Connie is already perceived as ruined,” Anthony countered bluntly. “The circumstances of our birth do not lie in our favor. And now this. Phillipa and I were planning to travel to Italy and then Egypt in a few weeks. Why not have Connie accompany us? Give her some respite from England, away from it all. She is young, and there will be time aplenty for her to find her prince charming.”
Hope and gratefulness suffused her at Anthony’s words. She held her breath waiting for Sebastian’s reply.
“I will discuss traveling with you and Phillipa with Connie,” Sebastian murmured.
“Good. Are you going to explain to her about Marissa?”
“It doesn’t concern her.”
Anthony snorted.
“I cannot explain to our sister that Marissa was my mistress who killed herself when I refused to be with her,” Sebastian snapped.
Lucan’s word filtered in her mind with brutal clarity. Calydon used my sister and then abandoned her. No it couldn’t be true. There must be something more.
“It was a little more than that,” Anthony said drily. “Marissa asked you to help her be free of her husband. I think any sane man would have said no to murder.”
Good heavens.
Constance hardly knew what to do with all she was hearing. Her brothers were silent and a soft breath eased from her when Anthony asked about Jocelyn and the babe. Mistress? Murder? It was all too much. A part of her now understand why Sebastian had refused to speak with her and had studiously avoided her the entire day. Everything he did was about protecting her. When would he realize she was no longer a child? She needed to know this. And she instinctively knew, if not for tonight, she would never have been made aware of the details.
What was he really concerned with? Protecting her innocence—or protecting the love and belief she had in him?
Chapter Fifteen
Lucan had not thought there was anything his friends could do to render him speechless, and he was not a man easily surprised.
“You did what?” he asked for the second time, certain he had been mistaken.
Even the Reverend looked flummoxed, and he was the most unflappable one of their depraved group. The Reverend’s obsidian eyes were carefully void of all emotions as he looked at both Lucan and Ainsley.
“I leaked a story of Lady Constance being seen here to my inside source at The Spectator. It was run two mornings ago. You were away on business in Derbyshire, and I realized you were not aware of the situation. Here is the sheet in the event you wish to read it,” Ainsley murmured at bit warily.
With a calmness Lucan did not feel, he picked up the paper and read the notice. He went cold. She is ruined. He already knew how the scandal would be received by society. Because of his wealth and title he would be forgiven. Instead of calling him out for his reprehensible actions of having her in his club and kissing her, the mammas of the haute monde would applaud his good sense in escaping the trap the bastard girl had set for him.
He fought down the rage that bit at his insides and buried his emotions deep. He did not know what Ainsley saw when he looked at him, but the man was smart enough to step back a few paces and held up his hand.
“Hear me out, Lucan.”
“I do not think there is anything to hear. You have taken steps to ruin her further, after I changed my path. She will not be able to recover from this. Why would you act so maliciously toward her?”
“Lucan, I—”
“Hold your fucking tongue,” Lucan snarled. “I trusted you and you betrayed my confidence.”
“I thought it was the only way—”
Within two strides he stood in front of Ainsley, grabbed him by his collar, and slammed him into the bookcase. The violence tearing through Lucan’s gut begged for an outlet, and he ruthlessly struggled against smashing Ainsley’s teeth into his thick skull. “The only way for what?”
Ainsley gripped the hands fisting his collar. “For you to let go of this vengeance and marry the woman you hold such obvious affections for. I can see how you feel about her. I have never seen anyone leave you in such knots. And you are not just one of us anymore. You are now a duke, Lucan, a duke. I have seen you happy for the first time in years. I could think of no other way to get you to direct your happiness toward her. And I know you are pig-headed enough to let her slip through your fingers. But I also know how much you care for her, and those affections you have for her would never allow you to truly see her ruined.”
Lucan pushed Ainsley away, damn the man for trying to manipulate him. For once again, it was Constance paying the price. “How do you think she is not completely ruined now?”
“If you marry her, society will forgive her. You are the Duke of Mondvale, you know. But better, you are the Lord of Sin. You provide the means for high society to satiate their appetite for the sinful and forbidden. They secretly love you for it. As your duchess, she will be unable to fall to ruin.”
Lucan knew the truth of it. If her brothers had been able to wed her to a duke, possibly all he had been doing from the shadows would have been prevented. For as he understood, the realm had less than thirty dukes and most were married and doddering. As a duchess, she would command respect despite being the Beautiful Bastard. But could he do it? Combine his family with the man who had callously contributed to the ruin of a most beloved sister?
Everything in him rebelled against the idea. To wed her, he would have to forgive Calydon. “I will not forgive you anytime soon for this, Ainsley,” Lucan promised. The hurt and condemnation she must be facing now was insupportable.
“I know you will demand satisfaction for this, Lucan. I will meet you in the ring for several bouts tonight,” Ainsley offered. “But this was the only way I could think of to get you to stop behaving so foolishly and claim the woman your heart has chosen.”
Without speaking, Lucan grabbed his coat and top hat and swept from the room. He would fix this, but certainly not in the manner Ainsley expected.
…
“The Duke of Mondvale is here?” Constance asked Mr. Harris for the third time.
“Yes, my lady.”
Good heavens.
Why had he come? She was the only one at home. Should she see him? Not even Charlotte was present, having left earlier in a secretive rush. “Have you informed His Grace that Lord and Lady Radcliffe are not at home?”
Mr. Harris gave her a slight smile and nod. “I was once again informed he wishes to speak with Lady Constance.”
She nodded. “I will see him in the gardens outside. If my parents return before he leaves, please inform them of our whereabouts.” She would not see him at all in private, and she had intended to take a turn in the gardens to collect some flowers for the drawing room.
“I understand, my lady.”
With a calm she had not expected, she went upstairs and collected her shawl. Within a few minutes, she was in the gardens walking toward the stone bench on which he sat. Gravel crunched beneath her feet and Lucan stood to face her. She had missed him. Today he was dressed in a gray suit, his hair once again caught in a queue. He adjusted his spectacles on his nose—a nervous gesture she was learning to identify.
“Your Grace,” she intoned formally with a slight curtsy. “To what do I owe your unexpected visit?”
His eyes roamed over her almost hungrily, before resting on her face. “Are you well?” he asked
quietly.
“I am, thank you.”
“I was made aware of the publication in the papers only this morning. I had been away on business and returned to town today.”
Relief surged through her. He was not so uncaring after all.
A smile lifted her lips. “I see. And you hastened to visit me because?” she prompted, her heart beating a bit faster.
He hesitated. “If you want to marry it will be done.”
She stiffened. “Are you proposing?”
He winced. “No. But it was pointed out to me that marriage is the only option for you. I agree.”
