Chapter 3
Three
“Did you see her dress? It’s practically last season,” a woman sniggered in passing.
Ailee did her best to ignore the stares and whispers as she craned her neck around the crowded ballroom. She had barely escaped the handsome duke, yet now she found herself in an entirely different predicament.
He was so … infuriating.
She berated herself for finding him attractive despite the situation they had been in. There was something dangerous about him, yet it pulled her in, rather than making her want to run.
Lords and ladies alike either sniggered at her or laughed and whispered behind their fans. She was about to take her leave and search another room when her aunt’s eyes locked on hers from across the room.
Oh no.
Ailee gasped silently, seeing the anger in Lady Devron’s eyes. Thinking quickly, she looked around the room, spotting her cousin, Eliza, among a group of her peers at the other end. She quickly turned away, heading toward her cousin as fast as she could without drawing undue attention.
A few of the guests glared at her, stepping aside with frowns before continuing with their conversations. She chanced a glance in her aunt’s direction and realized that she, too, was headed toward Eliza, but with her eyes firmly fixed on Ailee.
“Stop!” She mouthed the words silently, her eyes bugging out a little as she glared at Ailee.
Reaching her cousin just before the countess could, Ailee breathed a sigh of relief. “Eliza, it’s wonderful to see you this evening.”
The small group of ladies stopped chattering and frowned at her.
“Ailee?” Eliza asked with a confused smile, her light brown hair piled atop her head in an impossibly high beehive that somehow matched her golden dress.
The countess reached them just in time, her face comically flickering between anger and propriety.
Turning her focus back to Eliza, Ailee smiled, barely hiding her labored breaths. “Have you seen Bonnie? I have been looking all over for her.”
The rest of the young ladies began to disperse, quickly losing interest in Ailee when another lady and her husband waylaid the countess.
“No, I have not,” Eliza sighed dreamily as she stared off into the crowd. “But I danced with the Duke of Brunswick; he’s absolutely breathtaking. Have you seen him?” She looked back at Ailee with a vacant expression.
“I have not,” she lied quickly and glanced back at the countess, who seemed to be attempting to inch her way toward Ailee and her daughter. Her face was beginning to turn different shades of red and purple, almost as if she would burst if she weren’t able to scold Ailee soon.
“Well, you should meet him. He’s the most perfect man.
I’m certain that I will be receiving a proposal very soon.
” She sighed again, her lips lifting into a gentle smile.
As beautiful as Ailee thought her cousin was, she never seemed to have any thoughts that hadn’t been placed in her head by her mother.
Taking a deep breath, Ailee made her voice more serious and looked her cousin in the eyes. “Eliza, I am very happy for you, and I hope the duke will make you very happy, but I must find Bonnie at once.”
Frowning a little, Eliza waved over her shoulder.
“Oh, very well, if you must be so bothersome. I saw her earlier heading in that direction. I presume she was going in search of the library. She said something about the presence of books calming her nerves.” She shook her head in disgust as if books were more venomous than snakes.
“Thank you!” Ailee whispered urgently and set off in the direction her cousin had gestured.
It didn’t take her long to push through the throng of guests and make her way up a small staircase that seemed to lead to the main gallery of the house.
Once at the top of the stairs, she spotted the flickering light of a candle coming from beneath a door in the hallway.
She hurried toward the door, cautiously stepping inside just in case it wasn’t her sister who had sought refuge.
“Bonnie?” she asked in an urgent whisper when she heard the protests of someone from across the room.
Her eyes instantly landed on her youngest sister and an older man in the corner of the room.
Her blood ran cold when she spotted the look of fear in her sister’s eyes and the nasty snarl on the old man’s lips.
Ailee quickly hurried toward them and stepped in front of her sister. “May I ask who you are?” she asked pointedly, not caring if she insulted someone of high rank.
The older man’s harsh features folded into a scowl, highlighting the wrinkles on his forehead.
His powdered wig looked a little too large for his small head, and his beady little eyes made Ailee shudder with disgust. “I am Baron Willoughby, and just who do you think you are?” He pulled himself up to his full height, which didn’t seem to be too much.
“I am Bonnie’s older sister. I have come to find her, and it would seem that I have arrived just in time. Do you not know what it would do to her reputation if she’s found here without a chaperone?” she demanded angrily.
The baron scoffed, infuriating Ailee even further. “Madam, those rules only apply to actual ladies. Why should I care about two Scottish nobodies?” He emphasized the last word with a mocking smile. He ran his tongue over his cracked lips as he hooked his thumbs through his lapels.
And this is the man who must marry my sister?
She curled her fingers into fists at her sides and took a step forward, ready to give the man a piece of her mind. She didn’t care if he no longer wanted to marry any of them, as long as he kept his slimy hands off of her sister. “I’ll have you know …”
“And what do we have here? Can anyone join this odd little gathering?” The Duke of Brunswick stepped into the room, smiling at the baron with a strange look in his eyes.
Ailee’s heart skipped a beat as she wondered if he was there to get her into trouble.
