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A flush burned Miranda’s face bright red. "Yes," she said in a hushed whisper. "He has seen things…only a husband should see, and he has refused to see mamma and papa. In fact, he laughed."
"Oh, the heartless cretin!" Pippa could not credit he would act with such dishonor. Everyone thought the duke a dreadful bore. He was…spotless, his reputation unblemished by scandal. He was even mockingly referred to as the Duke of Saints. And he would do this?
Based on what she’d heard and read about the duke, she had never thought him a man with little regard for the conventions governing gentlemanly conduct. Admittedly, a gentleman would have offered marriage to Miranda immediately! But this ghastly beast merely took advantage of her innocence and left her to face the shame of her actions alone. What if someone had seen them together? What if he spoke about her dear friend as if she had been a conquest? Miranda would be irrefutably ruined. Worse, the shame she must be feeling now to have been so vulnerable before the duke to have him act with such rank dishonor. “He is abominable,” she said softly, her heart breaking for her friend.
“I fear he has deceived all of society of his true nature,” Miranda said on a sob. “I cannot credit he would act so callously…that he would discard me without a hint of caring for my reputation.”
Pippa stood and strolled toward the fire, hating the chill worming its way through her entire heart. Were there no honorable men? Her Papa, Nigel, and the Duke were sterling examples of what a gentleman ought not to be! Yet their dastardly facets were hidden from society. No one knew her father lived in sin and had children out of wedlock. No one knew Nigel made false promises and now he was wed to an heiress. And now the duke…a man she had never met but had heard so many honorable things about was a cad and libertine! The injustice of it burned through her like molten lava.
“Miranda,” Pippa said, facing her friend who remained huddled into herself.
“Yes?” she asked tremulously.
Pippa hated to ask, but she had to. “How…how did you end up in the room with the duke, naked?”
“Oh Pippa, I am mortified to reveal it.”
“Did he force…force his attention on you? You must tell me.”
Miranda closed her eyes as if pained. “Does it matter?”
“It does!”
"He did not force his regard, but I was led to believe we had something between us. He has treated me in the worst manner, and I am now ruined. I trusted in his reputation and his honor. I thought…I thought he might have feelings for me, but I was wrong. Oh, I cannot think or speak of it anymore, or I shall die!”
“Miranda—”
Miranda shook her head fiercely. “No. I collect you mean to reproach me, and I cannot bear it. Not from you, Pippa!”
Miranda launched from the bed and into her arms. They hugged fiercely. Pippa took a deep breath. “Might…might there be unforeseen consequences?”
They pulled apart and stared at each other.
“Whatever do you mean?”
Pippa blushed, vexed with her reaction when she wanted to remain unflappable for her friend. “Might there be a child?”
Miranda delicately cleared her throat. “Dear me no! We...I…nothing happened like in that book we read.”
They both blushed, recalling the very naughty book they had mistakenly discovered in the earl’s drawers and read. The content had been mortifying, and the words an education. They had hurriedly put it back and had been too embarrassed to discuss the material with each other.
“We must convince him to do the right thing,” Pippa said with firm resolve. “I’ll visit the duke—”
Miranda gripped her hand tightly. “He is unmoved by my pleas and desperation. He is the most unfeeling man! And I am ashamed when I think how I pleaded with him!”
Pippa stared at her helplessly. The situation called for more influential intervention, namely from Miranda's parents, the earl, and countess. "Miranda, you must consider informing your parents—"
“You promised,” she said fiercely, tears pooling in her eyes. “Only you, the duke, and I know that I’ve been compromised and we shall keep it that way. I’ll not die from it, but I’ll learn not to be so stupid with my trust and affections ever again. Please, Pippa, do not betray my confidence. I just…I needed someone to speak to, I needed your shoulders to cry on.”
Pippa nodded. “I promise you I shall make him pay for his repulsive behavior.”
Miranda’s eyes widened. “No, Pippa! Please do not approach the duke. You vowed not to tell anyone."
“I will not tell—”
"Please, Pippa. Let it go. I daresay it will take many months for me to look at the man and not swoon. But I must bear it and endure. He is powerful and very influential. His family is one of the oldest, and every mother wants him as a son-in-law. I do not want him to be an enemy of my papa, for he said he will not marry me no matter the cost, and I believed him,” she ended on a sob.
Pippa hugged her once more, silently vowing to do away with the dastardly duke. The public adored and scrutinized the aristocracy and nobility, and that was how she would get the dratted man. As Lady W.
