Chapter Nineteen
After they dropped Dilly at home in time for her to make her appointment with Madame Laurent, Tia and Lia returned to White’s to retrieve Rupert. He entered the carriage, looking grim, which caused her heart to sink.
“What is it?” cried Lia.
But Tia already knew. Her brother-in-law did not have to voice his concerns because they were evident by looking at his face.
Lacing his fingers through his wife’s, Rupert said, “We should talk about this with Val. I saw Julian just now, and he went home to retrieve Ariadne. They will meet us at Val’s. Con will be there, as well.”
It was even worse than Tia thought if the entire family in town would be gathering to discuss the situation. Lia sensed the tension and tried to speak of other things, but she finally gave up, and they rode in silence.
Once home, Parsons admitted them and told them everyone awaited them in the drawing room.
As she climbed the stairs, Tia felt as if she were mounting the gallows to her execution.
Suddenly, the gravity of the situation struck her.
She had gone into the Season lighthearted, not worrying about whether or not she found her husband this year.
Something told her that she might never find one after the events of last night, and she would die an old maid, set upon the shelf before she even reached a score.
When they entered the drawing room, she noticed Uncle Arthur and Aunt Charlotte were also present.
Ever since her own father’s death, Aunt Charlotte had stepped up, making herself the unofficial spokesman of the three related families.
Her eyes cut to Mama, who sat looking lost, as if she had failed her children.
“Come join us,” Aunt Charlotte ordered, and the three of them took seats in the group.
Her aunt’s eyes flicked over Tia now. “This is nothing short of an unmitigated disaster,” she crisply announced.
Mama made a noise of distress. “Oh, Charlotte, do you truly think so? Millbrooke is a duke. Everyone knows that dukes are a law unto themselves.”
“Millbrooke will not go unscathed in this instance,” Aunt Charlotte determined. “Then again, he is already wed, with an heir. It is Thermantia who stands to lose everything.”
“I think things will blow over, Aunt Charlotte,” her brother said. “Tia did nothing wrong.” But Val did not look convinced by his own words.
“She stood up for a man. One severely lacking.”
Her aunt’s statement riled her. “You believe Lord Merriman is lacking simply because he stammered a bit? It was the first time we have heard him do so. He was provoked terribly by Lord Calley and Lord Balch. It was obvious they had bullied him as a child. Most likely, his stammer was a reflex.”
“True,” Aunt Charlotte conceded. “It would seem Merriman had outgrown it, but since he fell back into it so easily, it is apparent he merely has tried to control it all these years. You know as well as I do, Thermantia, that the ton harshly judges others, especially if they prove to be slightly different.”
“I still do not see the problem,” Mama protected. “Lord Merriman seems to be quite amiable. He is an earl and wealthy.”
“Do you want your daughter stuck with someone such as he?” Aunt Charlotte demanded. “Do you wish for your grandchildren to stammer like idiots?”
Con spoke up. “You go too far, Mama.”
Aunt Charlotte gave her son a withering look. “I do not go far enough.”
Again, her aunt’s words caused Tia’s anger to bubble up, and she said, “There is no understanding between Lord Merriman and me.” Then she burst into tears.
Lia wrapped an arm about her twin’s shoulders. “Can you not be more supportive, Aunt?” Lia asked. “Obviously, Tia is very upset. She is hurting.”
“She should wash her hands of Merriman. His sister, as well. Lady Delilah and Lord Forsythe will also be marked by this scandal,” Aunt Charlotte predicted.
“How long do you believe the gossip will go on?” Eden asked. “Yes, two lords acted in a most ungentlemanly way toward Lord Merriman last night. And yes, the earl was most upset, stuttering a bit as he rebuked them.”
Aunt Charlotte’s brows rose. Her tone condescending, she told Eden, “It is not merely that. Thermantia dragged Millbrooke into the mess. Why, he was challenged to a duel!”
“A duel?” Mama echoed weakly, her dismay obvious. Looking to Val, she said, “You spoke of no duel, Millbrooke.”
Val took charge of the situation. “That is because no duel was planned, nor will one be fought, Mama. One of those bloody fools was disparaging my sister, and I came to Tia’s defense.
This man threw out the notion of a duel, which neither Tia nor I considered for a moment.
Duels are fought over honor, by men with honor.
I think this scandal will die a quick death.
Mama said it best. I am a duke, and while others might wish to gossip about this unfortunate incident, it will slide off me in the long run. Tia, too.”
