Chapter 5
Chapter Five
George knew how the world worked: a man might be called a rake, but a young lady would be ruined. Seeing Lady Cassandra standing there, forced to shoulder the crushing weight of the ton’s judgment alone, made his blood boil with an intensity he hadn’t expected.
They were both trapped, but the burden was his to carry.
He had watched her flee the ballroom; he had watched Lashton follow her like a wolf on a scent.
He’d told himself he was merely preventing a scandal, but the truth was more unsettling; he simply couldn't bear the thought of anyone else touching her.
She had been foolish to seek the darkness alone, but he had been the one to follow her into it.
He could have let her be caught with Lashton and remained a clean, uninvolved spectator.
Instead, he had chosen to intervene. He had chosen to be her protector, and that choice had led them straight into this cage.
When he awoke to his grandmother scowling at him and handing him a scandal sheet, he knew that it was just as bad as he had anticipated.
Lady Cassandra Burrow has at last gotten what she has always wanted.
She has ruined herself, meaning that she does not need to marry.
Is it truly her choice, or is it that nobody has ever wanted her and she is saving face?
We may never know, but what I can tell you is that there is no saving her from this.
What is unfortunate is that she has had to bring down the Duke of Sherton with her.
A new duke often has many trials to overcome, but that does not typically extend to making such an impossible choice.
Will he leave her to ruin, or will he do the respectable and responsible thing and save her?
One thing that will sway his decision, this author supposes, is what he thinks of her sizable dowry.
It is your move now, Your Grace.
She had a pretty name, at least.
In spite of all that he had expected, however, he had not anticipated that Lady Cassandra would follow him to his study. He felt her standing behind him, and turned in surprise.
“Lady Cassandra, I intended to do some work, and–”
“I believe there are more pressing matters, do you not agree?” she pointed out.
“I am not here to cause trouble, only to talk. Besides, if I must listen to another word of what is happening downstairs, I shall be so infuriated that you will not be able to work over the sound of what I would have to say.”
He did not doubt that, and so he let her in at once. He sat at his desk, and she sat across from him, looking around the room. He was not surprised, because he did have a beautiful study; dark green walls and heavy furniture, but with his curtains open to let in sunlight.
“I cannot apologize enough,” she began. “I did not intend for any of this to happen.”
“I believe you.”
Her mouth froze, still open.
“But you said that you thought I was accosting you in Hyde Park.”
“I did think that until I spoke to you for longer than thirty seconds. It is clear to me that you do not want this any more than I do.”
“Then do not feel obligated to marry me. It is my preference that you and I do not, and then I can continue my life elsewhere, no longer under the watchful eye of society.”
“And what would your parents do?”
“They would… They would rebuild. I am the one with the ruined reputation, not them.”
“I do not think you understand quite how serious this is, Lady Cassandra. What we did does not only affect you and I, but everyone around us.”
“I know, and I intend to apologize to your sister. She deserved to have her first event happen without all of this, and I understand if she is furious.”
“Fortunately, my dear sister has been begging me to let her wait a year, and so she will be quite pleased about all of this. She will proclaim that I should have listened to her, and that will be the end of it.”
He chuckled as he said it, thinking about what Philippa would have said if she was in the room with them. Lady Cassandra did not seem to at all know what to make of him, which he reasoned was just as well. He hardly knew what to make of all that had happened.
But they did have to discuss the practical aspects of their match, and he knew that she would not like them.
“Regardless,” he said, clearing his throat, “we must remember that we are not the only people that will be caught in all of this. We have my sister to think of, as well as your mother and father, and from what I have learned you also have two cousins out in society, yes?”
“I do.”
“They will also be looked upon differently. We must consider them all, and in doing so it is clear that there is no way out of this. That is why I have already put everything into place. Two weeks from now, you will be my wife.”
He expected her to argue again, but she did not. It was not that she was pleased about it, more that she had resigned herself to it.
“Very well,” she nodded. “Now, the practical matters.”
“Yes. For a start, your streak of scandals must end. You and I must keep a low profile for the coming weeks, after which we will quietly marry in the country parish.”
“I do not deliberately cause scandal for what it is worth.”
“That is not what I have heard. Either way, if you do not cause them, then you need not change your behavior, and we can both continue as we do.”