The duke’s eyes locked on hers for the briefest of moments before he turned his gaze to the baron.
Baron Willoughby seemed to pale as he backed away and began to stutter. “Your Grace. I … I didn’t see you there.”
“Lord Willoughby, is there a reason that you have secluded yourself with these two ladies?” His eyes flashed dangerously as he closed the door behind him with a warning click.
The baron’s face turned bright red as his cheeks filled with indignation.
“I can assure you, Your Grace. I would never do something as scandalous as entertain two young ladies alone. It was they who lured me in here. I was about to leave when you arrived. Who knows what they would have done if you hadn’t come?
I suspect they were about to blackmail me for money. ”
Ailee could hardly believe her ears as her mouth fell open. “How dare you make such claims?”
The baron flinched slightly when she advanced on him again.
The duke held up his hand and stopped her, his gaze fixed on the older man.
“I am not sure if you are aware of this or not, my lord, but I detest a liar. And a bad liar makes me simply irate. Were it not for the young ladies’ presence here with us, I would certainly not let such accusations go lightly. ”
Baron Willoughby paled, shirking slightly as his tongue nervously snaked over his cracked lips. “I … I …” He stammered, fumbling over his words.
Even from where Ailee was standing with her sister, she could see a fine sheen of sweat appearing on the older man’s forehead.
She glanced at the duke, wondering why it was that everyone seemed to fear him so much. His presence was commanding and formidable as he towered above the baron.
Who is this man?
“I think you had better leave before I change my mind and decide not to be merciful after all. And if I ever catch you compromising a young lady’s reputation again, the consequences will be quite dire for you.” His voice was dark, carrying just a hint of a threat.
The baron quickly shut his mouth and pulled himself up straight, slinking from the room with what little dignity had been left intact.
Ailee instantly turned to her sister and drew her into her arms. “What were you thinking coming up here alone?” She breathed a sigh of relief and held Bonnie’s head to her chest, stroking her hair.
“I didn’t mean to cause such a scene. I only wanted a moment alone. I would never have come up here if I’d known that the baron would follow me,” her soft voice cracked slightly as she held back her tears.
Regretting her sharp words, Ailee pulled back and looked her sister in the eyes. “This was not your fault. I only meant that you should have been more careful not to wander off alone at a strange ball. The baron is a cruel old bampot that should not be allowed in civilized society.”
A deep-throated chuckle made the girls look up.
The duke stood beside the large mahogany desk with his hip propped against the side.
The faintest of smiles danced around his lips as he smirked at them.
“I do not think I have ever heard a more appropriate description of the man.” His heated gaze locked on Ailee’s, sending a strange kind of shiver down her spine.
“Your Grace, I forgot we were not alone.” She let go of Bonnie and came up straight.
“Clearly.” The duke pushed himself off the desk and pulled on his lapels, straightening his jacket.
“I think we had better get back to the ball before anyone finds us here.” Ailee reached for Bonnie’s hand, pulling her toward the half-open doors.
The sound of hurried footsteps coming down the hall made Ailee freeze in her tracks, her heart falling to the pit of her stomach.
Oh no.
She had completely forgotten about her aunt, who had been following her.
Stepping forward, the duke quickly looked around the study. “I will do my best to explain what happened and defend both of your honor, but I cannot promise that people will believe our story.”
Panic filled her chest as Ailee’s eyes darted around the room.
There was no other escape unless one of them was willing to climb out the window.
“We can’t do this.” Her head snapped up as she let go of Bonnie’s hand and marched toward the duke.
Placing her hands on his shoulders, she began to push him back.
“What are you doing?” he asked, confusion caking his deep voice as he frowned.
His bulky frame barely budged as Ailee leaned in with all her weight. “You have to hide. We cannot be seen in here with you. Our reputations will be ruined no matter how hard ye try to explain!” Her Scottish accent slipped out a little as she pushed with all her might.
Laughing in confusion, the duke gripped her wrists, gently lowering her hands to her sides. “I shall do no such thing. I have done nothing wrong.” He smirked down at her with a frown etched deeply into his brow.
Giving up hope of moving him, Ailee stopped struggling and looked into his eyes. Her voice was pleading as the steps drew closer to the room. “Please, Your Grace, my sisters will both be ruined, and we cannot afford to lose anymore.”
Something strange and unreadable flashed across his eyes as the rest of his face remained stoic.
“What are you doing?” Ailee’s chest constricted with panic when he let go of her wrists and gripped her upper arms, lifting her with ease before carrying her across the room. “Put me down!” She hissed under her breath, attempting to kick but missing.
“Be silent, my lady. We are supposed to be hiding.” He growled under his breath and placed her firmly on her feet behind the drapery, hiding her body with his before covering them both.
“Why are you …” she hissed again before his hand covered her mouth.
Lifting a hand to his lips, the duke signaled for her to be silent just as the study door creaked all the way open.
“What do you think you are doing in here?” Their aunt’s shrill voice filled the air, making Ailee’s eyes widen as her heart raced.