Page 34 of Her Wolf of a Duke

“So the rumors were true,” she whispered. “You are a rake, through and through. You have made me believe that you were someone special, but I see now that was a lie. And now I am ruined, with nowhere to turn.”

“You are not ruined,” he replied, seeing through her act. “The only person aware of what you have done is Miss Kendall,and she has no intention of causing you any scandal. She has been trying to help you, though you have snubbed her at every opportunity.”

At last, the remnants of her performance fell away, leaving an extremely sour expression behind.

“You will regret this,” she warned, turning on her heel. “You could have had a wife that was loved by the ton. I hope you enjoy your spinster wife, and all of the scandal that comes with it.”

He wanted to explain that he didn’t want to marry Miss Kendall, but for some reason he couldn’t say the words. It was better, wasn’t it, if Miss Winston believed he was already spoken for?

As she opened the door, and Miss Kendall herself fell into the room, it took everything in him not to laugh. She was unharmed, of course, but the look on her face was something to prize in future recollection. When Miss Winston walked over her, he went to help her to her feet, but she had already done so herself, her friend quickly fixing her hair before they left. She gave him a look of disgust, and it was so intense that he remained where he was, not chasing after her.

It was, after all, his third time being caught by her in such a position, and it was less than unlikely that she would forgive it once again, even if it was to rid himself of Miss Winston once and for all.

When he rejoined the other guests, both Miss Winston and Miss Kendall were absent. He wondered if there might have beensomething in that, but Miss Kendall’s friends did not seem too upset about anything and so he decided it couldn’t have been that. He approached them, Miss Jennings narrowing her eyes at him.

“Good evening, ladies,” he greeted. “Did you enjoy your afternoon?”

“We did, indeed,” Miss Godwin replied, clearly unaware that anything was wrong at all. “Though I must say, the prize was beautiful. I wish I could have won it myself.”

“Prize?” Miss Jennings echoed. “I was unaware that there was a prize.”

The ladies looked at one another as though they had had a secret be revealed.

“Emma won,” Cecilia explained quickly. “It is a beautiful necklace, and we have agreed to all have ones made to match it. When we saw you return with Gretchen, Emma hid it. We thought it might be best that you didn’t have insult added to the injury of spending all that time with her.”

“I see,” Miss Jennings nodded. “It was a strange afternoon. Miss Winston was quite pleasant to be around, if I am completely honest. I told her all about my baking, and she seemed very interested. Then after the… incident, she looked disgusted with us.”

“That is my fault,” Levi explained. “I had told her not to speak to me again. She has tried over and over to have us caught alone together, and I cannot believe that it has taken me this long to realize her plans.”

“We all have lapses in our judgment,” Miss Godwin said gently. “Let us all be grateful that it has ended here, yes? You are very fortunate in that respect.”

“Indeed, although Miss Kendall seemed furious with me. Might you know where she is?”

“She is with her sister, Your Grace. I do not believe she wants to be disturbed at this time, as it seemed quite serious.”

“Very well, I shall give her some time, but I do think it would be best that I explained myself, even if for my own sake. I do not want her holiday to be spoiled by my actions.”

The three ladies seemed content with that, and so he made his plans. He would see her the following morning and explain what had happened, and if she chose to believe him then he would be grateful. From there, he would never tempt scandal again. His brush with it had been more than enough, and he did not wish to do it a second time.

In the meantime, he wanted to see Leonard in his study. He had to tell somebody what he had done, someone that was not a group of young ladies that could not hear half of what he had to say. He noticed that his friend was absent, a sign that he hadretired for the night. He made his way to the study, but as he walked down the hallway he saw none other than Miss Kendall.

Her eyes were red, and though she was carrying herself in the same elegant way that she always did, Levi could tell that she was not happy about something. He hoped that it wasn’t because of him, but then he realized that if it wasn’t because of him, it had to be about her sister, which could have been even worse.

“Miss Kendall, are you alright?”

“Your Grace, please, not right now.”

“But something is wrong, I can see that. If this is because of Miss Winston...”

She let out a sort of loud grumble at him, her head in her hands as she did so before looking into his eyes.

“I do not care about all of that. If you wish to run into the night with your bride-to-be, then I wish you well. If you wish only to ruin her, then do that and prove me right. Do whatever you must, but do not concern me with it.”

“What has happened? This is nothing like you at all.”

“Some of us have real problems, Your Grace, problems that do not involve having to choose which lady you ruin next.”

She pushed past him and stormed away, and he wished that he could have seen her the following morning instead of then and there. In any case, she wanted nothing to do with him and he had to respect that. He had done what he had said he would, and now he had to take the consequences that came his way.

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