Aunt Charlotte’s eyes held doubt. “Just because you say it will does not make it so, Millbrooke. I believe Thermantia’s Season is over. You should return to Millvale and give the gossip time to die down.”
Tia wiped angrily at the tears on her cheeks. “I refuse to let those two chase me from town,” she declared. “They were in the wrong. Neither Val nor I were. If the ton needs to gossip about someone, it should be those two who are ostracized, their reputations in tatters.”
“And yet the two of you will be the chief subject at tonight’s ball if you attend it,” her aunt predicted. “Merriman and his sister, as well.”
“I just came from being with Lady Dilly,” she revealed. “Lord Forsythe is standing beside her. They will still wed. He did not cry off.”
Aunt Charlotte sniffed. “If they do wed, it should be done quickly and quietly, and then they should retreat from town. They are on the edge of this scandal. It would be best for the chit if she did wed and then chose to have nothing to do with her brother.”
Lia said, “I think there is one thing we must address—and that is Tia’s feelings toward Lord Merriman.”
Suddenly, all eyes in the room were upon her, and Val gently asked, “Do you have feelings for Merriman? Do you love him?”
“No. Yes. I don’t know,” she said, frustration filling her. “I do have some kind of feelings toward him. I am not certain exactly what those feelings are. I believe he, too, has feelings where I am concerned. I thought we were on the verge of exploring them last night.”
“No good will come of your association with this earl,” Aunt Charlotte told her.
Uncle Arthur cleared his throat. “But if you do have tender feelings for him, my dear, I know you do not wish to thrust them aside. I have seen Lucy and Dru in love, and our daughters would both agree and tell you to see things to the end. If you do not, you will always regret it.”
Ariadne finally spoke. “I agree, as well, Uncle Arthur. It is obvious Tia is confused by her feelings toward Lord Merriman, so she must resolve them before she can move forward.” Her sister looked kindly at her.
“If it is love, scandal will not kill it. Gossip may try to poison your relationship with Lord Merriman, but if you are meant to be together, you will find a way to do so.”
“Thermantia should not even be seen with this earl,” Aunt Charlotte complained. “If he is a true gentleman, he will not wish to ruin her future. He will have nothing to do with her.”
“Then that would make Merriman and Tia miserable,” Julian declared. “I agree with Val. When the next scandal arises—and we all know it will—the gossips will turn toward it in full force. While they are like a dog with a bone, if they are tossed fresh meat, the bone suddenly becomes obsolete.”
New tears formed in Tia’s eyes. “So, you are saying that I must wait for someone else to be facing scandal and heartbreak before I am able to resolve my own situation?”
Lia patted her on the back. “Lady Dilly did say that her brother would be absent from events for the next week or so. You would not be able to see him anyway, Tia.”
“I say you continue attending the events to which we have accepted invitations,” Val proclaimed. “You have the support of everyone in this room. Polite Society will see that we have rallied around you. I do not think they would lightly take to arousing the wrath of a duke.”
Her gaze met her brother’s. “You think I should go ahead and attend tonight’s ball then?”
“I do,” he confirmed.
She decided to wear the blush ballgown which she had been saving for a special occasion. Tia needed to look her absolute best tonight and would don the ballgown as her armor going into battle.
Hours later, she sat in her brother’s ducal carriage. They rode in silence.
Mama took Tia’s hand. “All will be well, Child,” she said, trying to comfort Tia.
They joined the receiving line upon arrival. Everyone’s gaze turned upon her as they did so.
“Chin up,” Eden said quietly. “You have done nothing wrong. Do not be cowed by their stares.”
They reached their hosts for the evening, and Val introduced her to them. Instead of the usual warm greeting, the earl and his countess nodded brusquely, silently urging them to move on.
When they entered the ballroom, she saw everyone who had been gathered in the drawing room this afternoon standing together. Relief swept through her, knowing she had her family by her side. They joined the group, and Lia and Ariadne complimented her gown.
“You look like a Greek goddess,” Ariadne praised. Her sister smiled. “I have never been prouder of you. You spoke out against an injustice you witnessed. Lord Merriman will learn of this. It will draw his favor.”
Tia looked anxiously to everyone who entered the ballroom now.
Each party deliberately moved the opposite way of where she and her family stood.
No gentlemen came, asking to sign her programme.
Her mouth grew dry. She wished to flee, and yet she knew it was important to remain in here tonight, calm and composed.