Chapter 4
Four
“If there is one thing to be said about you, Violet, it is that your life is never boring.” Miss Charlotte Fairchild tittered as she sipped her tea. “Truly, it makes reading a bore, as it is rather hard to find anything that excites me as much as your life does.”
“This is not a joke, Charlotte,” Violet snapped.
“Oh, I know,” Charlotte said. “It is quite serious. But as you are looking so forlorn and utterly lost, I thought a little humor might be needed. At least one of us ought to laugh.”
Miss Charlotte Fairchild was Violet’s closest friend and her cousin. She was the same age as Violet, and as she lived just two streets away, the two girls had grown up together. They were so close, they might as well have been sisters.
While that type of familial bond was appreciated, what Violet respected most about Charlotte was that she was the one person in her life who did not abandon Violet and her sister when their lives took a turn for the worst. Rather, Violet’s woes only brought them closer.
She was always there, she was also quick to offer support, and if she had the money to do so, she would have happily given it without question.
As was often the case, she was the person who Violet went to when she needed answers.
It had been a few hours prior that the duke had made his offer to Violet. One that could not be real. One that must be due to another reason. And one that Violet was hesitant to take… for many reasons. The first being that she simply did not trust him.
After hours of pacing in thought, Violet knew no answers would come to her, just as she knew that she needed a second opinion.
Rose was not an option, because Violet would not burden her with such a problem.
So, she hiked up her dress and made her way to Charlotte’s home.
There, she was led into the drawing room, some tea was poured, and Violet told her everything.
“It just does not make any sense,” Violet appealed to her friend. Her tea sat untouched, turning cold in its cup. “The duke is one of the most eligible men in the country! He could marry anyone he wishes. Why would he choose me?”
“He told you that,” Charlotte said. “Your relationship with Lucy.”
Violet scoffed. “Which I am having a hard time believing. He knows how close I am to Lucy, so he likely just used that as some sort of excuse to manipulate me. That way, I would have no choice but to say no.”
“And his offer to pay your debts? To rescue you and Rose? Why would he make such an offer if he did not want this? By the sounds of it, he is desperate that it be you.”
“Which begs the point!” Violet cried. “Why me? No…” She scrunched her face in thought. “Maybe it is because of Lucy. If he truly means to adopt her, perhaps he knows that this is the only way. So then… why Lucy? Why is he so determined to adopt her?”
“Does it matter?”
“What? Of course it does!”
“Does it, though?” Charlotte looked pointedly at Violet. “Whatever his reason, that he wants to at all should be cause for celebration. Even you must admit that it would be best for the poor girl.”
Violet scrunched her face. “Assuming he is being honest.”
“Has he given you any reason to think that he is not?”
Violet opened her mouth to list the reasons, as if they existed. But none of these imagined excuses materialized on her tongue, and she was forced to shut her mouth. At which point she simply scowled.
He is hiding something… he must be!
So far, the duke had done and said nothing to raise alarm. He appeared genuine, sincere in his concern for Lucy, and if he was anybody else, then Violet might have believed him.
But was that not the point? Her father had trusted many a man just like the duke, and there was no need to dwell on where that had led him.
“I do not trust him,” Violet said stubbornly and folded her arms.
“Oh, I can see that,” Charlotte snorted. “But let me ask you this. Putting aside what you think you know, what do you actually know of His Grace? Is there anything you have heard to suggest he is trying to use you… or that he means any harm to Lucy?”
In truth, Violet knew little about the duke. She might have been of the gentry, but he was a lord, so far beyond her world that he was practically a different species. All she knew was what she had seen, which, to be fair, might have been a mark in his favor.
But Violet was stubborn; she did not trust easily, and she could not escape the feeling that there was more to him than he was letting on.
“I know enough,” she said determinedly.
Charlotte scoffed. “You see what you want to see. I do find his obsession with Lucy rather curious, however. I do wonder…” She flashed her eyes wickedly. “Might it be possible that Lucy is his child? A lovechild who nobody knows about? Oh, how wicked that would be.”
“Do not be absurd,” Lucy said.
