Chapter 7
CHAPTER 7
L evi hated how he had acted, but he tried not to blame himself for it.
At least, he could not blame himself for being accosted once again. He had tried so hard to avoid Miss Winston, but she had a strange need to always be near him. He had been patient that afternoon, deciding that being polite but distant would keep her at arm’s length, but she had taken it as a challenge.
“An incredible shot, Your Grace!” she cheered when he just missed a goal. “You must have been playing this for years.”
“Thank you,” he replied, “but no, I never much enjoyed garden games.”
“You can hardly tell. You shall win, I believe.”
“I am five points behind. It is very unlikely.”
“Well,” she replied, twirling her hair around her finger, “I believe you shall succeed all the same.”
He saw the looks the other gentlemen were giving him, and he wanted to wade out into the lake and dive under the surface. He wondered how long he might have had to hide there before she would leave, but he was quite certain that he could not hold his breath for that long.
“Rosendale,” he asked the Baron quietly when her back was turned. “How much for you to throw this game?”
“I am only fourth, Lupton,” he replied. “It is hardly a close game, either. Smythe has practiced since our last game, I am certain of it.”
“So it shan’t take much for you, then. Might you hit your ball over to that group of ladies? It is my understanding that you are courting Miss Sarah, after all. You should ask her to join us.”
“Indeed.” A smile flickered across Rosendale’s face. “Under those circumstances, I am more than happy to make that sacrifice.”
On his turn, Rosendale perfectly hit his ball to the ladies. He had hoped that, in doing so, the presence of another lady would make Miss Winston more inclined to leave him be. Unfortunately, it had only caused her to become bolder, as there were fewer gentlemen there to be witnesses to what she was saying.
“Your Grace,” she said as the others moved to the next part, “I’m afraid I do not feel well. It must be the heat.”
“How unfortunate. Shall I find someone to escort you home?”
“I would rather you did. I feel…I feel very weak. Should I faint, I wouldn’t wish to languish alone in the sun.”
He could have scoffed at her, but it was not worth the trouble. If he sent her back in a carriage, he could at least be rid of her without any further issue, and so he went to Smythe and tapped his shoulder. He explained the situation quickly, and they left for the carriages. It was only a short walk away, and when they arrived Smythe left once more. He was, after all, winning the game, and he did not wish to miss a turn.
“Thank you,” she said softly. “I already feel much better.”
“Then you shall be perfectly fine to return home alone, yes?”
“Well, I am not so certain of that. It could suddenly change, and then what will I do?”
“I can have a maid arranged for you. The Duke of Pridefield shan’t mind.”
“But I would much rather you accompanied me. It would be nice to have a friend with me.”
“Am I a friend to you?”
She giggled at that as if he had asked her something absurd.
“Your Grace, you and I both know what is between us, but if I must call it friendship then I shall.”
Before he could refute it, however, Miss Kendall appeared.
She was furious, and he could not believe that she had caught them at the worst possible time once more. He saw betrayal in her eyes, and he hated it. She chastised them both, but as she did so he realized that she had been waiting for it to happen. She had expected him to do something to prove her assumptions correct; to play the role that he had assigned himself so long ago.
And so, as Miss Winston stalked away, he decided that he would do exactly that. If it was a rake she expected, that she wanted, then he would give her a rake. He was excellent in the role when necessary, and for the sake of proving a point he would play it well.
Too well, he realized, as he had left her flustered and then she seemed to leave altogether. He wondered if he had taken their argument too far, but he reasoned that she was not listening to him and had therefore left him with no other choice.
And so, he finished the game, which he ended up coming in second with, and they played a second with Miss Sarah joining them. She was good, very good, especially for a beginner. As the game continued, however, he found that she was standing beside him as Rosendale took his turns. She looked at him expectantly, as though willing him to say something.
“You… play very well,” he managed.
“I wish to know what you think of my sister,” Sarah replied bluntly.
“She is certainly proper. I will say that she is pleasant company, when she wishes to be at least.”
“I want you to take care of her. I know it is not right for me to instruct a duke, but you must know that she has done everything she can for me, and I have never been able to offer her anything in return. She deserves the best, and I expect you to give her that if you are suggesting such intentions.”
He paused, looking at the young lady’s face. She seemed serious about her words, though she was quite timid in his presence.
“Is that what your sister believes?”
“It is what her friends and I have seen. You have been by her side for a while during this party, and if we are correct in our suspicions I want to know that your intentions are honorable.”
“They always are.”
She seemed to laugh gently at that, and then it was her turn. She no longer waited beside him during the game, and he took that to mean that she had said what she had been building the courage to say, and now there was nothing more that she needed from him.
She won the game, and he took that as his sign that he would not be victorious in any other attempts. He left for the carriages for a second time, this time returning to the household. He had been thinking about Miss Sarah’s words, and how they had noticed him by her side. He had told her that Miss Kendall was pleasant when she wanted to be, and that was true, but even when she was being decidedly unpleasant he had to admit that he liked being near her. It confused him, for he should have taken offence at her treatment of him and wanted nothing more to do with her, but he couldn’t bring himself to.
