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"I investigated and I must tell you that I am not pleased with my findings." Albert's gaze traveled over her unperturbed countenance. "Your actions are beneath you, Dowager.”
"What recent actions do you speak of, Your Grace?" she idly fanned herself.
"Your discourtesy to my betrothed," Albert responded curtly, almost snapping.
"Which discourtesy? I am afraid you are still not being clear, Your Grace."
Her use ofYour Gracesounded more derisive than courteous. "I will not tolerate you employing my servants to diminish Edwina's good name," he said.
The investigations had revealed that Lady Mercer had paid one of the chambermaids to leave that message on her son's bedchamber wall, then spread the rumors that Edwina was behind it all. Mrs. Edlund had reported to him that she’d had the maid dismissed immediately.
"Oh, your fiancée does not need any help in diminishing her name," she scoffed. "She had been doing just that when you two met, remember?"
"Lady Mercer." Albert's voice was low and warning. He was trying his damndest to be patient, but with every second he spent in Lady Mercer’s company, and every word that left her mouth, he found his patience thinning.
"The truth often burns, does it not?" Her lips quirked up slightly.
"What has that poor girl ever done to you?" Albert asked her.
"She stole something from me," she replied simply. "When one truly loves, they do not want a hole in that love. That girl was the hole in my love that I could not ever fill."
A contemplative silence ensued before Albert broke it with, "Now, listen to me, Lady Mercer, I will not condone such discourtesy from you toward any of my guests, much less the woman I am going to marry. You will do well to respect her while you are in my Mansion. If you cannot abide by those rules, you are free to leave."
He did not wait for her to reply before he walked out of the room, heading straight for Edwina's rooms.He wished to see her to insure she was doing well amid all that had happened that morning.
“Are you looking for Edwina, Your Grace?” Miss Matthews asked when she saw him in the hallway where their rooms were located.
“Yes, I am. Is she inside?”
“No, she went to the library after breakfast.”
With a quick nod of thanks in her direction, he changed course and did not stop until he reached the library. He found her seated on a chaise by the window, staring outside. There was a distant look in her gaze that told him she was not looking at anything in particular. She had her forefinger stuck between the pages of the book on her lap, apparently marking her page. When she heard movement around her, she turned, appearing displeased at first, but then her expression softened.
“Good morning, Your Grace,” she greeted. "Forgive me, I thought you were someone else."
"Is it a good thing that it is me and not someone else?" Albert sat down on the chaise beside her.
"Certain company is more… tolerable than others," she responded slyly.
"Tolerable?" he echoed, an amused smile creeping to his face. "I should think that my company is more than tolerable.”
"How is one person able to contain such self-importance?" she chuckled.
"I am a Duke," he said. "A larger capacity for everything comes with the title, you see."
"Is that supposed to impress me?"
"It did not?" He made a show of being surprised. She laughed and he smiled, glad she was not filled with grief over her stepmother’s actions. Somehow, he wished he could freeze this one moment in time. Freeze the smile so he would never see her grieve again.
Sadly, there were obstacles he had to clear before he could bring her happiness. Since she had explained her reason for seeking him out at the masquerade, he had discovered that he had completely forgiven her. He ought not to have been wounded by her actions.
"How are you, Edwina?" he asked.
"Are you inquiring because of the message I wrote on my brother’s wall while sleepwalking?" She allowed a weak laugh. "I am fine. There is hardly anything that Prudence could do now that would make me any more miserable than she has in the past."
"I spoke to her, you know," he told her.
"You did? When?" She looked surprised at first, and then something else clouded her eyes. Something he could not quite understand.
