Page 22 of Six Nights to Marry a Marquess

At that moment, Agnes knew that any attempt at explanation would be futile. Lady Kirkland thrived on gossip and scandal,and this incident was a feast for her voracious appetite. Agnes was ruined.

CHAPTER 11

“My Lady, I assure you, your concerns are unfounded,” Theodore said with calmness that surprised Agnes. “Miss Young and I found ourselves in an unfortunate?—”

His explanation was swiftly drowned by Lady Kirkland’s raised voice as she addressed the crowd gathering around them, “I found the Marquess all over the girl!” The place was quiet as she made the pronouncement, then a series of gasps and murmurs followed like a flood. Agnes felt as though the ground beneath her was fracturing, and she was about to sink.Perhaps that would not be such a bad thing.

“Is that a rip in her dress?” The question, innocuous in any other circumstance, now felt like a verdict being passed down. Agnes’s eyes darted down, her face flushing with embarrassment and fear.

But then she felt Theodore’s hand on her arm, and he gently pushed her behind him, his stance protective, as if he couldshield her from the scandal that threatened to engulf them. She appreciated the gesture, nevertheless.

The murmurs grew louder, and she shut her eyes, praying this was a nightmare that she would wake from at any moment. “I think we have seen enough here!” The voices quieted at that declaration, and she opened her eyes to see her father moving through the small crowd toward her.

The guests, voracious for scandal moments before, were now momentarily cowed by the gravity of his intervention. Agnes’s heart clenched at the sight of him, fear and relief warring within her chest. What judgment would he pass? What disappointment would she read in his eyes? Yet, as he drew near, his arm encircling her shoulders not with anger but with an unmistakable protective firmness, she found herself leaning into his strength.

“We’re going home,” her mother’s voice cut through the murmurs, appearing beside them with an air of quiet authority. There was a softness in her tone that was reassuring, but Agnes dared not hope.

As they made their way to the carriage through a secluded path with her father leading the way, Agnes silently thanked him for avoiding the prying eyes and whispered judgments within the manor. The relief of escaping those walls outweighed the quiet scrutiny she anticipated from her family.

The journey home in the carriage was shrouded in an intense silence that seemed almost tangible. Every sound—the creakof leather seats and clatter of horse hooves—echoed like the pounding of Agnes’s heart. She sat rigidly, bracing herself for the impending confrontation that awaited them.

As predicted, upon their arrival at home, her father’s urgency was palpable. He practically leaped out of the carriage without waiting for assistance from the footmen and offered his hand to Agnes with swiftness that was the opposite of his usual calm demeanor. His uncharacteristic actions only heightened her own turmoil.

“Sit down, please,” he said as they entered his study, gesturing to the chair opposite his desk. She obeyed, feeling the cool wood of the arms beneath her trembling fingers. Caroline sat in the chair beside her.

“What happened tonight?” he asked.

Agnes opened her mouth, but no words came. She cleared her throat and tried again. “Gillingham and I had a slight disagreement this evening, and I was trying to get away from him…” When she saw her father’s expression darken, she quickly explained, “It was to avoid the any confrontation. I was not watching where I was going, and I tripped. Gillingham saved me. He did nothing untoward.”

William was silent, which prompted Agnes to continue. “Father, please believe me; it wasn’t what it seemed. The rip in my dress was from the thorns in the bushes. They caught when I nearly fell.”

Beside her, she felt her mother’s silent presence filled with worry and fear. Agnes couldn’t bring herself to meet her mother’s eyes, afraid of the reflection she might find there. The thought of seeing disappointment and doubt staring back at her was a weight too heavy to bear.

Standing there on shaky ground as she prepared for her father’s reprimand, tears threatened to spill over despite her efforts to hold them back. Agnes had never imagined that she would be inadvertently responsible for the tarnishing of their name. Her gaze moved and remained on the floor.

“What did you and Gillingham disagree about?” he asked, and Agnes tensed. How could she tell her father the truth without exposing that her courtship had been false?

“Agnes, your father is asking to discern Gillingham’s innocence,” Caroline said gently, patting Agnes; hand that rested on the arm of her chair.

“I…we…it was simply and ordinary quarrel,” she answered, and William’s brows rose.

“What was it about?” he asked, slowly. Agnes knew she could not escape this, and her thoughts moved quicker than she thought them capable.

“Gillingham was jealous. I had just finished dancing with Lord Fairfax, and he thought the Viscount was competing with him for my affections.”Forgive me, Theodore.

William leaned back in his scene and watched her, his expression unreadable. “And you were forcefully argumentative, I presume.”

Agnes nodded and lowered her eyes again. “Yes, Father.”

“Agnes, look at me,” he commanded with an unwavering tone that brooked no defiance but lacked any harshness.

“Truly, nothing happened. Lady Kirkland is lying,” she reaffirmed, her voice trembling with emotion as she struggled to maintain composure.

Feeling his gentle but firm touch under her chin urging her to look up, she met an unexpected sight: reassurance in her father’s eyes that took her breath away.

“I trust you and believe nothing happened,” William said with a steady voice that Agnes held onto like an anchor. Her mother’s hand on her shoulder added a comforting squeeze.

“I’m sorry,” Agnes whispered tearfully. She had expected reproach but found understanding and support instead. He left his seat and embraced her warmly as she allowed herself to cry, overwhelmed with relief and gratitude.

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