Page 2 of A Bride for the Beastly Duke
Even though her mother thought it rather unseemly for a woman of her station, Ava insisted on putting Lily to bed every night. In spite of the circumstances of her birth, Ava could not help feeling as if her daughter was the best thing that had ever happened to her. She was worth all the cuts Ava had ever received, the snide remarks, the ostracization from society — she could bear all of it for Lily’s sake.
As she sat back in the rocking chair, watching her daughter sleep, tears came to her eyes. It was one thing for her to bear the burden of shame that came with having a child out of wedlock, but Margaret was innocent. It was not fair that her sister was being made to pay as well.
She had left Margaret sobbing on her bed, having come back from her debutante ball, her gown soaked with a red liquid.
“Is it blood?” Ava had asked in alarm.
Margaret shook her head jerkily. “N-no. It is wine. Lady Lucy Waters ‘accidentally’ drenched me.” She sniffed, wiping the tears from her eyes. “Then she said it was a more appropriate color for me than white.”
Ava gasped. “What a little witch. I ought to go and give her a piece of my mind this instant.”
“No!” Margaret grabbed her arm. “Don’t. You will just make it worse. Please let it be.”
Ava gave her a sympathetic squeeze. “I am so sorry that you are once again paying for my sins. I would do anything to save you this suffering.”
“It is all right, Ava,” Margaret said quietly before curling up miserably on her bed and burying her head in her hands. Ava stared helplessly at her sister before she felt Lily tugging at her skirt.
“Mama, what is wrong?” she whispered, her grey eyes wide and worried.
“Oh, nothing, baby.” Ava knelt down and picked her up. “It is time for bed.”
Now as she sat next to her daughter’s bed, watching her sleep, her mind whirled with thoughts, seeking a solution to this dilemma.
I need to get married.
Two days ago, her father had approached her with a proposition. “We have received an offer for your hand, my dear,” he had said softly.
Her eyes widened with surprise. “Truly? Who from?”
“The Duke of Barrington.”
Ava frowned. “A duke? I… I do not know him.”
“No…” Her father hesitated, a slight frown on his face. “But he is aware of your… situation and has made an offer for your hand.”
“Why?”
The Marquess sighed, “I hardly know myself. I do know that he sustained an injury in the war, and perhaps it stops him from searching for a wife in the more traditional ways.”
“But what does he want with me then? Are you not curious?”
Her father, William, Marquess of Jaxton, sat down next to her on the divan in the morning room where she had been reading a book. “Darling, isn’t it enough that he has offered?”
She blinked a few times. “When are we to meet?”
“He said nothing of a meeting.” The Marquess shook his head regretfully. “He does not wish to make a love match.”
Ava frowned, looking away. She had certainly been brokenhearted when Aaron, Lily’s father, turned out to be a cad, dishonorable and dishonest, but somewhere deep in her heart, she had hoped to find a man who could love her and love Lily the way she deserved.
But now sitting here, watching her sleep, she wondered if she was asking too much for herself and her daughter.
Perhaps I should accept the Duke’s offer and the cloak of respectability it will afford us.
It would certainly solve more than one problem. Margaret would not have to bear the stain of being Ava’s sister, and Lily would have a father. She decided to announce her decision at supper. She hoped that her parents would at least be pleased.
“You do not have to do this, Ava,” Margaret said, her eyes dark with what looked like guilt.
“I do actually,” Ava said with a small laugh. “If I don’t…”
