Chapter 19 #2
“I will survive,” she said after a moment. “My brother is right: there is no proof of what happened on the road. And I am strong.”
“Yes,” he agreed, “you are.”
He took another step toward her, but to her surprise, he didn’t come too close. Instead, he passed her, bracing his hands on the stone railing and staring out into the night with a troubled look on his face.
“Are you… well?” she asked tentatively after a moment.
He looked back around at her. “I do not know,” he said, and it was the first time she had ever heard the quaver of uncertainty in his voice.
“I went to the House of Lords today to speak to the Lord Chancellor and understand what the trouble is with my title,” he explained. “And he told me that I am no longer allowed to take my seat in Parliament.”
“What?!” She gasped, actually bringing her hands to her mouth in astonishment. “Why?”
“It seems…” The pain in his voice was thick now. “It seems that my legitimacy is being questioned. There are those who think I am not my father’s trueborn son.”
She lowered her hands, but her astonishment remained. “But… that cannot be!” she whispered.
“I know,” he said heavily. “It is an insult of the highest degree. And I had the very unpleasant task of asking my mother about it this afternoon, just to be sure…” He was quiet for a long moment, his face turned away from her so that she could not see his expression.
“I have not seen her so upset since my father’s passing.
She was…” his voice broke. “She was inconsolable.”
He turned to look at her again, and she was shocked by how haggard his face had become.
“She and my father tried for many years to have a child. They had all but given up when she finally became with child. I was their miracle. And now, to hear people questioning that, believing it to be some falsehood, making specious accusations against her and my father… I fear that I broke her heart today when I delivered the news.”
“Oh, Your Grace…”
Without thinking, she reached out and touched his hand.
For a long moment, they remained like that, with her hand only slightly brushing his.
Then she intertwined her fingers with him and gently pulled him toward her.
Her heart was in her throat. She knew what she was doing was madness. But she could not help herself.
Something stronger than reason, than will, than all her teachings, had taken over her. She needed him close to her in a way she had never needed anything in her life.
“I am so sorry, Your Grace,” she whispered, as he stopped right in front of her, his face just inches from her own. “I can only imagine how terrible that must have been. I am here for you, if you need anything.”
She watched as he swallowed. He was so close she could see every detail of his face and throat.
“Thank you,” he whispered. His voice was low and raspy, and his eyes were fixed on her. There was something wild in them, like he was feeling the same thing she was, the same intoxicating pull that he could not resist. “Beatrice…” he murmured, and he took a step closer.
She closed her eyes.
And then--
“Beatrice! What are you doing?”
She turned sharply, her breath catching in her throat, to see Lord Pembroke standing in the doorway, two glasses of lemonade in his hands and the most astonished look she had ever seen on a human being.
Next to him stood her brother and Vivienne.
Vivienne did not look surprised, although her brow was knitted and her eyes were darting to Theodore, who looked, well… thunderous.
“It is true…” Lord Pembroke whispered. His face was very pale and his eyes as wide as saucers. “I thought the rumors were idiotic, but now I see… they must be true!”
“N-no!” Beatrice stammered. “They are not!”
Lord Pembroke’s expression hardened. “I have eyes, Miss Ashford!” he cried. “I can see that something is between you and the Duke of St. James! I can see that you are… you are… not honorable!”
“How dare you!” The duke said at once, standing all the way upright and glaring down at Lord Pembroke. “How dare you imply that this young lady’s reputation is anything but impeccable?”
Lord Pembroke scoffed at him. “No woman who is alone with you, Your Grace, could ever have an impeccable reputation. But this particular woman was my soon-to-be-intended, so I shall see you at dawn! Choose your second wisely.”
And with those shocking words, he turned on his heel and marched off down the corridor, leaving the rest of them standing in astonished silence.
It did not last long, however.
“You vile, lecherous man!” Theodore cried, and he leapt forward, his fist raised. The duke ducked just in time. He then moved back swiftly, out of Theodore’s grasp, as Beatrice shouted and seized her brother.
“Stop this, Theo!” she cried. “What on earth do you think you are doing?”
“Protecting your honor!” he shouted, as he tried to shake her off. “Not that you deserve it.”
“You are behaving like a child,” she growled.
“And you are behaving like a fallen woman who does not care for her family’s reputation at all!”
“Enough of this!” It was Vivienne who had spoken, and her words slashed like a knife through the terrace.
At once, Theodore stopped trying to pry himself loose from Beatrice.
He stood still, then turned to face Vivienne.
She looked pale but determined as she stepped out onto the terrace, her hands on her hips.
One by one, she looked between Theodore, Beatrice, and the duke. Then she took a deep breath.
“Everyone needs to remain calm before we attract a crowd and gossip gets out about this,” she said in a low voice.
“If Lord Pembroke has not already spread it everywhere,” Theodore said bitterly.
“As he very likely will,” Vivienne said. “But even worse than that, we must avoid what he wants to do, which is to duel the duke. Dead bodies are the absolute last thing anyone should want. But there is a way to fix this. To ensure that no one gets killed and no one’s reputation is ruined forever.”
“And what is that?” Theodore asked, not unkindly.
Vivienne looked at him very hard. “We declare that Beatrice and the Duke of St. James are engaged.”