Chapter 28
Arabella was exhausted. She’d struggled to maintain her composure all evening, with Vaughn staying by her side and refusing to let her have a moment alone.
It was like he was worried she would go straight to Alastair as soon as he arrived.
He would be right, but having him hover around her had been frustrating.
She wished her temper hadn’t gotten the better of her when Vaughn started talking about marrying her, but it had been worth it.
Normally, she would not draw attention to herself and speaking out as she did in public would’ve been humiliating.
But Arabella didn’t care at this point. She wanted everyone to know her feelings on the matter.
At least Alastair had been able to take over and make things tip in their favor. Arabella hadn’t thought Vaughn would react as he did, but she was glad it was over. Now she wouldn’t have to worry about marrying a man who made her skin crawl.
As she and Alastair left the ballroom, she glanced over her shoulder at Philip.
He stood in the middle of the room, looking very alone and confused.
She felt a stab of sympathy for him, but it didn’t last long.
She was not about to feel anything but pity for her brother, especially after what he did.
They didn’t speak until they stepped out onto the terrace. Only then did Alastair turn to her. “Are you all right? I know that was daunting…”
“I apologize for going ahead and doing what I did.”
“I understand. But it worked for us, so it didn’t throw me off-balance.” He reached up and stroked her cheek. “When you’re fiery, it’s like you come alive. You look stunning when you’re angry.”
Arabella couldn’t help but laugh at that. “You are ridiculous.”
“I’m right, though. You certainly know how to put a person in their place. I thought you were scolding me.”
“Doing it with a crowd wasn’t easy, though.”
“It needed to be done. And you did well.” He smiled. “I’m proud of you, Arabella.”
She could feel her face getting warm. Even a small compliment like this from Alastair made her shiver and feel warm, as if she was embraced in his arms. The pressure that had been around her chest the whole week was gone, and she felt a little lightheaded.
It was easier to breathe, but the world was tilting a little.
“Do you mind if we sit down?”
“Of course.” Immediately, he had an arm around her, leading her to the low terrace wall. “Will this do?”
“Yes.” Arabella tried not to sink down too much in case she lost her balance. She managed a smile in his direction. “Thank you, Alastair.”
He sat beside her, his arm and leg pressed up against hers.
Normally, Arabella would remind him that despite everything they were being inappropriate, but she didn’t care right then.
She didn’t want to follow the rules when they had just been thrown out the window.
She leaned her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.
“You have no idea how exhausted I am after that,” she said.
“I think I can guess,” Alastair mused. “It was so hard watching you dance with him. I wanted to go over and rip his head from his shoulders.”
“He just wouldn’t leave me alone. As soon as I came downstairs, he was talking to me about how things were going to be after we married, what we were going to do, how many children he wanted…
” Arabella shuddered at the memory. “And he just wouldn’t leave my side.
I wanted to talk to Clara and Helena, but with him listening and interjecting when he didn’t like where the conversation was heading, I knew I couldn’t do that. ”
“I’m surprised you didn’t slap him long before.”
“Trust me, I wanted to.” She sighed heavily. “I know I wouldn’t have been able to cope with being married to him. He would’ve made me terrified to do anything of my own, with the way he was hovering over me.”
“Sebastian did like to be in control with everything. Including his marriage.”
“He just saw me as a prize, didn’t he?”
Alastair shrugged. “There’s something in him that does love you, but it’s his own way. I don’t think he truly knows how to love properly.”
Arabella couldn’t see that. She just saw someone who wanted to control others. And now she felt exhausted over what had happened. She just wanted to curl up and hide away from everyone.
“Lady Arabella?”
She stiffened. The Dowager Duchess of Hartwood had stepped out of the shadows from the door, wrapping a thin shawl around her shoulders. Alastair was immediately on his feet, moving to stand in front of Arabella.
“What do you want, Mother?”
“Would you allow me to speak to Lady Arabella?” The dowager duchess sounded subdued. “I’m not going to say anything out of place, Alastair. You don’t need to worry about that.”
Alastair looked as if he was going to argue, but Arabella took his hand and gave it a tug. “It’s fine. Help me up.”
