Page 35 of Her Wolf of a Duke

“You really are a sorry sight,” Leonard chuckled when he entered. “Victors do not typically look like that, you know.”

“Victors do not typically ruin their own afternoon by trying to make things right, but here I am.”

He paused, looking at Levi with a most puzzled expression.

“What exactly have you done?”

With a sigh, Levi explained everything that had happened, even daring to mention his moment with Miss Kendall at the tree. Leonard raised his eyebrow at that, but he did not say anything about it until he had finished.

“You are becoming more like me every day,” he said at last. “And that isn’t a good thing, not when you have striven for virtue all these years. What has this lady done to you?”

“Miss Winston has been doing some ridiculous things, Leonard. I wish you had seen some of it.”

“I do not mean Miss Winston. I mean Miss Kendall.”

Levi looked at him for a moment. He was right, and he knew that, but he couldn’t admit to himself that Miss Kendall had the effect on him that Leonard had seen.

“It is dinner soon,” Leonard continued. “Would you like to change where you sit, or do you wish to accept what is coming to you?”

“I can stay where I am. If Miss Kendall has not come to you herself, I shall assume she is content.”

“That is the right response, Lupton. This is one of the reasons why I respect you so much. Come, it will be over with before you know it.”

Leonard was but a year older than Levi, but he took on an almost brotherly role when necessary, and though Levi found it annoying at times, he let his friend have his way.

They left for the dining hall, and to Levi’s surprise both Miss Winston and Miss Kendall were in their places, though neither looked too happy about it. Levi took his place and greeted those around him, but there was no denying the ice in their responses.

They ate their first course in silence, but then a gentleman beside Miss Winston turned to the man next to him, his speech slurred.

“All I am saying is,” he laughed, “if a lady puts herself in such a situation, then she must accept what comes her way.”

“Wilson, you must have some sympathy,” his friend replied, though it was clearly in jest. “These ladies do not know what is coming to them.”

“Of course they do! It is something they are told over and over, and so if they disregard such warnings then what happens is their own fault.”

“Do you not blame the gentleman?”

“Of course not, for I have laid eyes upon a lady before. It isn’t as though we can help ourselves.”

“Enough, gentlemen,” Levi ordered, and both men looked at him and then down at their plates once more.

“I believe they have a point, actually,” Miss Winston said, looking Miss Kendall in the eye. “If a lady is so brazen, then it is only fair that it is known to others. Wouldn’t you agree, Miss Kendall?”

Levi knew what she was doing. She had put Miss Kendall in an impossible situation where she could neither agree nor disagree. If she said it was just, then she would be admitting that Miss Winston had to be outed, and Levi had made it plain that he would do his duty if necessary. If she disagreed, however, she would be looked at as though she were defending herself, whether she had outright confessed anything or not.

“I suppose,” Miss Kendall said in a measured tone, “if we are to hold ladies to a certain standard, it would be best to hold gentlemen to the very same ones. We must all be the very best that we can be if we are to be a credit to England. Is that not right, gentlemen?”

Both men that had started the subject were quiet. Miss Kendall, also silent, continued with her meal, though she looked somewhat pleased with herself. Levi turned to acknowledge her, but she was already looking away as though nothing had happened at all. After dinner, when everyone else left for drinks, she disappeared again. Levi worried for her, but he was well aware that she was a capable lady that knew how to take care of matters. If she needed him, he hoped, she would be able to come to him.

And yet, her absence was clear. He found himself looking for her even though he knew she wasn’t there. The party was less fun in her absence, and when he saw her friends without her he had a feeling that they felt much the same. They seemed askance, as though a part of them was missing, and he wondered if they knew what had happened to her.

But he did not wish to take any more of their time, and so he did what he had learned to do long before. He wore his brightest smile, and he socialized. He had one or two whiskeys more than he usually did, but he pretended not to notice. He wanted to dull the ache that her absence caused, that the unknown of it all worsened. He would enjoy his night if it killed him.

CHAPTER 12

Emma hadn’t known what to expect when she approached Sarah.

Given the muted sobs she’d heard through the door, she’d thought she would find her sister lying in her bed, weeping into her pillow. Instead, as she entered she was confronted by her sister sitting in an armchair, looking perfectly ahead.

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