Page 43 of An Arranged Betrothal with an Icy Duke
She nodded. “Yes, Henry. Yes, of course I shall.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Mother. Thank you for coming.”
The Duchess walked into the study and threw up her hands. “Whatever is the matter, Fairglen? I am very busy indeed at the present moment, making certain that all is being done in tidying up after your guests. The house gathering went very well, I am glad to say – save for your absence from the final ball – but there is still much to be done!” She began ticking things off on her fingers. “All the bedrooms must be aired, the linens must be changed, everything must be swept – ”
“Ah, there you are, brother.” Henry smiled briefly as his brother came into the study, his gaze holding to his for only a moment. “Thank you for coming.”
“Frankton?” The Duchess frowned. “Whyever are you here? In fact, I have been meaning to ask you why you have not taken your leave as yet. Your wife appears to have recovered somewhat, though she is still as pale as I have ever seen her, and yet still you linger in this house!” The Duchess then turned towards Henry, a sharp look in her eyes. “Is there a reason that you have permitted your brother to stay here? There has not been a reconciliation between you, as I had hoped, and yet – ”
A sudden realization hit Henry right between the eyes and he caught his breath, making his mother’s speech come to a direct stop.
“I see it now,” he said, speaking slowly as he glanced to his brother, “you never once hoped for a reconciliation, did you? You sent the letter to my brother – a letter which held nothing but lies – and on that basis alone, Frankton and his wife came to this house, even though they did not want to be in company with you for even a moment! They came in the hope that I mightlisten to them, that I might hear their explanations butyou, instead, were hopeful that there would be a big upset during the house gathering. You hoped that it would be enough to either force me to realise that I either cared for Rachel still… something I am glad to say I do not, or that I could not even consider the possibility of matrimony again. Either that, or you thought that my betrothed might be the one to end the engagement, after seeing my anger and my coldness towards my brother. Is that not so?”
His mother simply stared at him, her eyes rounded, her face beginning to drain of the color it had held only a few moments before.
“I understand,” Lord Frankton said slowly, coming a little further into the room so he might stand closer to his mother. “I must confess, I was surprised to receive such a letter but your assurances were so very profound, Mother, I could not help but take the chance, even if, as the Duke has rightly pointed out, I had no desire to see you.”
The Duchess clicked her tongue and folded her arms across her chest. “It has always seemed very unfair to me that you have kept me from your company as well as your brother,” she said, firmly. “Though I always supposed it was because you were most displeased with what I had done in revealing your falsehood to the Duke.”
Lord Frankton shook his head. “No, Mother. It was because we knew what it was you had done.”
Henry watched his mother closely, seeing how her eyebrows lifted though he believed, of course, that she feigned surprise and confusion rather than truly feeling it.
“I do not know what it is you are talking about, Frankton,” the Duchess claimed with a toss of her head. “Youare the one who was in the wrong, as both your brother and I know.”
“Except I have come to learn that all is not as it seemed there, Mother,” Henry said, quietly, catching the way his mother’s head twisted quickly, her eyes rounding just a little. “I have learned that you had more to do with the situation than you stated, Mother.”
“That is not true.”
“I believe it is,” Henry answered, quickly. “I have heard that all I need to do is go to find this rogue, the gentleman thatwasattempting to pull Rachel into his arms before my brother arrived, and that he will confirm that you told him to do such a thing.” He spread out his hands wide. “And I could also ask Lady Frankton herself and have her tell us all of the things that you demanded of her before her marriage to me, how you offered her money and a new match with another gentleman if she would only end the engagement. And how you then threatened her when she refused.”
“That is nonsense!”
Lord Frankton came closer to his mother, his arms folded across his chest. “I spoke to Lord Venables, Mother. He told me everything. I believe him. I believe Rachel.”
“And I believe everything my brother has told me.”
The Duchess turned slowly, looking first to Henry and then to Lord Frankton. She opened and closed her mouth multiple times, clearly trying to find something to say, something to respond with that would make it quite clear that she was not in the least bit responsible but Henry could see from the way the light died in her eyes that she had nothing whatsoever to offer them.
“Why, Mother?” he asked, keeping his voice as steady as he could despite the anger which ran through it. “Why would you do such a thing to me? To Rachel? She had done nothing wrong, she was perfectly contented to be my wife, was ready andprepared to become the Duchess of Fairglen. Icaredfor her and she for me! Why then would you force us apart?”
The Duchess closed her eyes and let out a sigh. “She was only the daughter of an Earl, Fairglen.”
Even though Henry was already aware that his mother was responsible, hearing her admit it still rocked him back on his heels, his hands gripping the edge of the desk for a moment. His mother rolled her eyes as though his reaction was something to be laughed at, was something of an overreaction but Henry could not help the waves of shock which ran over him. Each one crested a little higher until, unable to look into his mother’s face, he turned away directly.
“You tried to do the same thing to Miss Tidemore, did you not?” he asked, still not able to look back at her. “You did not mean for the fire to take with such strength but you wanted to do something to make sure she could never become my Duchess.”
“She is the daughter of aViscount!” The Duchess’ cry ran around the room and Henry closed his eyes, his hands curling into fists. “That is even worse than the daughter of an Earl! As I have told you before, a gentleman of your standing should marry the daughter of a Marquess or of a Duke. The daughter of an Earl is not at all suitable but the daughter of a Viscount is an embarrassment! Though, as you have said, I did not mean for that to happen. It was only meant to be a small fire and – ”
“Then you admit to it?” Henry turned around sharply, seeing his mother’s eyes widen suddenly. Perhaps she had not meant to speak as she had done but now the truth was out. “You are saying that, yes, youdidset that fire?”
She blinked quickly. “No, I did not do it myself.”
“Then you had someone do it for you,” Lord Frankton stated, unequivocally, “just as you had Lord Venables approach Rachel. You set up the situation in the hope thatshewould get the blame.”
The Duchess shut her eyes and swayed gently. “I thought Miss Tidemore would be blamed for the fire, yes,” she said, speaking now with a great heaviness in her voice as though she had given up all attempts to pretence.
