Chapter 4
“There is no use pretending, Margaret. I know where you were.”
It was, quite possibly, the worst possible way to be awoken. Her mother had thrown the curtains open and was scowling at her before she had even opened her eyes.
“I do not know what you are referring to,” she said, half in a daze. “I was unwell, if you recall.”
“You and I both know that you were not. Margaret, your shoes are by your door, scuffed. You may have been able to fool your sisters, and heaven knows they are not the brightest girls, but you cannot evade me. What on Earth were you thinking?”
At that, Margaret sat upright and stared at her mother.
An anger washed over her that she had never felt before.
She had taken every injustice as it came, and had never once complained about it.
She had given her life for her sisters, and it had never been enough.
Throwing her covers to one side, she got to her feet and met her mother’s eye.
“I wanted one night,” she said in hushed anger.
“I was thinking that I am to give my future up so that Emily and Poppy may actually have their own, and so I deserved one evening where I could be like everyone else. I wanted to wear a pretty dress and dance and laugh just like I should have been able to.”
“And you never were able to because of me, is that what you are trying to say? I failed you, and so you had to be duplicitous in order to attain it.”
“Of course that is not what I am saying!”
But it was. She never wanted it to be known, but there was an undeniable resentment there, and there had been for years.
She was always the one to make sacrifices, while her mother maintained her own indulgences.
She was a selfish woman, and Margaret knew it, but there had never been anything to gain in pointing it out.
“I do not know how I ended up with such a selfish daughter,” her mother sighed. “I did my best by you, Margaret, and in return you betrayed my trust. If it was a night you wanted, you should have asked.”
“So that you would have known to stop me? Come now, Mother, you know that is what would have happened. And you may call me selfish if it brings you comfort, but look in my reticule.”
“You will call it an invasion.”
“Look in it.”
With a huff, her mother took it and looked inside to find the confections. She faltered, looking back at Margaret with uncertainty in her eyes.
“I was always going to confess,” she said lightly. “I brought them back for you all.”
“Did you steal these? Were you seen?”
“No,” she lied. “I know better than to be caught.”
Her mother, satisfied with that, tucked the reticule under her arm.
“I shall take these to the kitchens. The girls need not know where you found them, nor that it was you that took them to begin with.”
“Of course.”
She did not care that it was her mother that would receive the praise from her sisters.
All that mattered was that they would have something good that day.
It also meant that she would not be questioned further about her night, which meant there was no chance that she would reveal the interaction she had had with none other than a duke.
She threw herself back onto her bed, her face in her pillow to muffle the groan that escaped her. She had been foolish to reveal so much about herself. If he recognized her, then she was at his mercy, and if he wanted to be callous then he could do anything he pleased with her.
Except, she considered as she sat up slowly, he did not seem to be a cold man.
There was a gentle tone to his voice, and that had caught her attention for he was otherwise quite an intimidating man.
He had a commanding presence just as any duke would, and she trusted him whether she liked it or not.
She dressed hastily, going to breakfast in the hopes that it would provide a distraction. The moment she entered, her sisters looked at her in surprise.
“You are looking well,” Poppy said warmly.
“Yes, I am much recovered. My apologies, Sister. You would have enjoyed last night, I am certain of it.”
“There will be others. It only matters that you are well. Besides, I am more than happy to wait for a ball that is not so terribly scandalous. You should see the gossip this morning!”
Margaret struggled to keep her composure at that.
“Nothing will come of any of it,” Emily argued. “Yes, some rather incredible things took place last night, but when it comes to their identities there is only speculation. It hardly makes for anything tantalizing.”
“It shall be forgotten by tomorrow,” their mother agreed. “It is quite a shame, for I would have liked the season to start with some scandals, as long as they do not affect the three of you of course.”
Chance would be a fine thing, she thought, though she did not say anything.
“I am going to see Penelope,” Margaret said suddenly as she cleared her plate. “She has asked to speak with me about the ball.”
“When did she ask that?” Emily asked, an eyebrow raised.
“Before the ball. She likes to discuss such matters. Ladies often do.”
Nobody questioned that any further, which was what she needed from them. She donned her cloak and stepped out with one of their few maids as a chaperone, but she did not go to see Penelope.
Sometimes, she was grateful to be the forgotten one. Nobody questioned her too deeply, and nobody followed her. It was precisely what she needed when doing something that she should not have been.
Ravensmere House was but a short walk away, but she could not go to the front door.
If she were seen, the ton would be abuzz trying to learn of the lady that went there, and it would have only been a matter of time before she was discovered as said lady.
She could not afford that, not when she did not know what the Duke wanted to offer her.
She did not even know, she realized as she sneaked around the back of his household, if she had indeed been speaking with him the night before. It could have been another gentleman, one that was pretending to be him, and she was about to embarrass herself entirely.
But it was a risk worth taking. She had been told to go there, and to ask for him. If it was a mistake, she could lie her way out of it. She steadied herself and approached the back door.
“Can I help you?” a short man asked when he saw her.
“His Grace expects me,” she explained.
“Do you have a calling card?”
“I– no, I do not.”
“Then I cannot let you enter. I cannot simply let any lady in simply because they say so.”
“But–”
“It is quite alright,” a familiar voice came.
It had indeed been him, at least. Margaret looked past the man to see none other than the man she had met the night prior looking back at her.
“Your Grace,” the man began, “is it wise to let her in?”
