Chapter 26
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
“Judith,” Ellen choked out, nearly spilling her tea as she set her cup down.
Madalene quickly twisted in her chair to look at the entrance to their parlor behind her, and Ellen watched as her sister-in-law’s pretty face twisted into a distrustful scowl.
“Yes, Judith,” the woman countered testily as she walked with confidence into the room.
Her gaze fell briefly on Madalene, then she rolled her eyes, as if she did not care that it was her house that she had just walked into without invitation or warning.
Instead, she walked straight to Ellen and helped herself to a seat on the other side of her.
“You run away from your betrothed, from me, and what? Marry a duke and just decide our friendship is over?” Judith asked stiffly.
Ellen was staring at her in silent, wide-eyed shock when she snapped her fingers at Sarah and pointed to the empty cup.
“Is your mistress having some sort of episode?” she asked Sarah as she came forward with the teapot. “One would think that she would greet her oldest friend with more enthusiasm.”
Ellen looked up at Sarah then, some of her shock wearing off, and saw her handmaid blushing deeply.
“Oh, are you having an episode as well?” Judith snapped as Sarah remained silent.
“Leave her be, Judith,” Ellen quietly commanded. “It is not her you are angry with.”
“Not that she has a right to be angry with anyone in this house,” Madalene said coldly as she stared at Judith with her arms crossed.
Judith ignored her.
“What is the matter?” Judith asked, stirring her tea as she pouted at Ellen. “Why have I not heard from you? Are you so very angry with me that I wrote to your cousin?”
Cold slithered into Ellen’s veins.
“You have no idea of the consequences of that letter,” Ellen answered with quiet coolness. She glanced up at Sarah, who was shaking. Ellen inclined her head, a subtle permission to leave, and Sarah bowed her head in gratitude as she hurried from the room.
Judith clickedher tongue as she let her spoon clatter loudly onto the table.
“Had I known a duke was favoring you, I would not have pushed you toward your cousin!” she answered with an exasperated tone.
“At the time, I thought Lord Highcastle was your best and only option. After how you have behaved, can you blame me for reaching such a conclusion?”
“Yes,” Madalene hissed.
Judith glanced at her, but again, said nothing to Laurence’s little sister.
“How did you manage it, anyway?” Judith pressed, leaning toward Ellen. “Catching the eye of a duke. Especially this one.”
She sighed and leaned back in her chair, taking a casual sip of her tea.
“You would not know this, as you have always been so keen on your solitude, but the Duke of Blackford is high on the most eligible list of bachelors. Stellar reputation. Handsome face. Wealthy. Yet he never bothered to court a single one of us eligible ladies. Until you. How did you manage that?”
Ellen bristled, but even so, she felt her insecure nature rise up to answer the question.
“That is enough,” Madalene cut in before Ellen could do so. “You do not get to speak to her like that ever again. She may still entertain this friendship, but my sister-in-law is a duchess now, and you will do well to remember that she is of a higher rank than you.”
Judith’s gaze was cutting as she finally spared Madalene more than a second of her time.
“Are you her new best friend now?” she asked in challenge. “My replacement?”
Judith scoffed.
“Well, if so, good luck with it. This one needs a constant hand.”
Madalene sneered, but as she opened her mouth to retort, it was Ellen this time that spoke first.
“You will not speak to my sister like that,” Ellen stated with quiet strength.
Her lesson with Laurence may have ended strangely. May have left her feeling confused and saddened, but that did not mean she had not learned something from him that day.
“You will not speak to me, or about me, like that,” she went on, rising from her chair. “How my husband and I came to be is not yours or anyone else’s business, do you understand me, Judith?”
Judith’s jaw dropped as Madalene smiled widely with apparent pride.
“I beg your pardon?” Judith asked, slowly rising from her own chair. “That is how you speak to me? After everything I have done for you?”
“This is how I speak to anyone who comes into my home disrespecting me or my family,” Ellen replied coolly, feeling stronger with every word she spoke.
“Our friendship—if you could even call it that—is over, Judith. And you can tell those gossiping geese you surround yourself with that I will not fodder their habit with details about my life. You can tell that to my cousin, as well, as I am sure you two are still writing and conspiring.”
Judith demanded an apology, but Ellen only inclined her chin as she raised a single brow.