Upon his return, he needed some time to think, and so he decided to go to the library. Leonard wouldn’t mind, as he had often opened his home to Levi when he needed a moment to himself, without his mother’s presence lingering around him.
He chose a book and took a seat without much thought, when suddenly he heard a gentle huffing sound. He looked up to see none other than Miss Kendall, who had been sitting there, standing to leave.
“Wait,” he said quickly. “Stay. I did not mean to intrude.”
“You never do, Your Grace. I am doing what you instructed me to do and leaving situations that could lead to scandal. Even I, a glorified maid, could fall victim to scandal. Or so I am told.”
“It was unfair of Miss Winston to call you that. You mustn’t listen to her.”
“I have far greater issues than what some young lady thinks of me,” she snapped. “I am rather preoccupied, for example, with avoiding ruin, as it would appear some people are determined to see it happen.”
“You wound me. I would never want to see you ruined.”
She laughed emptily, closing the book that she had been reading and putting it back on the shelf. She looked at him almost with pity, or perhaps despair. He did not know how to read her, and it intrigued him more than it confused him.
“Then why did you do that at the park?” she asked. “Why have you followed me back after it? Please, if you wish to upset me, do not. Leave me be. I need only see my sister married and then I can leave this dreadful society. Do not make it harder than necessary.”
“Is that truly what you plan to do?”
“What else is there for me? I am unmarried, and I do not wish to burden my father for longer than the five-and-twenty years that I already have. You would never know such concerns, as your title is yours by right.”
“There you go with your assumptions. I shall remind you, Miss Kendall, that you do not know me any better than I know you. You are intelligent, but you do not know everything.”
“It is as though you enjoy insulting me.”
“It wasn’t an insult,” he promised, also leaving his seat. “I only mean that I can see you are better than some maid. I do not want you to hate me, no matter what you might think. I only ask that you listen to me, and believe me when I tell you that you have misunderstood something.”
“What is there to misunderstand?” she asked, exasperated. “There is a young lady that does not know any better, and you are clearly taking advantage of that.”
“Or she might be taking advantage of my reputation,” he suggested. “I am not a fool, Miss Kendall. I know when I am being tricked, and just because I do not say it outright does not mean I do not see it.”
“Why would she tempt scandal?”
“Why does anyone? It is not for me to say, but each time you have seen Miss Winston and I, it has been under unfortunate circumstances, ones that I did not plan for.”
There was silence for a moment as she searched his face, though he did not know what she was looking for.
“Why are you telling me this?” she asked. “It is none of my business what you do, and yet you are trying so hard to explain your actions to me. There is no need to, not really.”
“I do not know why. I simply want to. I do not want you to think badly of me.”
“Your reputation does that for you, Your Grace, and you seem quite proud of that. You do not need unfortunate circumstances to help you.”
“So you do think badly of me.”
The thought of that upset him more than it should have. He wanted her to like him, and though he refused to question just why that was, he knew it to be the case.
“Do I think badly of the gentleman that behaved abominably to me? I suppose that I should, don’t you?”
“I only did that because you clearly want me to be that way. If you continue to insist that black is white, eventually you will convince people, after all.”
“Do you mean to tell me that you are not what you want others to believe you are?” she laughed. “Your Grace, I shall be civil with you, but I do not want you too close to me. Beyond ensuring that you do not ruin any unsuspecting young ladies, I do not want to see you.”
“I apologize for my actions. I should not have done what I did.”
“No, you should not have.”
She left the library, and though he wished to follow her he did not. He had thought himself so clever for his act, but now he could hardly think back on it without scolding himself for it. He was neither funny, nor clever. He was exactly what he had been pretending to be for years. A rake and nothing more, without even the good memories that a true rake might have gathered.
But he couldn’t forget her sister’s words. They had seen the two of them together, and seen something in Miss Kendall that they had not noticed before. They expected him to care for their friend and sister, and he had failed before they could even warn him.
He shook his head. It was none of his concern, after all. No promises had been made, and they were not even courting. Then again, why had Miss Sarah been so determined? She did not strike him as overly ambitious or cunning, nor determined to make the most illustrious match possible given that she had seemingly chosen a baron for herself.
He tried not to think about it. Thankfully, it was not long before the others returned, and so he threw himself into the middle of it all. He socialized more than he ever had, determined to prove that he was a good man, one that was well-liked. Not only that, but it meant Miss Winston could not come too close to him. He hoped Miss Kendall would be keeping an eye on him, but she was nowhere to be seen.
“You are quite the sociable creature,” Leonard remarked that evening. “Did you enjoy the picnic?”
“Indeed. You certainly know how to host.”
“I do,” he nodded in mock thought. “You should do so yourself sometime.”
“Pridefield,” he warned. “I shall not remind you of my mother again.”
“I know, I know. In any case, it is nice to see you enjoying yourself. It has something to do with that spinster that has caught your eye, I assume?”
“Have you truly noticed?”
“Levi, everyone has. It may surprise you, but people are capable of whispers and gossip without telling the subjects of their conversation about it.”
His friend laughed, but Levi couldn’t help but wonder if it was already too late.
He was already too known to her to become unknown.