“She is chaperoned, and I invited her. Is there an issue, Thompson?”
“No, Your Grace, of course not.”
“Then it is settled. Come in, Miss.”
The man stood aside, and Margaret entered the household. It put her own to shame, but that was of no surprise to her. It was incredible, and immaculately decorated in a way that she never would have expected of a man.
“You have a lovely home,” she said as they wandered the halls.
He thanked her, and then they entered his study. It was a dark room, helped only slightly by the fact that he had opened the curtains to let in sunlight. He gestured for her to take a seat, and when she did so he remained standing, his hands on his desk as he leaned into it.
“You came,” he said at last.
“I did. I was not certain that I would, but then… that does not matter.”
“It does. I would like to know what brought you here, for you did not seem so willing last night.”
“And I would like to know what you want. You did not even see me, and yet you invited me here. I was curious about it.”
“We can discuss that, certainly. You see, I found your honesty refreshing, and I want to help you with your situation. You and I are both in situations where it would benefit us, for that matter.”
“Very well. Might you tell me of yours?”
He looked away at that, and could no longer quite meet her eye.
It did not seem fair, as far as she was concerned, that he was able to keep secrets from her after she had divulged so much, but then she reasoned that he had not forced her to tell him what was happening. She had told him of her own accord.
“You told me last night that your leaving town was your own choice,” he replied instead. “I shall only ask this once, and I would like you to be honest in your response. Is that the truth?”
“Yes, it is. I wish to– oh, there is no use lying to you. No, I do not wish to leave. It is at my mother’s request, and it is to benefit my family.”
“Your family being who, exactly?”
It was at that moment that she realized she had yet to tell him her name.
“Fairleigh,” she stammered. “Miss Margaret Fairleigh, Your Grace.”
“Wonderful. With introductions out of the way, I must ask how your leaving is of any benefit to them. The best thing would be for you to marry, surely?”
“Under normal circumstances, perhaps, but when one cannot afford to have all three daughters out in society, it becomes a barrier. If I remain in London and do not attend events, questions will be asked. She can barely afford to have two of us out, never mind a third.”
She hated that she found it so easy to tell a stranger her deepest secrets, but she could not help it.
He was easy to talk to, and frankly she had nothing to lose.
Regardless of what happened, she would be leaving town, and her sisters would make their own ways.
That would not be changed by a duke, even if he did intend to gossip, but something made her trust that he would not.
“I see,” he nodded. “I wondered if that was the case, and that is precisely why I wished to make you an offer.”
“An offer?”
“An arrangement, and a respectable and temporary one at that. I propose that you and I pretend to court for the season. I need to appear to be in search of a wife, and you need a reason to remain in London.”
“That is not possible, Your Grace. I am to leave soon, and–”
“And you having caught the attention of a duke will change your mother’s mind, I am certain of that. It would improve your sisters’ prospects, and I will ensure that you are all provided for myself. Your mother cannot refuse that.”
“She would gladly accept it, but she is not the one that you are asking. I am, and I am telling you that that is too much. You do not know me.”
“I do not need to. You are in need, as am I. It is noble of you to sacrifice yourself, but if you do not need to then it is foolish. I want to make it so that none of you ever have to sacrifice again. I shall restore your dowries, and make it so that you remain in town until you find a match of your own.”
“I do not understand. There are many ladies that you could have offered this to. Why me?”
“Because, even though I do not know why, I trust you, and I want to make your life better. If I can help you, and you can help me, then why should we not? We can part ways at the end of the season as friends, and both of us shall be all the better for it. You shall not need to enter a convent, nor will you have to accept a life forced upon you.”
“And you?”
“I shall be able to escape those well-meaning mamas that hound me incessantly, for one.”
She giggled, then scolded herself for it. This was a serious proposal from a serious man, and she had to act accordingly. But then she looked at him, his gray eyes on her, and she noticed that he was also grinning.
There was no denying that he was an attractive man, though she forced herself to bury such a feeling. If they were to fool the ton, she would have to feign attraction to him, but she could not feel it.
And she knew that she would go along with his plan. She did not have a choice. If she wished to continue living her life as she knew it, then she would have to place all of her trust in a stranger, and as kind as he had been to her, she was afraid of what it could bring.
“Very well,” she agreed at last. “We shall do it. Before any announcements are made, however, I shall have to speak with my mother. This will be a surprise to her, and I do not want her to think that anything untoward has happened. It was difficult enough to speak with her this morning, for she knew where I had gone last night.”
“I do not plan for you to tell her, if that helps you at all.”
“We cannot rely on rumors!”
“I did not say that either.”
He blinked at her incredulously as if she were a madwoman, which she supposed that she was.
She had gone to a stranger’s home in broad daylight and accepted a proposal for a courtship with very little thought.
Even so, she thought it was a trait they shared, given that he had been the one to suggest it in the first place.
“Then what do you think we should do?” she asked.
“I am going to speak with her.”
“You cannot do that!”
“It is best, is it not? She can speak to you however she pleases. I, on the other hand, am a duke. She will remember her place when she speaks to me.”
Margaret was not so convinced about that, but there was no arguing with him.
“Very well. You may visit whenever you wish.”
“Good. Let me make some arrangements, and then I will see you all.”
Margaret returned home with a lighter step, hoping that her sisters had meant what they had said. She wanted them to be happy for her, and not envious.
Because if they were, she did not know what she would do.