He started to protest, but Arabella kept tugging his hand, and he gave up and helped her upright. Dusting herself down, she kept hold of his hand as she faced Lady Hartwood. She didn’t care about what the woman thought right now; she’d had a rough evening.
Lady Hartwood approached her, absently tugging at the shawl. “I… I just wanted to see how you were. I witnessed all of that and I… I couldn’t imagine how you were feeling going through all of what my nephew was doing.”
“I did keep telling him that I wouldn’t marry him, Your Grace. He wasn’t listening.”
“And that’s been his problem. If he doesn’t like the answer, he’ll just carry on as if he didn’t hear it.
He always wanted to get his way.” Lady Hartwood grimaced.
“And I’m ashamed to say that I urged him to do so.
I wanted him to be confident, to know what he wanted.
I didn’t think he’d completely ignore everyone else in the process. ”
“He’s been like this for years, Mother,” Alastair pointed out. “I’ve been telling you that for a long time.”
“And, stubborn woman that I am, I didn’t listen to you.” The dowager duchess hesitated. “To hear that he killed Viscount Fairleigh… and all because of not getting his own way… I don’t know if I’m going to come to terms with that. He’s family, and it doesn’t seem real.”
Despite the way the woman had treated her, Arabella could feel some sympathy for her. She knew that Lady Hartwood saw Vaughn as another son, and to have her faith in him shattered was not something that was easy to bounce back from.
“I just wanted to apologize for Sebastian,” Lady Hartwood continued, not looking Arabella in the eye. “And for what happened to your father. You have my deepest sympathies.”
“Thank you, Your Grace.”
“I know there’s not much I can do to redeem myself after the way I treated you. I was, completely and utterly cruel and rude. And I feel ashamed for doing it. I shouldn’t have behaved as I did.”
“You didn’t know,” Arabella said, wondering where this was going. “I don’t appreciate being treated badly for something that wasn’t my fault…” She paused. “But I am a forgiving person when I want to be. As long as it’s not abused.”
The dowager duchess looked at her in surprise.
“Does that mean…?”
“For Alastair’s sake, I’m willing to forgive and start afresh. I don’t want to be at odds with people he cares about, and it’s too much of my time to waste.” Arabella smiled. “I’m willing to start again, and hope that we can become friends. As long as you’re willing to, Your Grace.”
She could feel the shock coming from both mother and son. Neither of them had clearly expected her to say that, but Arabella meant it; she didn’t have the time or strength to waste on enemies who chose to dislike her for unimaginable reasons.
Lady Hartwood opened her mouth and then closed it again. She nodded, still looking bewildered.
“I… that would be nice.” She glanced at Alastair.
“My son and daughter have spoken highly about you, and it’s been a long time since I saw the two of them looking happy about someone who wasn’t Edmund, and he’s been around our family for years.
I might’ve had a bad stroke of luck when it came to my marriage, but I don’t want that to happen with my children.
” She reached out and took Arabella’s free hand.
“Why don’t you come by our house tomorrow?
You and I can have a long talk and put things to rest.”
Arabella squeezed her hand.
“I’d like that very much.”
Lady Hartwood smiled, the expression softening her face, and then she turned to Alastair, giving him a nod before turning and heading back into the house.
Alastair gave a low whistle. “What just happened there? I don’t think I’ve ever seen Mother apologize like that.
She does to Helena and myself, but other people… ”
“Maybe she saw something that made her rethink things.”
“I have a feeling it’s because she realized that she targeted the wrong person with her wrath and wants to backtrack before she looks more of a fool than she already is.”
“I’m sure it’s not like that.”
“I’m pretty certain that it is. She’s one of those people who doesn’t like to admit that she’s wrong, although this is a different way she’s gone about it.”
Arabella frowned. “You’re doubting her apology?”
“I don’t know. I think Mother’s thrown me off-balance.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “This evening has been incredibly strange, I know that much.”
Arabella couldn’t argue with that. At least the evening was better than it had been before. She’d started it so tense and worried that their plan wasn’t going to work, and when she lost her temper, she thought she’d gotten it wrong. Now it was all coming together.
“Let’s go into the garden.” Alastair took her hand. “You need some privacy. I’m sure someone else is going to come out and bother you further.”
“I won’t argue with that.”