Chapter 3
ADuke and Almost-Duchess Humiliated
The highly anticipated wedding of His Grace the Duke of Pantheris, Owen Harcourt, was not the spectacular event that we expected. Envy is one thing, but to storm into a church with the intention of destroying a lady’s future is too much to bear.
One can only imagine the hurt caused to Lady Helena, the Duke’s betrothed, who was seen in tears after the fact.
With the wedding cancelled, it is unknown at this time as to whether it will go ahead at all.
It is this author’s assumption that this will not be possible, and so the only thing one can wish for her is that she finds happiness elsewhere.
The culprit, Lady Beatrice Jennings, is not one of the well-known ladies of Society.
The most notable thing about her is her group of friends, who are all duchesses in their own right.
She, on the other hand, is a spinster. One does not need to look far to understand what motivated her to declare her love for the Duke, steal her friend’s joy, and destroy the wedding ceremony.
Beatrice stared at the scandal sheet, then at her mother, and then back at the sheet.
Her mother had thrust it into her hand before she could sit down for breakfast, and it burned her fingertips.
The words were harsh, and while it had not been Beatrice’s intention to ruin anything, the author certainly made it seem that way.
Beatrice was dizzy as she read it again, her heart pounding and her fingers trembling, but she was pleased at least that Helena had been spared.
She was seen as the innocent party, the young lady who was to be a duchess.
Beatrice was more than happy to take the blame for now.
She knew how her friend would have faced more scrutiny had the truth come out, and that would have ruined Lady Helena altogether.
“I cannot believe you,” her mother scowled. “I do not understand why you have finally decided to talk, only for you to do such ridiculous and awful things. Have you been this way all along?”
“Of course not. Mother, you know that I would never do something like that unless absolutely necessary. Helena told me that she did not love him, and I– I could not in good faith let her marry a man she did not know or love.”
“Love matters not when such a match would have been a secure future for her. She would have been well taken care of, and that means more than such foolish ideas as love.”
The words hung in the air, and Beatrice looked at her father’s empty seat.
“Do you love him?” she asked. “Father?”
“I know how I feel about him. He and I have been married for thirty years, and we have a child. You cannot be in one’s proximity all that time without some form of affection.”
“But–”
“Do not change the subject. Beatrice, what has happened to you? You were never spiteful toward Lady Helena, nor would you have risked ruining your own reputation.”
“And I remain unchanged. Mother, I cannot tell you the truth of the matter, but please believe me when I say that I had no other choice. I did not only do what I did for Helena’s sake, but also the Duke’s…”
Her mother narrowed her eyes, then took the scandal sheet from her.
“What is it, Beatrice? What can you not tell me?”
Beatrice bit her lip, her palms dampening. If it meant that her name could be cleared, it was entirely possible that her mother would tell the ton the truth about Helena’s condition. Then again, it was unlikely that she would be believed when she was defending her daughter.
“You must not say a word,” Beatrice warned. “It will not help me if you turn it to gossip.”
“If it is about Lady Helena, then you know that your secret is safe with me. I think very highly of her.”
Beatrice wondered how long that would last. With a sigh, she recounted what Helena had told her.
She watched as her mother’s face contorted a hundred different ways as she tried to make sense of what she was hearing.
When Beatrice finished, her mother had a hand lightly over her mouth, her pointer finger between her teeth.
“And she has not told you much of how that came to be?”
“I know nothing. All I know is that she is with child, and she needs a husband. I do not know what happened to the young man she loves, nor has she ever properly mentioned his name.” Beatrice heaved a sigh.
“I did not know anything about her condition or feelings before the interruption at the wedding, of course, only that she was marrying a stranger and it was not what she wanted. She loves another, Mama, and the Duke did not deserve to be married to someone who does not love him any more than she did.”
“I understand, Dearest. Do not say a word of this to your father, of course. He would not understand such a predicament in the way that you and I do. Very well, we shall weather the storm. It is not as though you were going to marry, regardless.”
“Is Father angry?”
“He is furious. He has locked himself in his study and is refusing to come out. It will pass, however, once this is all forgotten. If Lady Helena and the Duke had come to an understanding, perhaps they would again. They might marry regardless, and this will all be forgotten?”
Beatrice shook her head.
“His Grace says a reconciliation would only lead to more scrutiny when the baby is born. He claims to have a solution for Helena, but a marriage between them is no longer viable.”
Her mother squeezed her shoulders, sighing.
“You did what you thought was right,” she nodded. “You were wrong to do it, but there is no changing that now. All that we can do is wait for all of this to pass.”
Beatrice agreed, not asking how long that might take. She regretted her actions, but there was no changing them.
Suddenly, the butler entered.
“The Duke of Pantheris, Ma’am,” he bowed, leaving at once.
