Page 26 of The Reclusive Earl's Scandal
Instead, she took her father’s hands. She really didn’t know what to do with this shifted perspective. For once, Rebecca had no words. She’d thought her parents were happy and in love. Aside from her mother’s passive ways, and her father’s vices, they had been a perfecttonmatch.
Perhaps that is why he is miserable, she thought idly.Thetonpushes people together into their rigid boxes.Her mind drifted to Edward, with his furrowed brow and curled lip whenever he spoke about wives and matchmaking. She thought of her own ploys, trying to charm her way into a good marriage.
She even thought of Catherine and Mary earlier that morning in the tea shop, how they had been. The taste in her mouth from their company hadn’t gone, and Rebecca had shelved how they’d made her feel, but now she thought of the remark Catherine had made.
Heavens, I do hope Harry Maudley has not caught wind of your prancing across a ballroom, Rebecca.
There had been a glint in her eyes and a wicked curve to her smile that Rebecca hadn’t seen before. It made her think of Edward asking about how genuine she was. Mary, ever the follower of Catherine, had sniggered alongside her, leaving Rebecca tense and questioning. She didn’t want to question her friends, but why would they rile her up about a sensitive thing they knew she was already worried about? Between their strangebehavior, her father’s revelation, and their dwindling coffers, Rebecca felt on unsteady ground.
The only thing that feels solid is Edward’s presence from the park.
She had not yet forgotten her mortification over her accidental suggestive comment of hiding together behind a vase.
When the drawing room’s silence grew too heavy, Rebecca finally found words.
“I do not love Harry, Father,” she whispered. “He and I… yes, we had a connection, and I entertained a life with him very briefly, but I think that was more the childish indulgence in me, attention where I had not yet received it before entering society. I do not even think I like him anymore in such a way. Father, if you cannot protect my dowry, then protectme. Protect me from any claims Harry might make.”
Her father’s gaze met hers, ever so similar, except his eyes wandered, unable to focus due to his drunken state. “If the Maudleys go public with false claims that I, too, might question, then I will do what I can.” He paused too long, and Rebecca’s breath caught. “But if it goes too far then you understand what I will expect of you.”
Rebecca held his stare, dread and pain pooling in her chest. Once, she would have given anything for her father’s approval of Harry. But now… now she didn’t want any of it. She wanted—blue eyes that could have turned colder over the years but were soft, gentle.She wantedcomfort and laughter, and Harry couldn’t provide any of that. Not with this new anger she had seen glimpses of.
“Father,” she whispered.
“You will marry him should he proclaim anything about you.”
“And you will believe it?”
He waved a dismissive hand at her, the moment of tender advice vanishing. “You said it yourself that you had a connection. Why not simply continue it? It will not matter what I believe, anyway. Thetonwill push for it, and I must fall in line. As must you.”
Rebecca stood to her feet, pulling her hands to her chest.I hate you. The childish whisper was on her lips but she didn’t dare let the words fall. Yet her father glared up at her like he suspected them anyway. The painful truth was that she didn’t hate him, not truly. His actions, perhaps, but she sympathized for him more than anything.
Tears filled her eyes until her vision blurred. Rebecca was fleeing the drawing room and burying herself in her bedsheets before she even realized she had moved away from her father. He had ruined her life, and she would find a list of endless sacrifices to make to fix it, and she would have to do what was expected.
Deep in her chest, her heart broke, and Rebecca cried to herself until dinner was called. When she arrived in the dining hall, the room was tense. Rebecca was too aware of the cracks her father had shown her to pretend they weren’t there. She couldn’t unsee it all now: every tugged-on mask, every false smile, every burned-out hope.
The weight of doing what she had to do to fix her father’s mistakes weighed on her, heavier and heavier, until, by the time she retired for the night, she fell into a dreamless sleep.
Chapter Nine
The day before the Farrens’ ball, Edward and Elena walked alongside the Jubilee River, a heavy rush of water that snaked through one of the parks not too far from Thornshire House.
“I righted my wrongs and agreed to another ball,” Edward sighed. “Will you still not speak to me, Elena?”
His sister gave that stubborn littlehmphthat she had taken to doing every time he spoke to her.
“Elena.” He pulled authority into his voice, forcing her to stop.
She did, and when she turned to him, her eyes blazed with irritation. “You are ever so inconsiderate.Thatis why I will not speak to you.”
“I am attending the Farrens’ ball with you tomorrow!” he insisted, their walk along the river halted.
“And have you attended Lady Catherine’s home? Called upon her? Asked her to promenade with you?”
The questions came as a challenge, and Edward narrowed his eyes. “No, I have not, and I want you to stop pushing. When I find a wife, it will be onmyterms. You cannot command my life, little sister.” He softened his voice at that last declaration, worried he was being too hard-spoken. Elena’s face stilled in shock for a moment before it creased into stubborn ignorance that he knew meant she wouldn’t listen to him anyway.
“Oh, look!” She grasped his arm and pointed further the river path. Edward’s stomach dipped at an unexpected change, but then his eyes first landed on the auburn hair of Rebecca, the copper strands prettily catching the light. She looked pale and drawn, nothing like the flushed, laughing girl he had left in Laketide Park several days ago.
Flanking Rebecca was Lady Catherine and Lady Mary and Edward’s eyes narrowed. Did Rebecca notice the glance Lady Catherine gave her right before she stepped forward, having spotted him? Aversion to communicating with Lady Catherine curled through Edward, stiffening his muscles, but Elena was already tugging him forward.
