Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
“ E dwina!”
Edwina looked around at the sound of her name, her mood immediately brightening.
That morning, Hyde Park was alive with color, the summer warmth dancing on her skin. She wore a short-sleeved pale blue gown—a piece that had seen too many outings. It was as though everybody who passed her by also knew it, and was judging her. Her mother certainly would have.
The grief over losing her mother—the rigid spine of propriety that she had been, as well as the strict, guiding hand that Edwina had been lost without—was a complicated thing. Her mother’s critical voice was the loudest in her head.
She turned to see Miss Diana Hughes, the Viscount Grenfield’s daughter, heading in her direction.
Diana was beautiful, blonde-haired, delicately freckled, and a slight thing. She grinned as she approached Edwina, her parents trailing after her.
“Diana,” Edwina greeted and fell into step beside her, as her aunt immediately struck up a conversation with the Grenfields.
“It is a surprise to see you here,” Diana said, her voice bright with excitement. “I am glad for it, actually, for I have heard some things around London.”
Edwina’s heart lurched. “What sort of things?”
“Oh, do not look so worried! Come, let us walk further away from my parents so we may speak. But before we do, I must tell you about the afternoon tea Mama and I attended yesterday! It was simply fantastic, and afterward, we all embroidered.”
“That sounds lovely,” Edwina murmured, feeling a pang of sadness in her chest.
I should be attending such things . Had I not been so preoccupied with my brother’s life, I would have had time for my own.
That knowledge sank into her with frustration that she tamped down, for she could not tell Diana that. She hid Nicholas’s addiction even from her closest friend.
“It was!” Diana giggled. “And I heard that the Marquess of Highbury is looking for a wife.” She sighed, tucking her hand in the crook of Edwina’s arm. “Mama says that should be me, but what would I offer a marquess?”
“You have plenty to offer, and you know it.”
“Do I?” Diana sighed happily, only to burst into laughter. “Should he ask, I would happily dance with him all night.”
“And by that, I am sure you mean that you would drink more champagne than is proper, receive a lecture from your parents, and flirt most audaciously with the Marquess?” Edwina teased.
“Well, if he was not against it, then yes, I suppose I would. I do enjoy a good party—you know I do.” Diana nudged her. “But it is time that you enjoyed parties a great deal more. I would love to see you at a social event again, for it is getting rather bothersome enduring all the gossiping ladies alone.”
“You love to gossip,” Edwina pointed out, frowning. “Are you not one of them?”
Diana only shrugged, carefree as always. “How have you been faring, Edwina? I know I jest, but I truly feel as though I barely see you.”
Edwina glanced back at her aunt, who was in deep conversation with the Grenfields. From the wide gestures her aunt was making with her hands, Edwina figured that she was explaining their new situation. Edwina could only imagine the praise flying from her lips.
“We shall walk ahead,” she murmured, pulling Diana further away.
“Indeed, we shall look at this lovely flowering tree,” Diana said loudly, a reason for them to pull away from their chaperones. “How rare it is to see such a thing in summer!”
Quickly, she pulled Edwina forward, just off the main pathway. They ventured near a low-hanging tree, where they were able to keep an eye on anybody who watched or approached them.
“What is wrong, dear friend?” Diana asked, anticipatory empathy flickering in her brown eyes.
“The rumors you may have heard are rather true,” Edwina sighed. “I struggled to admit such things, but my family has fallen on hard times. My brother… he did not cope well after returning from the war, and the consequences have affected us.” Carefully, she omitted his addiction. “He has been disappearing in the dead of night.”
“That is what I have been hearing,” Diana murmured sadly. “Why, though?”
“I do not know,” Edwina half lied.
She did not know whether her brother disappeared to drink or to chase another hit of laudanum. It was likely both, but the careful avoidance kept her safe. All she knew was that her brother often came back with bottles of more than one thing on his person.
“Regardless,” she continued. “Do you recall Nicholas’s former friend, the Duke of Stormhold?”
Diana’s face lit up immediately. “How could anybody forget a man so handsome yet so…” She hesitated, searching for the right word. “Mysterious. The man cloaks himself in shadows and mystery, not allowing anybody to get close to him. It is rather suspicious, in my opinion.”
“Well, I came into contact with him,” Edwina revealed, swallowing at her friend’s remark. “And… one thing led to another, and he is now staying at our house. He has agreed to help us out financially and with our estate. He has even arranged for me and my aunt to be fitted for new gowns.”
Diana’s eyes widened. “Edwina, you cannot be serious! The Duke—he is not a man who is generous without cause. Do you know how he hunts down men who owe him money? Only at a ball last week, Lord Herrington was cursing him, claiming the man was a violent lunatic! I have heard tales from many other lords who have sat with His Grace in gambling hells. It is a most dark path, indeed.”
She snapped out her fan and cooled her face, shaking her head.
“He is handsome, yes, but he is not a man you want to be associated with,” she continued, her voice low. “If he is willing to help out of the goodness of his heart… I would not trust him if I were you. He does not spend money unwisely, and he always comes back for what he is owed.”
And yet Edwina could not reconcile that with the man who only an hour ago had told her that there was no need for repaying his generosity. The man who had made Nicholas a partner in a lucrative business venture in order to fund the renovation of their home.
Was he being generous only to later have them in his debt? His power would grow the more people owed him and grew desperate when they were not able to repay him.
But she did not like to think like that, so she shook off her friend’s warning.
“I am not affected in any way,” she told Diana. “Not to mention that my aunt has come to visit and has insisted on staying for a month, which far surpasses the duration of the Duke’s stay. She is always around.”
A small voice in her head added, Unfortunately , and she could not help but think of the night she had seen the Duke shirtless in the hall, how improper it was, and how she had kissed him back in the carriage.
Her face burned.
Not affected at all.
“Come, Edwina,” Isabel called out, startling Edwina and Diana. “We are to visit both modistes after our walk.”
“I would love to come with you,” Diana sighed as they returned to their group. “To be provided for by a duke… Heavens, it might make me more forgiving of his shadowed life.”
“Did you not just warn me against His Grace?” Edwina couldn’t help but laugh.
“Yes, but I am not blind to his appearance. He is very easy on the eyes. Do you think he might know the Marquess? I am sure if he does, he could introduce us!”
“I shall not be the one to ask him,” Edwina answered her.
They rejoined their families before Edwina was quickly ushered to the carriage to go to the modiste.