Page 17 of Between a Duke and a Hard Place
Violet’s stomach dropped.
Of course, they had.
Max set his teacup down with exaggerated patience, glancing at Violet. “Well. That didn’t take long.”
She exhaled slowly, schooling her features into careful neutrality. “No, it did not.”
Mrs. Rutledge clucked her tongue. “Raining on the happy couple’s breakfast, are they? Well, they can wait. A duchess should never be rushed.”
Max chuckled, but his eyes remained sharp as they met Violet’s. “Shall we continue our breakfast before seeing what fresh hell they have come to unleash?”
Violet picked up her toast and began spreading marmalade liberally upon it. “Let’s.”
Nigel Cavender had never appeared more uncomfortable in his life. They’d been there for nearly a quarter of an hour. No refreshment had been offered. They had not been welcomed as guests but were left to stew like tradesmen attempting to sell their wares.
He stood stiffly, his expression caught somewhere between unease and frustration, as if he were cursing the heavens for having to be here at all. Ethella, on the other hand, was seated primly on the settee, her hands folded neatly in her lap, looking entirely composed—save for the sharp gleam in her eyes.
Max and Violet entered together, presenting a united front, and Ethella rose immediately, her lips curving into a thin, serpentine smile.
“My dearest niece,” she said. “What an unexpected turn of events.”
Violet returned her smile with one of her own. “Why, Aunt Ethella, I should think you’d have been expecting this for years, given how often you’ve lamented my unmarried state.”
Ethella’s eyes narrowed, just slightly.
Max inclined his head toward Nigel, who had not yet spoken. “Cavender. How unfortunate to see you again so soon.”
Nigel gritted his teeth. “Your Grace.”
Violet turned toward her cousin, arching a delicate brow. “You do not appear overly pleased by my happy news, dear cousin. Are you not relieved to know I am now under the protection of a man who does not gamble away his inheritance?”
Nigel’s jaw clenched, his gaze flicking toward Max, who was watching him with a lazy sort of amusement.
Ethella exhaled lightly, as if all this was beneath her notice. “No one is suggesting that your marriage is anything but a remarkable achievement, my dear. After all, it is quite the leap in social status, is it not? However, it was all rather… sudden, don’t you think?”
Max’s voice was pure silk. “The best marriages often are. I doubt anyone else would think it sudden, of course. Violet and I have known one another for years… and if, as you have said, James is gone, it is my duty to see to the care and safety of his beloved sister. What better way to do that than as her husband?”
Ethella’s lips twitched at that, as though she were attempting to hold some vitriol at bay. Finally, after regaining her composure, she continued, “I merely wish to understand,” her gaze flicking toward Violet. “After all, not a fortnight ago, you declared quite openly that you had no intention of ever marrying. And now, here you are. A duchess.”
Violet tilted her head, feigning innocence. “Perhaps I misspoke. I only meant that I had no expectation of marriage,aunt. Not that I had a lack of desire to do so. In truth, I cannot imagine that I would have ever been content to marry anyone other than Max. We have known one another for so long, you see?”
Before Ethella could respond, the doors swung open once more, and an imperious female voice filled the room.
“Well. I see the vipers have already arrived.”
Max’s shoulders tensed.
Violet turned, startled, just in time to see Max’s mother sweep into the room.
The Dowager Duchess of Alstead, Regina Able, was not a woman to be ignored. Tall, formidable, with a presence that could silence an entire ballroom, she strode forward like a general arriving to assess her troops. Her sharp gaze immediately fixed on Max, and her nostrils flared with displeasure.
“You married, and I was not informed?”
Max sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “Mother?—”
“Do not ‘Mother’ me, Maxwell Constantine Able!” She planted herself directly in front of him, eyes blazing. “I had to hear of my own son’s wedding from a chambermaid, of all people!”
Violet’s lips twitched despite herself.
