Chapter 18 #2
“Enough!” The dowager’s voice cut through the air like a blade. No one had noticed her arrival because all the attention was on Deena. “This is my house, and my guests will behave with civility.”
A reluctant and resentful silence fell.
The dowager’s gaze swept the room, then settled on Deena.
“My dear,” she said gently, “come sit with me.”
Deena looked at Miss Waldron apologetically, but she shook her head as if saying there’s no need for that. She gave Lady Ann one last glare before she walked towards her grandmother unsteadily. The dowager guided her to the head of the table, then turned to address the room.
“My darlings, although it is with great sadness that I say this, but due to… personal reasons the Duke Hunt ends early today,” she announced.
The room filled with angry murmurs.
“B…but the Duke of Windemere is choosing his lady today!” Lady Amelia stood up and squealed like a spoilt child.
Deena caught her grandmother rolling her eyes.
“Lady Amelia, I apologize for inconveniencing your plans, but I am sure of it that you were not the Duke’s first choice, anyhow.”
Lady Amelia gasped and burst into tears. Her friends gathered around her to comfort her as she sobbed dramatically.
The dowager sighed and whispered in Deena’s direction, “That was a bit harsh?
“Too harsh, Grandmother,” Deena whispered back.
The dowager shrugged before she continued. “All guests are required to depart now. I believe we have had quite enough excitement.”
The murmurs rose again; it was the first time the dowager ended the Hunt early, and it shocked even Deena. She knew how much her grandmother loved the hunt, and for her to shut it down for Deena’s sake made her realize just how much she meant to her grandmother.
The dowager hit her cane against the floor to silence everyone. “That is all.”
Her words were final, and the disappointed people began to file out just as Selina, Dominic, and Austin entered the breakfast room.
A few ladies peered back helplessly as Austin passed them without a second glance.
Deena cursed herself because she couldn’t look away from him, too.
His dark eyes captured hers, and a million emotions bubbled up inside of her, threatening to spill.
Her grandmother pulled her back into reality when she dropped a copy of The Daily Scribe on the oak table.
“What is going on, Deena?” the dowager asked her gently while Selina and Dominic sat beside her quietly.
Deena was lost for words as she stared into her grandmother’s wise eyes.
“Did you read it?” Dominic asked, oddly calm, as the last Lord left the room.
“No,” Deena admitted. “Why is he here?”
Her family turned to Austin, who stood at the doorway like a knight.
“He was mentioned in the article too, Dee,” Selina said softly, and the room fell silent.
“Perhaps you should read it,” the dowager prodded her.
Deena gulped and picked up the paper.
“And Deena?” Her grandmother stopped her.
“Yes?”
“Please remember that you’re not alone in this…”
Deena nodded slowly, unsure about what she may find in the pages. Her heart clenched when she found the article on the first page of The Daily Scribe. She took a deep breath and began to read it.
The Exiled Rebels
My dear readers,
While the ton has been delightfully diverted by the exploits of a certain velvet-clad gentleman, a far quieter, but no less shocking, tale has lingered in the shadows.
Today, we turn our attention to a young lady who fled England five years ago under the guise of “further studies” in Paris.
We speak, of course, of Lady Deena, the sister to the well-known Stone Duke, whose sudden departure after a certain library incident was meant to let the gossip die a natural death.
Alas, gossip is rarely so obliging.
It appears Lady Deena did not spend her exile in pious reflection or scholarly pursuits alone.
Reliable sources report that she became deeply entangled with a fellow English exile, a young woman named Lady Penelope, placed in a convent near Paris to “reflect” upon her own youthful indiscretions.
How disappointing for the Marquess of Richmond to find out that his daughter is ruined in such a manner,
Penelope, it is whispered, did rather more than reflect. With Lady Deena’s active assistance, standing watch, arranging clandestine meetings, and even helping her slip over convent walls, the girl carried on a prolonged affair with a Scottish beau.
The inevitable result? A sinful pregnancy.
One might almost admire the loyalty. Lady Deena risked her own fragile reputation once more, only to bring a fellow friend to ruin.
Yet the question remains: is such devotion admirable, or merely the continuation of a pattern?
After all, a lady who once compromised herself in a library on her debut is hardly the safest confidante for a girl hiding a delicate condition behind convent walls.
The ton may have forgiven, or forgotten, the original scandal.
But secrets have a way of crossing the Channel.
One wonders how long they planned to hide Lady Penelope’s condition, and how long Lady Deena can keep up her pious act, especially after being seen numerous times with the famed Velvet Duke at her grandmother’s famous Duke Hunt.
What other secrets may unfold from this group of scandalous individuals?
— Lady Veritas
Deena’s hand shook as she placed the paper down. Not only did the blackmailer insult her cruelly, but he stole her pseudonym as well. She looked at Dominic, whose nostrils flared with anger, and she quickly averted her gaze.
“I thought I had more time…” Deena whispered to no one in particular.
The words barely carried, but they landed like stones in the sudden silence.
Dominic’s chair scraped back an inch. “Dee.” His voice was stern, like the night before her exile five years ago. “What have you been keeping from us? Tell us the truth.”
