Page 45 of The Marchioness of his Desire
“To ignore it is worse. A problem unresolved remains a problem, Rebecca. I came here to help you, and I would be neglectful in my duties if I failed to do so now in your hour of need. We must think about this matter, for it affects us all,” Duchess Sinclair replied, drawing in a deep breath.
The Duchess was, as Nicholas had always intimated, a dragon and a troublemaker, but it seemed that now she was on Rebecca’s side in the matter, willing to play her part in proving her son’s innocence. At least that was how it appeared. Rebecca sighed and shook her head, turning to her mother-in-law and brushing a tear from her eye.
“I just wish there was some way to prove it,” she said, shaking her head.
“I doubt that we have heard the last of the countess. She will make herself known again, especially if it is extortion that she plans. It is always money that such people desire, money and privilege. Well, she shall be denied it, if only to salvage Nicholas’ reputation,” the Duchess said.
“And what of my happiness?” Rebecca asked.
She had grown bolder in her dealings with Nicholas’ mother, though she still wished that soon they might be rid of her. Her presence was a bar to their future happiness, for she had succeeded in driving a wedge between them and planting the seeds of doubt in Rebecca’s mind. If it were not for the Duchess’ intimations, then Rebecca might have taken Nicholas at his word, but, as it was, she had her doubts as to the truth and was unable to accept that the countess and her husband had never before been acquainted.
“Yours too, Rebecca. For I would far rather he was married to you than forced to endure this … scandal,” she muttered.
“Did you want him to marry me?” Rebecca asked, throwing caution to the wind.
The Duchess looked up in surprise, fixing her with a searching gaze.
“I had no choice in the matter, not in the end. Nicholas was adamant that he would marry you, and that was that,” she said.
“But you had some other woman in mind? Someone better than I? Someone you deemed worthier? Tell me, would she had stayed her place at your son’s side, even after this scandal were exposed? I have every right to walk away, and yet I remain,” Rebecca said, determined to stand her ground.
“You forget that you yourself are not removed from scandal, and that there are some who would say that the woman who can be caught in scandal should expect it to follow her. What I desired for Nicholas is of no concern now, Rebecca. He has made his bed and shall lie in. But for your sake, for all our sakes, we must hope that he has not made that bed elsewhere, at least not with the consequences now visited upon us,” the Duchess replied, and rising from her place, she gave a curt nod and left the room.
Rebecca rose and curtsied, watching, as her mother-in-law left the room. She sat back down with a sigh, knowing that every word the Duchess spoke had been right. There was no escaping the fact that a terrible scandal hung over them, one which would not simply be resolved of its own accord. Time would tell what the countess intended, and her intentions would determine the future happiness of them all.
* * *
Rebecca was teaching Laura to play the pianoforte. It was a distraction for them both, and they had spent a pleasant afternoon together in the drawing room, practicing new pieces which Rebecca had purchased from Mr. Hatchard’s bookshop on Piccadilly some weeks before. Laura was already a talented player, and Rebecca had little to do but make the occasional correction, listening as her sister played a delightful piece by Bach.
“You really are becoming very good, Laura,” she said as her sister concluded and looked up for affirmation.
“The bit in the middle, I cannot get right. I have to put my fingers here and then here, and it just does not sound right,” Laura lamented, trying again to play the tricky part of the piece.
“You will get there. It is just a matter of practice. I could never have attempted such a piece when I was your age. One day, you will be a truly accomplished player, Laura. I assure you,” Rebecca said, smiling at her sister as she rose from her place and crossed to the window.
“Should I play again?” Laura asked, but Rebecca barely heard her.
A figure was coming up the steps of the house, one all too familiar, whom she had hoped might leave them well alone.
“It is our uncle,” she exclaimed. “Whatever could he be doing here?”
“I do not want to see him,” Laura said, hurriedly closing the lid of the pianoforte and coming to Rebecca’s side.
“Run upstairs. You need not see him. I shall summon Nicholas,” Rebecca said as a loud knocking came at the door.
“What if he insists? What if he tries to take me back?” Laura asked, growing anxious, her hands trembling and tears welling up in her eyes.
“Go down to the kitchen, tell Mrs. Thrip to keep you safe. You do not have to see him. Remember what I have said to you before, I will never send you away. You are my sister, and I am yours, an unbreakable bond. Now, hurry,” Rebecca said, ushering Laura from the room as the sound of the footman approaching could be heard along the hall.
“The Earl of Weston commands an audience with his Lordship, ma’am,” the footman said, and Rebecca looked at him in surprise.
“With his Lordship?” she asked, and the footman nodded.
“Those were his instructions. I shall summon him,” the footman said, leaving a bemused Rebecca standing in the hallway, wondering what on earth her uncle could want with her husband.
Chapter Nineteen
Nicholas had decided that silence was the greater part of valor, at least in his current situation. To say nothing to anyone would mean that no one could say anything of hurt to him.
