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Felicity nearly choked on her dismay. Rathnelly was clearly furious with her for her ruse, but it seemed as though he were more suspicious that she had revealed some sort of deep secret than that she had not been fully honest about her identity.
“I don’t know what you are referring to, Your Grace, and to be honest, I haven’t told anybody anything about life at Rathnelly, as the only way I could be here is if no one knew where I was, surely you must realize that.”
“Then what of all your correspondence?”
“I’ve been spinning tales. Which is part of why my correspondence has dwindled of late. It is quite difficult to make up believable fabrications when you are enjoying your reality so very much.”
She thought his face softened slightly, but then cold fury filled it once more.
“It matters little. You will leave this house, and I hope to never lay eyes upon you again.”
“But what of the children?” she gasped. “I cannot just leave. I promised Adelina I would never abandon her.”
That might have been the very worst thing to say, as anger blazed across his features for a moment before the duke regained control of himself.
“You should have thought of that before you risked her entire future with your little escapade.”
Felicity was torn between despair and her own fury. But she lifted her chin and stared him straight in the face. “Will you not allow me to explain?”
“There is nothing to explain,” he replied coldly. “Unless you are not, in fact, Lady Felicity Sherton, an unchaperoned lady, who made herself comfortable in my home under false pretences.”
Felicity opened her mouth as though to protest but then shut it with a snap.
“I thought not.” He practically sneered at her even as he gestured for her to precede him from the room.
Felicity dragged her feet, but there was really nothing she could do other than to accept her defeat. She would never recover from the disappointment and humiliation, she was certain of it.
She couldn’t look at him. It hurt far too much.
“How did you find out?”
“The same way everyone around here finds out anything,” the duke said in a mocking tone. “Through a letter.” He paused for a moment, and Felicity nearly choked unable to ask further about it. It really didn’t matter anyway. She should have been the one to tell him. But she hadn’t wanted it to be yet.
“Ought I to be flattered that you sought me out in this way, my lady? Were you hoping to compromise me into the parson’s mousetrap?” There was a snarl in his voice as he asked his questions. Felicity fought not to quail under it
“No, you ought not be flattered, Your Grace, as I did not seek you out. In fact, I was terribly dismayed to discover that you never seemed to leave home. I had no intention of ever being in your company. How was I to know you would always be in your daughter’s pocket?”
She thought she saw his lips twitch, but she dismissed it as he didn’t bother responding to her words.
“What are you going to tell the children?” She couldn’t help herself, she had to ask.
“They are no longer your concern,” he answered coldly.
Felicity resumed her silence. The only thing she had left was a shred of dignity. She wasn’t going to throw that away by openly weeping in front of him. She doubted he would be affected by her tears, but she would rather die than give in to the weakness.
It wasn’t until she was alone in a small room at the very inn that had been the cause of her downfall. She should have known that man who had spoken to them that day was going to ruin everything. She threw herself on the bed allowing the tears to flow freely, even as she worked out her feelings in the form of composing a letter in her mind.
Gracie, dearest,
I have allowed it all to be ruined. I gave my heart to the Barringtons, and he has kicked me out of his home. I didn’t mean to fall in love with the duke, and now he hates me. And I’ll never see his lovely children again. I shall either shrivel up into a prune, locked in the cellars at Glendale, or Mother will find some horridly suitable and dreadfully boring nobleman for me to wed. I don’t know how I shall bear it.
She thought she might drown in the tears that were flooding her pillow.
To her surprise and disappointment, she lived to see the sun rise the next day. Felicity stared listlessly at the ceiling as long as she could bear it but never one for inaction, she rolled off the bed and gazed about her. She hadn’t even changed into a nightgown before falling asleep, so she was a rumpled mess. She might not wish for the life her mother had planned for her, but she had still received the lessons her mother had taught. One could not ever face the day in a dishevelled state.
Righting her appearance with a less wrinkled gown and some cold water from the pitcher on the bureau refreshed her slightly, and Felicity faced the fact that she would survive the experience even if she didn’t rightly want to at the moment.
Part of her wanted to march back to Rathnelly and force the duke to listen to her explanation, but she accepted that he wouldn’t be willing to receive her, and it would only make the situation worse if that were at all possible. Felicity entertained the thought of running away but knew that to be the coward’s way out. And she couldn’t do that to her family, anyway. She had known she was safe all the while she was at Rathnelly and since her family had thought she was elsewhere, they had no reason to worry about her. Until now. She couldn’t run away and leave them to wonder what had become of her. That would truly be a scandal, besides being beneath her. No, she would have to face what was to come with as much dignity and grace as she could muster.