“This is all ridiculous,” she sighed. “We did not even do anything wrong! The only thing that you and I are guilty of is being at the wrong place at the wrong time, and now we both have to do something we are vehemently against.”
“Yes, well, it is not up to you or me. It does not matter that we know nothing happened. What matters is that we were seen, with you in my arms.”
He saw her cheeks color at the memory, and he pushed his thought of how pretty she truly was aside.
“For a man of honor,” he continued, “that is unacceptable. I have a sister to protect, and she cannot have a brother who compromised a lady and refused to marry her. This is final.”
“You can tell me to stay quiet until our wedding day,” she acknowledged, “but that does not mean that I will obey. We did nothing wrong, Your Grace. I will marry you, but I will not be a prisoner in my own home until that day. If I have two weeks of freedom left, I plan to enjoy them.”
She left the study, and George knew more than ever that she was trouble, and he was going to marry her.
The preparations, he decided, could wait. What mattered most was that he saw Philippa, and assured her that all would be well. The Burrows left, and George listened as his grandmother stormed to her wing of the house, slamming a door behind her.
When he met Philippa in the parlor room, he was stunned. She did not appear to have slept badly, nor did she seem particularly upset at all. In fact, she was smiling brightly.
“I suppose that I should thank you, Brother,” she beamed.
“And why is that?”
“Well, with all of this, it makes sense that I delay my debut. I will not make a good match with all of this in the way. I ought to thank Lady Cassandra, too. Will she be visiting soon?”
“You need not plan such gratitude yet, for you are wrong. You will debut all the same, and if anything, it is vital now more than ever that you do well. We need to prove that we are unaffected by the scandal, which means you will continue to smile and dance and attract suitors.”
Her face fell at once.
“But I do not want any of this. I keep telling you, but you are not listening to me. I do not want to attract suitors, nor do I want to parade myself around, especially with everything that has happened. People will talk.”
“Nothing bad will be said of you. I will not allow it, and you know that. You are ready for this, Philippa. If you wait until you feel completely ready, then you will live here always. I want more for you than that.”
“But I like it here. I like being your sister, and living with you. I understand that when you have a wife I will be expected to find a husband and leave, but I thought you disagreed with that idea.”
“You will not be under any pressure to marry. I will never force your hand in the way mine is being forced now, but I do expect you to at least put forth some effort. You dazzled last night.”
“And all that anyone can seem to talk about is you.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
She was quiet, and any trace of her happiness was gone. George pitied her, but she was no longer the little girl that wore ribbons in her hair and skipped across the garden. She was a young lady of marrying age, and he had to remember that.
As, it appeared, did she.
“Is she pretty?” she asked.
“She is. She is also quite accomplished with the violin, too, from what I have heard.”
“Yes, she is the cousin of the Bromley sisters. They cannot play for toffee, but I have heard that they have a cousin that is truly quite remarkable. She should play for us. If she is good, it might change Grandmother’s mind.”
“She is furious, is she not?”
“This is the worst that I have ever seen. I thought she might have thrown water over you this morning.”
“Hot or cold?”
“I do not think that you would like the answer to that.”
He chuckled, and put his arm around his sister’s shoulders and squeezed them.
In spite of everything, she had always been his greatest friend, and he knew that he would do anything to protect her.
She may not have been too pleased with his decision, but she would accept it in time.
What mattered was that he had her support when it came to his marriage.
It was one thing for his grandmother to be upset and angry about what he had done, but Philippa had always respected him, and he did not know what he would do with himself if she no longer did.
“What are you going to do about her?” Philippa asked. “She told me that she never wants to speak to you again.”
“You know how she is. She will say all of that, and then by tomorrow she will need something from me and all will be forgotten.”
“Even something like this?”
George was not completely convinced that it would be the case, but he knew his grandmother. She was changeable, and what she hated that day could prove to be the best thing that could have ever happened the following morning.
Except, when he went to breakfast the following morning, she was not there.
She did not arrive at lunch, either, and by that point he knew that something was amiss.
By dinner, George was concerned, and went straight to her rooms. He knocked for her to no response, and then a second time.
After the third, he simply threw open the doors, only to find each room empty.
She was gone, and he had no idea where she was, but that would have to wait.
He had a church to attend that afternoon.