“Would you like to leave of your own accord, Judith?” she asked. “Or would you rather my servants whisper to other servants about how they witnessed you being thrown out?”
Judith paled as a cold smile drew slowly across Ellen’s lips.
“Surely you know it is not only the ladies of the Ton who gossip,” she goaded.
Judith sneered as she took a step back, snapping her hands to her chest as if they’d just been burned by Ellen’s newfound fire.
“You have changed, Ellen Munro,” she said as she backed away, “and not for the better.”
“You should address her as Your Grace,” Madalene countered as she set a withering stare upon Judith, “and you will do well to remember that in the future.”
Judith let out a huff and stormed out of the parlor without another word.
Ellen was holding her breath, and willing her hammering heart to slow, when Madalene let out a squeal of delight and crushed her in a tight embrace.
“You were so impressive!” Madalene praised, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “So very regal of you, Ellen!”
Ellen blushed as a sense of euphoria swept over her, and began bouncing with her sister-in-law.
“I could hear it now, you know? The condescension. The back-handed politeness. And I could not take it anymore,” she replied, looking at the doorway that Judith had just left through.
Gone. Judith was gone. If Ellen could now stand up to her, perhaps it was proof that she could now stand up to Benedict.
Put him in his place and ensure that he never hurt her or anyone else again.
She was still looking at the doorway when another figure walked through it. Not short and feminine, but tall, masculine, and handsome. Green eyes narrowed in on her, and her butterflies took flight in her stomach as he raised a dark brow in question at them.
“Are we celebrating something?” Laurence asked.
Ellen’s blush returned as Madalene stepped away from her to turn to her brother.
“You should have seen your wife just now, brother,” Madalene said excitedly. “That awful Judith popped in for a surprise visit, and Ellen put her right in her place!”
Laurence’s dark brows flew up in surprise as pride shone in his eyes. He looked Ellen up and down as a grin twitched at his chiseled lips.
“Did you?” he asked.
“I just,” Ellen breathed, reaching for a tendril of her hair to nervously toy with, “did as you taught me.”
It had been five days since she’d seen Laurence. Five days since she’d shared the most erotic experience of her life with him—and since he left her feeling confused and unsure of what was happening between them.
“Well done.” Laurence’s deep voice was soft as he gave her the praise with a single nod of his head.
Those two small words surged through Ellen’s heart like little arrows, making her feel heady and confident as they landed.
“I do not know how you chose to continue the lesson after I left,” Madalene said, beaming as she shook her head. “But whatever you taught her, brother, it certainly stuck.”
Guilt, perhaps even sorrow, passed through Laurence’s vivid green eyes at Madalene’s words, but came and went so fast that, before Madalene could even look at him again, it was replaced with the stern, stony glare he usually wore.
“The student has to be as willing to learn as much as the teacher is willing to teach,” he replied.
Ellen bowed her head bashfully as Madalene clicked her tongue.
There had been many things learned that morning, and she was not at all sure that she had been the only student.
In fact, she was sure that Laurence had learned something about himself after what had occurred between them.
Something neither of them knew how to approach.
“Wise words as always, brother,” Madalene sighed cheekily. “Would you like some tea? We were partaking in some before Judith interrupted.”
Ellen caught Laurence giving her one more long, lingering look that traveled from her head to her toes, then back up to her eyes, before he turned his attention to Madalene. Her stomach twinged as he looked away, as if her body needed his attention for just a second more.
“No, thank you,” Laurence replied, “but I do need to speak with the two of you.”
“Speak away, brother,” Madalene taunted. “We wait with willing ears.”
Despite the longing growing in her stomach, Ellen’s lips twitched into a smile at Madalene’s cheeky nature. Even Laurence let out a chuff of laughter, the deep sound sending another flock of butterflies to take flight in her stomach.
“The word is out now that Ellen and I have married,” Laurence announced. “Our honeymoon is over, and apparently our little dance at the ball last week was, and I quote, ‘riveting to watch’.”
Ellen blushed at the praise, the memory of giving Laurence complete control of her body on the dance floor flying back to her with vivid precision. No one would have known that they had been bickering the entire time.
“This sounds like good news,” Madalene countered.
“It is,” Laurence agreed with a nod of his head. “And such good news has resulted in an influx of invitations. The conservatory ball, a few dinner parties, some other soirees. We are all going to have a busy schedule the next two weeks that will end in your friend’s garden party.”