Chapter 3
Chapter Three
After a long, silent carriage ride, Marina finally breathed a sigh of relief when they arrived at Shirley Manor in London. As soon as they were out of the carriage, her mother spoke. “Marina, upstairs,” she said, her voice clipped with rage. “Before you cause complete ruin to the family.”
Marina nodded and went upstairs. Her sisters were right behind her. She felt a rush of gratitude about that.
“It will be all right,” Amelia half-heartedly said as they entered Marina’s bedchamber together. “So, your dress got a little ruined after you heroically saved a poor little pup. It is not the end of the world.”
Marina groaned and flopped on her bed. “The dog was never in danger, apparently. And my dress was more than a little ruined.” The dress had not revealed all of her chest, but definitely enough to completely destroy her.
Her younger sister, Bethany, sat down at Marina’s vanity and started to undo her hair. “The ton has seen much worse,” she said, even though her voice didn’t have its usual confidence. “They will forget about it soon enough.”
“Not this,” Marina muttered. “I already had a reputation for being peculiar, and now this.”
Amelia sniffed as she settled into an armchair next to Marina’s bed. “A reputation wholly undeserved. You do not get into trouble.”
“Yeah,” Bethany said, smirking. “If anyone deserves the title of being a peculiar troublemaker, it’s me. You’re too boring.”
Marina smiled, feeling comforted. Her sisters always knew what to say to make her feel better, but the comfort was thin, knowing there was no way she was coming back from this scandal.
“Unfortunately, boring is the last thing I am now, as far as society is concerned.” She looked at Amelia.
“I just hope I did not ruin your betrothal. I am truly very sorry about that.”
Amelia waved a hand dismissively. “I never cared for Lord Heeway anyway. If he has a problem with my sister, then I do not want him.”
Just then, the door opened up, and their mother entered. Lady Shirley’s face was tearstained, but her expression was full of rage as she looked at Marina.
“You have gone too far!” she shouted. “I have to endure your constant incompetence even as you do your absolute best to ruin this family, and I think I usually handle you with remarkable patience. But you have finally succeeded in your goal: you have destroyed yourself. And now you have destroyed your sister.”
She took a deep breath, her expression one of long-suffering, before looking at Amelia. “A message just came from Lord Heeway. Thanks to your sister, the engagement is off.”
Marina’s stomach dropped. She hated that her actions had ruined Amelia’s future. “I am so sorry!” she said.
Lady Shirley scoffed. “Spare us your false apologies. You have always been jealous of Amelia because she is far prettier, kinder, and downright more lovable than you.”
This was not much different than what Lady Shirley would say to Marina on any other day, but the words stung. She stayed silent, knowing there was nothing she could say to appease Lady Shirley.
“I never cared for that man anyway,” Amelia said. “Marina did me a favor. Besides, if he cannot handle me having a sister who saves drowning dogs, then I do not want to marry him.”
The feeling of guilt and shame in Marina eased slightly, but she still felt horrible. Despite her sister’s assurances, she knew that Amelia’s reputation would suffer from this, despite being practically perfect. And Marina … well, she was ruined. There was no hope for her in respectable society.
Amelia put an agreeable look on her face as she stood up and went to comfort their mother.
“Let us see this as an opportunity instead of a setback.
“It simply was not meant to be with Lord Heeway, but now that he is out of the picture, I can find someone that I truly love. Perhaps he will be even more influential and powerful than Lord Heeway.”
Her mother’s gaze softened as she looked at her eldest daughter. She patted her hand. “Of course, dear. You will have no trouble finding another suitor, I am sure of it.”
Amelia smiled triumphantly. “See? It’s not the end of the world.”
Marina felt a pang of envy. Her sister was always so good at managing their mother’s volatile moods. Amelia had always been Lady Shirley’s favorite. And I am her least favorite.
Her mother turned to look at Marina, and her scowl came back.
“You are lucky that Amelia will find herself another suitor. She cannot stay too damaged by your actions, no matter how hard you try to ruin her. However, I cannot say the same about you. You are ruined. You made a fool of yourself in front of everyone, even the Duke of Pemberton!” She shuddered.
“Making a fool out of myself in front of such an odd man is the least of my worries. He had no regard for social pleasantries with Lord Heeway, his own neighbor.”
“His manner does not matter!” her mother said. “He is a duke and can do as he pleases, even if he wants to be a recluse for the rest of his life.”
Marina nodded. “So he’s a recluse. That explains it. I have only vaguely heard his name before, but I do not know who he is.”
He was a strange man. He was matter-of-fact in his manner and spoke of her recklessness in saving a dog, but he showed genuine concern about her health. And he had touched me so gently. Her cheeks warmed, and she shoved the thought away.
Bethany raised her eyebrows. “You really do not know?”
