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“Oh,” Leticia cried, “how can I possibly hold my tongue, Eliza? He has humiliated me, utterly and completely!”
After taking a brisk walk around the park that morning, Leticia had returned to the Manor thinking of how nice it would be to pop back into the chamber she shared with Richard the night before and renew their passion. But as she headed toward the staircase, she heard shouts coming from the drawing room. The door had been left slightly ajar, so she instinctively leaned toward the space, and listened to the argument. But what she heard…oh…it made her blood boil.
“Let me see if I understand this,” Eliza said, placing a calming hand on top of her own shaking one. “Weeks ago, you overheard Miss Loery declare that she only wanted to marry the Duke for his riches. She and her lover intended then to swindle him and leave him destitute.”
“’Tis true.”
“Ah, yes, and then, since you couldn’t tell the Duke all this before the wedding, you decided to stop the ceremony?”
“What other choice did I have?” Leticia retorted, feeling her fury rise as Eliza recounted all the painful details of the past six weeks.
“After that, the pair of you decided to court, but only for the sake of saving your names. It was to be a fictional representation of sorts?” Eliza’s curious eyes narrowed, and she waited for Leticia to nod her head. “And finally, all the matters have come to a head as you spent the night with the Duke only to wake up this morning to find him denouncing you to your cousin?”
“That about sums it up,” Leticia seethed as she shook off her friend’s hand and stood. She began to pace about the room. “I just don’t understand, Eliza. Pray, help me to see what I might be missing.”
Eliza shook her head so that the soft curls framing her face swished. “I can hardly comprehend it myself. There’s too much…just too much to wade through, and at the end of it all—it was for naught.”
Leticia felt a pit open in her stomach, and she clutched at her abdomen. “He said he loved me.” She whispered the words and watched as her friend startled.
“I know thatyouwere beginning to have loving feelings for the Duke. You told me as much when we were shopping on Bond Street. But did he truly say he loved you back?”
“Yes,” Leticia groaned. She stopped pacing and clasped both hands around her midsection. “Last night…after we…you know…he said he was glad he was the first to love me.”
“Oh,” Eliza breathed heavily and one of her gloved hands lifted to cover her expression of disbelief. “He should not have said as much if he meant to betray you to your cousin today.”
“Exactly!” Leticia threw both hands up in the air and let them fall angrily down at her sides. “But I fear his betrayal ran much deeper than the words I overheard him utter this morning. I think he might have told Harry about our agreement weeks ago.”
“No, surely not.” Eliza rejected the idea outright. “If you were able to keep this secret from both me and your aunt, the Duke should have been able to do you the courtesy of honoring the pact between you.”
“How infuriating!” Leticia fumed. “He said I would never make a proper Duchess because I wasn’t the type to host teas and to gossip with ladies of Society.” She gesticulated wildly at the tea service that sat on the table in front of Eliza. “What does he think I’m doing right now?”
Eliza rose then and crossed the room. She draped one arm around Leticia’s shoulder and gave her a gentle squeeze. “I will not pretend to understand the pain you are enduring presently, but I do hope it will not endure for long. While you have become attached to the Duke as of late, I do recall a time in the not-so-distant past when you said yourself that you could barely stand to share the same space with such a pompous and pretentious man for longer than an hour at a time.”
Leticia sniffed. “I did say that.”
“On more than one occasion,” Eliza added as she gave her a weak smile. She led Leticia back toward the tea table and helped her settle into the seat she had vacated. “I hate that he hurt you, Leticia, but ask yourself—when the scandal was over, and you were released from this agreement with Duke, did you truly picture yourself becoming his bride?”
“I—” Leticia began, sure that she knew the answer, but then a whisper of wind blew through the room. As the gooseflesh raced up her arms, she recalled what it felt like to be with Richard the night before. The sensations he evoked in her haunted her, and she was unable to answer her friend’s question honestly.
“Ahem…excuse me, Ma’am…Lady Leticia.”
When Leticia looked up, Eliza’s lady’s maid, Mrs. Minsters, was standing before them.
“Yes, Minsters?” Eliza asked, turning her attention toward her maid.
“I only wished to remind you that the carriage to London is set to leave in an hour.” Minsters dropped into a half curtsy and then exited the room.
“You’re going to London?” Leticia asked as soon as she and Eliza were alone once more. “Why didn’t you tell me? Had I known that you had a prior engagement, I wouldn’t have rambled on and on.”
“The carriage will stay until I’m ready,” Eliza said as she smiled generously. “I am much more concerned with your woes at present.” Then, she lifted a finger to her chin and tapped the small dimple there. “Do you know—I think a change of scenery might do you good.”
Leticia shook her head promptly. “I cannot leave Pearl House now. I just arrived here because I meant to escape London. To go back now—”
“To go back now would be sensible,” Eliza interrupted. “Your name has disappeared from the gossip columns. And if you left Pearl House, it would give the Duke a chance to miss you. Should he decide he misspoke this morning when he was alone with your cousin, he could come to London and seek you out. Oh, it would be terribly romantic.”
Leticia snickered. “I thought you didn’t consider yourself a romantic person?”
“I’m not,” Eliza shrugged lightly. “But that does not mean I don’t wish the very best for you.” She leaned forward and whispered. “Come to London. Stay with Mr. Hoffingbrooke and me. We have rented a townhouse for the remainder of the Season, and I know, should I leave you here, I would feel discomfited.”