Selina placed a steady hand over his, fingers curling gently around his wrist. “Dominic.”
He exhaled through his nose, but the anger didn’t leave his eyes. “I’m not angry at you, Deena,” he said, softer now. “I just want to know the truth.”
Deena forced herself to meet Dominic’s gaze. “It’s… not as bad as it looks.”
Dominic’s brows shot up. “Not as bad? The entire ton is reading that you helped hide a pregnancy in a Paris convent. They’re calling you a corrupter of innocents.”
“I didn’t corrupt anyone.” Her voice cracked on the last word. “Penelope was—is in love. I just helped her see him. I stood watch for her. And I lied for her because at least she had a chance to be happy in her exile. I was just trying to be a good friend, that’s all.”
“Who wrote this article? Who saw you?” Dominic pressed her for answers.
“I wish I knew, Dom. I’ve been trying to find out who it is for the past week, but—” She glanced at Austin, whose dark eyes never left her. “I failed.”
Selina’s eyes filled with unshed tears. “Deena, why didn’t you tell us?”
“Because I knew what would happen,” Deena replied bitterly.
“I’ll be exiled again. I thought if I handled it quietly, if I just gave the blackmailer enough to keep him occupied, then Penelope could marry her lover before anyone found out.
I thought I could protect her without dragging everyone down again. ”
Dominic leaned forward. “You’re not protecting anyone by lying to us. It’s my job to protect you!”
Deena flinched. “I didn’t have a choice.”
“You always have a choice,” he snapped. “And you chose to carry this alone. Again. This is dangerous, Deena. What if the blackmailer came for you, and I had no clue about him?”
The dowager tutted beside them. “Arguing is not going to solve anything, Dominic.” She raised a brow at her grandson.
Deena tried not to cry as Dominic leaned back in his chair and rubbed a hand over his face in frustration.
“Dom, despite everything, I’m safe. And I know this ruins my chances of marrying, but I’m determined to remain a spinster anyway.
I’ve made my peace with it. What matters—what the real catastrophe is…
is that Penelope is ruined.” She choked on her words.
“The convent will cast her out. She’ll have nothing. And no one.”
Dominic’s expression softened, just a fraction.
“I’m sorry for your friend. Truly, Dee. But I only care about my sister.
” He reached across the table, covering her trembling hands with his own while Selina held onto his other hand silently supporting him.
“What happens now, Dee? Where will you go? Nowhere will be safe for you.”
Deena’s throat closed. “I’ll manage just fine; don’t you worry about me. You have Selina and the children.”
Tears spilled down Selina’s small face. “You are our family too, Dee,” she whispered and the room filled with their emotions.
“You cannot and will not be alone in this.” Dominic’s voice was gentle but implacable.
Selina nodded as Dominic continued. “We could go to the country; Greystone’s estate in Wiltshire is quiet. No one would bother us there. We could live very privately for a while.”
The dowager shifted beside them, listening silently to their ideas.
Selina added. “It might be for the best. A few years away will allow for the gossip to die down and the blackmailer to get bored.”
Deena stared at them and felt the weight of their decision crush her.
“No,” she whispered.
Dominic frowned. “Dee—”
“I can’t do that to you.” Her voice cracked.
“You’ve already carried my shame once. You lost friends, invitations, and respect in the ton.
All because of me. I won’t make you uproot your family and leave London.
It’s not fair that you must start over just because of my stupid mistakes.
I won’t be the reason Percy grows up isolated, the reason Mary never has a London Season, and the reason Selina loses her circle. I just won’t.”
Selina’s eyes filled again. “We’d do it for you, Dee.”
“I know,” Deena said, unable to hold back her tears either. “That’s why I can’t let you. I…I don’t mind being alone again. I will pay for my sins, Dom.” She turned to her brother and was taken aback when she saw tears cascading down his cheeks. “This isn’t your burden to carry.”
The silence that followed was suffocating.
Only Deena and Selina’s sniffles could be heard as they shared in her despair.
She tried and failed to prepare her mind and heart for the loneliness that would follow.
She’d be sent away, probably to their country home to live and die alone.
And she had to accept her fate; she had no choice but to.
“I can help.”
Fear gripped Deena’s heart as their heads turned to the doorway where Austin stood. Deena had completely forgotten that he was there. Her grandmother stood close by, teary-eyed yet composed as she surveyed the Velvet Duke curiously.
“How do you plan to help my granddaughter?” she asked him somberly.
Austin stood stock still. His eyes locked onto Deena’s. Dominic leaned in and placed his elbows on the table as he waited patiently for Austin to answer. Selina looked from Deena to him and back.
Austin stepped into the room, eyes only on Deena. She held her breath.
Please, God. Don’t let him tell them about my true scandal—
“I can marry her.” Austin’s words dropped heavily in the quiet room.
Selina gasped, the dowager’s lips twitched into a small smile, and Deena turned slowly towards her brother, who stared at his friend with an unreadable expression.
“Dom?” Selina whispered.
Dominic blinked back into reality and growled. “What?”