The trouble with Leonard was that everything was so fragile between the two of them, she never knew when what he had to offer her might run out for good.
She swallowed hard as he took hold of her arm—he had chosen to do it after all—and led her off to the drinks. He picked one up and handed it to her. “Now, not too much,” he said mildly. “I don’t want to find myself carrying you off to bed at the end of the evening.”
He hadn’t meant that the way it had come out sounding, she was almost sure of it, and yet a heat rushed into her cheeks. She turned her head away quickly. If he hadn’t heard the meaning she had in his words, Prudence wasn’t going to be the one to point it out to him, that was for certain.
At the same time, she couldn’t help fantasizing a little. Suppose hedidcarry her off to bed at the end of the evening? Supposed he drew back her covers and laid her down and then got into bed with her and kissed her again and…
She took a long drink from the cup in her hand, needing to put a stop to those thoughts and quickly.
“A moment, now,” Leonard laughed, clearly unaware of the chaos in her mind. “I thought I told you to take it slow!”
He pulled the drink back into his own hands and touched her cheek gently. “I don’t want you getting lightheaded tonight,” he told her gently.
“What a touching moment!”
They turned to see three older ladies—about the age of Prudence’s mother—approaching. Prudence had seen all three of them around, but she’d never been introduced. These were the sorts of ladies who kept their distance from herself and her sisters, who stayed in corners and whispered unflattering things when someone wasn’t dressed in the latest fashion rather than trying to socialize or make a connection. Prudence, without speaking to them, had never liked them.
“Lady Barrow,” Leonard said politely. “Lady Tarrington. Lady Hastings. How good to see you all. Do you know my wife? The Duchess of Desford?”
“By reputation,” said the one Leonard had introduced as Lady Barrow, looking down her nose slightly. “The Earl of Highgate’s youngest daughter, I believe?”
“That’s right, Lady Barrow,” Prudence said. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
“I don’t doubt that, dear. You must feel very lucky these days.”
“What do you mean?”
“Finding yourself married to a duke! Well, he is known for being a bit of a rake. Really, Your Grace, to have drawn this innocent young lady into your scandals… one would think you’d have wished to protect her reputation a bit more closely.”
“There was no scandal,” Prudence said, frowning. “And I wasn’t drawn into anything. You make it sound so dismal when it really isn’t.”
“Oh, my dear,” Lady Hastings said. “Surely you know about the Duke and his brother. Why, they’ve long been thought to be the biggest rakes in all of London. I’m surprised you managed to secure a marriage to either man, really.”
“You know, I heard there was an argument about which one of them would have to marry her,” Lady Tarrington said. “Did either of you hear that?”
“No,” Lady Hastings gasped.
“I don’t say this as any kind of slight against you of course, Your Grace,” Lady Tarrington said, reaching out to rest a hand on Prudence’s arm. “I know the Duke must be more than happy to have won out. After all, you’re so lovely! Any gentleman would be glad to call you his own. But there was some sort of scandal she was involved in, and so was Lord Hall—that’s what I heard. So they knew one of them would have to wed her, and there was a quarrel to see who would have to take the bullet.”
“That’s not right at all,” Leonard objected, his voice tight.
“No, it isn’t,” Prudence agreed hotly. “It was just Lord Hall who didn’t want to step up. He was the one who abandoned me at the altar. His Grace was always prepared to do the noble thing, and we’ve never regretted a bit of it. You really ought not tospeculate about people like this, you know. He’s a good man, and he doesn’t deserve to have you gossip about him like this.”
All three ladies’ jaws dropped.
“I had no idea,” Lady Tarrington managed. “I—I’m very sorry, Your Grace. I meant no offense of course.”
“Then you should think about what you say before you say it,” Leonard said firmly. “Will you excuse me, please?”
He turned and walked off, leaving Prudence on her own surrounded by the ladies, all three of whom now turned to stare at her with bright and powerful curiosity shining in their eyes.
CHAPTER 32
Leonard didn’t speak to Prudence for the rest of the evening. He couldn’t bear to do it. He knew that she understood something was wrong and that she was worried about it, but even the thought of taking her aside to explain it to her was too much for him to face.
How could she have done that? She knew perfectly well that all I wanted was to protect Peter’s reputation and to keep the scandal of our wedding day a secret. She knew that, and she still chose to do what she did.
“You can’t avoid me forever,” Prudence said to him on the ride home. Her voice trembled. He had upset her, but he couldn’t bring himself to express regret or even to ask her about how she was feeling. He didn’t want to hear it from her. She hadknownwhat she was doing. She must have.