Beatrice felt her heartbeat quicken at the sight of him. There was an air of seriousness about him, and he was most imposing. He looked at her with his yellowish eyes, and she felt as though she was trapped in place.
“Your Grace,” her mother greeted. “Please forgive my daughter. It was a foolish thing to do to say the least, and–”
“I understand, Lady Jennings,” he replied calmly. “Might I have a moment with your daughter alone? I shall also require a word with your husband, if he is here.”
“He is indeed,” she nodded.
Beatrice knew that the Duke’s arrival would lure her father out of his study.
Her mother left the room, but a maid remained in the corner to chaperone. The moment the door closed, the Duke cleared his throat, looking at her intensely. Beatrice trembled before him, for though he was not trying to intimidate her he was incredibly tall and broad.
“I have come to a conclusion,” he said simply.
“And what might that be?”
“You are more impulsive than you let on. This morning, and last night, I have heard rather a lot about you. People tell me you are a very quiet lady, one who has never thought very much about anything, or at least has never made such thoughts known.”
“It is the latter, for what it is worth,” she replied quietly. “Until the wedding, I never felt the need to say what I was thinking.”
“And yet, the one time that you did…”
She laughed sadly.
“Let it be a lesson that your words have an impact on others, whether you expect it or not.”
“Yes, well, I have certainly learned my lesson there.”
“Good, for I cannot allow my duchess to act so brazenly.”
She blinked, her eyes meeting his.
“Your duchess? Your Grace, I did not think that you were serious yesterday. We cannot marry.”
“But we must. As far as the ton knows, you are in love with me and ruined your friend’s wedding because of it. We cannot fight that, Lady Beatrice, but we can find a way through by agreeing with them. I told you this yesterday.”
“Yes, but it does not make any sense. I do not know you.”
“That matters very little. You and I will marry, thereby saving your reputation, and I shall take care of Lady Helena and the man she loves, so that she does not need to struggle. She can marry the father of her child, and our wedding will be of so much interest to the ton that they will not care about the man Lady Helena ties herself to instead.”
Beatrice struggled to understand what was happening. His words made sense. Being a duke, she knew he was capable of using his influence to sway public opinion, but convincing others to believe they were in love would surely not be as easy as he seemed to think.
“Besides,” he continued, pulling the very same scandal sheet that she had read out of his pocket, “according to this, you know some other dukes and duchesses that can say a good word about us. Is that true?”
“Indeed. I have three good friends who are all married to dukes. You may not believe me when I say that I did not intend to marry one myself, but that is the truth.”
“I can believe it,” he laughed darkly. “If you did, such a display as the one you made yesterday would not be the way to go about it. Then again, you will marry me, and so if it were a plan of yours, it was successful.”
“It was certainly not a plan,” she said firmly. “I did not think about you once. All I cared about was Lady Helena. She is all that I am considering now. Are you certain that this will help her?”
“It is the only way,” he nodded.
“Then it is what we must do. My father is in his study. I can have someone take you there.”
He thanked her, and then he left the room. Beatrice tried to steady her breathing. She also tried not to think about the fact that her life was going to change for good, and she had nobody to blame for that but herself.
Her mother returned very quickly.
“Did I hear all of that right?” she asked.
“Were you eavesdropping?”
“Of course I was. I am your mother. Now, tell me the truth. Are you to marry the Duke?”
“Should Father give him his permission, yes. It is the only way to navigate all of this.”
“In that case, I cannot be angry with you for your actions. Oh, Beatrice!”
Her mother embraced her suddenly, tightly pulling her in until Beatrice was certain that she could not breathe.
“Mama!” she yelped. “This is not a good thing. I do not want to marry him.”
“Perhaps not, but it is as I told you. You need stability, and he will offer that more than any other gentleman. I cannot believe it. My daughter, a duchess!”
“But the circumstances are less than ideal, Mother. We cannot be too excited when it could very easily all go wrong.”
“It will not. Your father would not allow that. Besides, we never thought that you would marry at all, let alone this well. We deserve some happiness, Dear.”
Beatrice wondered why she had never been enough reason for them to be happy, but then she was always a disappointment as far as they were concerned. She was unmarried, and until that day she had been without prospects. In the space of a day, that had all changed.
“I shall begin some preparations,” her mother smiled, and though Beatrice went to stop her she did not pay attention.
Her mother did not wait to hear another word, gliding out of the room and humming. Beatrice wished that she could share this enthusiasm, but she could not. She was not pleased about her fate, but it was what she had to do to fix the mess that she had made.
She wished that Helena had not lied to her, and that she had kept quiet and allowed the ceremony to go as planned, but that was not what had happened.
Now, she would have to become a duchess and have duties that she never expected.
She would marry a husband she did not want, but if it meant protecting her friend then she would do it.
And she would do it with a smile on her face.