“Why not?” Charlotte demanded. “You said yourself that he becomes rather withdrawn when you ask him the reason. And I cannot think of any other reason that would explain his obsession. It is possible.”
Violet paused on that thought for longer than she wanted to.
Was it possible? Was Lucy the duke’s child and now that she was to be adopted by somebody else, he felt a sudden need to claim her? It would explain why he had funded the orphanage, and it would explain why he seemed to gravitate to her.
And it would also explain why he would marry someone like Violet, just so that he could adopt her.
Surely, that cannot be the case?
“I still do not like it,” Violet said, digging in her heels. “And I like it even less that he means to use me to get his way. It is just so…” She ground her teeth. “Typical. All I am is a prop.”
“Does that even matter?”
“Of course it does!”
“No, it does not.” Charlotte dropped the facade of humor, and she looked seriously at Violet. “Putting his true motives aside, what does matter is what this will do for you, Violet. He promised to clear your debts—”
“I do not need his help!”
“And what of Rose?” she countered quickly.
“Would she say the same? You claim so often that you will do anything you must to protect her, which I believe, by the way. Well, this here is that anything. His Grace is clearly not telling you everything; he would likely prefer not to involve you at all, but if marrying him solves your problems, and gives Lucy a nice home, can you afford to say no?”
Violet scowled at her friend because she had no good argument left to give.
Charlotte was right, and oh how Violet hated the fact.
For three years, she had struggled, and in one week all those struggles would be for nothing.
She would lose the house. Her sister would be forced to live with their uncle.
And Violet, never one to give up, would find herself in a position where no amount of fighting would make a difference.
“And might I add…” Charlotte grinned. “It does rather help that His Grace is so delicious.”
Violet scoffed. “That does not matter.”
“It does,” Charlotte said with a giggle. “I have seen him, you know. That dark hair… that perfect face as if he was designed by a sculptor. All things considered, I can think of worse men to be tied to for life.”
Violet rolled her eyes, attempting to dismiss her friend’s comments. However, despite her best efforts, her thoughts slowly drifted to the duke.
He is rather good to look at.
Truly, were it not for Violet’s initial assumption about the man, she might have felt a small thrill at the idea of marrying him.
How tall and imposing he was… how perfect his face was…
how confident, how assured, and how safe she could feel knowing that someone like him was there to protect her.
What might it be like not to have to worry about such a thing for a change?
Violet’s heart fluttered just a little. Her cheeks colored red. And with her friend watching her, that grin on her lips growing, Violet hastily snatched at her cup of cold tea and took a sip.
“Pah!” She gagged on the tea.
Charlotte laughed. “You are considering it, are you not? Do not lie to me.”
“I am not,” Violet said. “Nor will I ever.”
Charlotte raised a questioning eyebrow, not believing her for a second. And Violet glared back, but it was a weak thing because she knew deep down that this offer was not one that she could simply refuse.
Her life was hard. It would continue to be so without help. And if she said yes to the duke…
Can I even afford to say no?
As desperate as times were, Violet was not entirely out of options.
She knew that the duke’s offer was too good to turn down, but that was only because he believed that she needed saving. If she could somehow find a way out of her current misfortunes, then there would be no need to accept his offer. But that was a big if.
With that in mind, the morning after the duke had paid her a visit, Violet made a trip into town so that she could speak with her family’s solicitor. If anyone could help her, it was him.
Mr. Burrows was a kindly old man, and Violet had known him her entire life.
He was close with her father, and when he had died, he had done all that he could to ensure that Violet and Rose were not left in complete ruin.
What was more, he worked for free, further proof that he was a man whom she could trust.
He will know what to do…
So, she presented herself at his office bright and early, praying that by the time she left, a new path would be open to her, one that saw her steer clear of the duke.
“It is hopeless, Violet,” Mr. Burrows sighed, pain and guilt written clearly across his wrinkled face. “You know this.”
“There must be something,” she implored desperately. “A way to extend our loans… something we can offer the bank so they do not take the house.”
“I have tried, oh how I have tried,” he said with sadness. “But the simple fact is that there is nothing left. The house is the final asset you own, and even when the bank takes it, your debts will not be cleared entirely.”
“That is… I cannot… There has to be a way!”