“Why would I know?” Marina asked. “I have never seen him in London, and I do not read the scandal sheets.” She honestly could not care less about most of the people in the ton, with the exception being some family friends and acquaintances who deigned to trade pleasantries with her at social gatherings before ignoring her for the rest of the night.
“The man is as rich as a king and is as cold as a marble,” Bethany said. “He is known as the Heartless Duke. Most people stay away from him if they can help it, but luckily, he does not make himself known very often. He never comes to London if he can help it. He takes no pleasure in society.”
“I do not blame him,” Marina said. He must be quite reclusive if he even stayed away from his neighbor’s engagement party, despite being invited.
Lady Shirley huffed. “Well, do not worry. You are certainly not fit for society any longer, so you do not have to worry about whether you take pleasure in it or not. You are not to be seen with the family any longer. Amelia might be safe from your maliciousness, but what about Bethany? I cannot have you hurting her chances of finding a suitor.”
Bethany rolled her eyes. “Suitors are the last thing I want anyway. It is only my second Season, Mother. Let me have fun before I have to think about dreary things like marriage.”
“I know, dear,” her mother said, her tone softening once again. “You still have time, but it is never too early to think about your future. If Marina were allowed to cause as much trouble as she wanted to, then even Louiza and Olivia would be spinsters.”
“Where are the twins, anyway?” Amelia asked, referring to their youngest sisters. “We have not had a chance to greet them. Perhaps we can pick up this conversation after we have tea with them?” The rest of her sentence was left unsaid: after you have calmed down and let rationality prevail.
But there was no luck. Lady Shirley tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. “The twins are having tea with some friends. They will not be back until tonight. At least they are only sixteen. Hopefully, everyone in society will have forgotten about Marina before they debut.”
Something in her words sent a chill down Marina’s spine. Her mother did not say ‘forgotten about Marina’s scandal’, or anything like that. Instead, she made it sound like her existence was to be completely erased. She stood up. “What do you mean, forget about me?”
Her mother looked at her like she was a dead bug on the tip of her favorite shoes.
“You will be sent to finishing school, far away from London. Let us face the facts: you will never be good enough to find a husband. Perhaps I could have pawned you off onto a baron before today, but no one will touch you now. The best thing you can do for this family is leave and never return.”
With those words, she spun on her heel and swept out of the room. The three sisters gave each other alarmed looks before hurrying to follow her.
“Mama,” Amelia called after her. “Let us think this through. There is no need to be so hasty.”
“Yes,” Bethany said, hurrying to fall in step with her oldest sister. “The ton will forget soon enough. All Marina did was … try to save a dog. That is no reason for exile.”
Their mother entered the library, where their father was drinking tea and reading a newspaper. The older lady spun around to face her daughters. “Save a dog?” She screeched. “Do you honestly think that is all she did? She—she bared herself to the ton like some desperate courtesan!”
Marina’s cheeks flamed with humiliation as she remembered it.
Perhaps finishing school would not be so bad after all, if it meant she never had to face any of those party goers again, let alone the Duke of Pemberton.
His intense blue eyes were branded into her mind.
She wondered if she would see them every time she closed her eyes for the rest of her life.
“She is our sister!” Amelia said desperately. “She will be so far away. We will hardly get to see her.”
“You will never get to see her again,” Lady Shirley hissed. “She will be sent far away, so she can no longer hurt us.”
“Where would you even send her?” Bethany asked. “Paris? Switzerland?”
“America.”
The announcement brought silence to the room. “America?” Marina finally said, her voice barely more than a whisper. “That is a whole ocean away.”
“Yes,” her mother said, looking triumphant. “I will find a finishing school in Boston or New York City. One of them will be sure to take you.”
Tears sprang to her eyes. I will never see my sisters again. “You don’t mean it,” she whispered. “You can send me to France or Switzerland. But please, do not make me go all the way to America.”
But her mother was not moved by her pleas or her tears. “You have caused too much harm,” she said. “America is where you will go.”
Her sisters gave her horrified looks. Desperately, Marina turned to her father, who had been silently watching the conversation over the top of his newspaper. “Papa, please,” she said.
He grunted and shook his head before turning his attention back to his paper.
Something inside Marina felt like it was breaking. She and her mother had never gotten along, but she never thought her mother would go so far as to banish her completely from their lives. She wrapped her arms around herself as she felt despair threaten to overwhelm her.
The heavy silence was only broken by footsteps echoing in the hall before the library door opened. Everyone turned to see the butler. The butler cleared his throat. “My Lord, my lady, the Duke of Pemberton,” he announced.
What is happening?
Instinct urged Marina to slip quietly toward the door behind her. She was certain she wouldn’t be noticed. She only had time to catch a single sentence from the duke’s lips.
“I am here to ask for Miss Shirley’s hand in marriage.”