Page 52 of A Duke to Undo her
“You are insufferable!” Benedict declared, rising to his feet and almost knocking over his chair with the force of his movement. “Can you really not see what you are doing?”
Briefly, Cassius thought that his younger brother might actually throw the remainder of his drink over him. Then Benedict, perhaps, thought better of it and placed his glass down hard on the table instead.
“Do you even listen to yourself, Brother? Or is the noise in your own mind too loud to permit self-reflection? It would serve you right, if I did exactly as you ask, Cassius. Do you know that?”
Turning on his heel, Benedict stormed from the room, while Cassius stood frozen at the head of the table. What had he done?!
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Ireceived your message and came straight away,” Lady Madeline said, untying her bonnet in the hallway of Elmridge House where Lady Elmridge had come to meet her guest, an anxious expression on her face. “Are you very worried about Josephine?”
From somewhere in the house, a pianoforte played a rather mournful song and Josephine’s voice could be heard singing to its accompaniment. Vera sighed and beckoned to Madeline to follow her.
“Josephine has not been herself since we returned from Ashbourne Castle yesterday and her mood is most peculiar. I have never seen Josephine like this but she will not tell me or Norman what is wrong. I would rather she was with you than alone, Madeline. You have always been such a sensible friend to my dear little sister.”
“I am sure it will pass in time,” Madeline offered. “These things normally do, I understand.”
“Yes, Josephine always has her moods and whims, doesn’t she? But she never usually rejects her food or spends hours playing sad songs to herself on the pianoforte. Constance thinks that she must be in love with young Mr. Emerton, but Norman and I don’t think so. Do you?”
“No,” Madeline agreed surely, but giving no hint of Josephine’s real secrets as confided to her and Rose in the coach on the way back to London the previous afternoon. “I share your view. She is not at all in love with Mr. Emerton, nor he with her.”
“Well, then. I hope it is something rather simpler than that and might be cured with good company,” said Vera more cheerfully, now at the music room door which she opened to admit the younger woman. “I do hope you will stay for dinner tonight too. Josephine, dear, Madeline is here to see you.”
The music stopped abruptly as Madeline stepped into the room.
“I miss him so much,” Josephine sobbed in her friend’s arms. “I do not know how I will bear never seeing Cassius again. It is too cruel.”
“I know, I know. Dear Josephine…”
Helpless to assure her distressed friend, Madeline only offered the same meaningless words of comfort one might give to a crying child. Still, Josephine was glad for her solid presence and not to have Rose there, wittering innocently about the power of love.
When the initial storm of tears had passed, Josephine wiped her face with her handkerchief and sat up. She knew she must be a complete mess by now, her hair all around her shoulders, her eyes red and her sash loose. None of it mattered.
A now-cold tray of tea and cake sat on one of the tables, brought by a maid after Madeline’s arrival and with Josephine’s portion still untouched almost an hour later.
“I tried a cold bath this morning, Madeline, but I felt twice as bad afterwards,” Josephine admitted. “That is meant to be one of the remedies for a broken heart, but it only taught me that it is worse to be cold and miserable than warm and miserable.”
They both tried to laugh at this vain attempt to lighten the conversation but could not sustain any good humor yet.
“I wonder if a complete change of scenery might help you more than cold baths,” Madeline suggested. “You might go with your sister Ophelia and Lord Kilderhorn when they return to Scotland after the season. You could get to know baby Matilda and she might prove a welcome distraction.”
“I would be even further from Ashbourne Castle,” Josephine pointed out and Madeline nodded soberly. “There would be no chance of running into the Duke of Ashbourne at all.”
“That would be the idea. If there is really no hope in the situation, and you say there is not, then it would be best to move as far away from it as possible. Your heart cannot heal while it is still being constantly pricked, can it?”
“I am not sure that I want it to heal,” Josephine conceded. “I do not want not to love Cassius. I do not want to forget him. Yet, I know you are right, Madeline. Oh, why can’t I be as sensible as you?”
“You are more sensible than you used to be,” her friend told her. “I have despaired of you and Rose at times, with your stories and ideals and make-believe heroes who never break a sweat or take a wrong step.”
“I discovered something far better than stories,” Josephine reflected bleakly. “Yet, I cannot have it, and I can never forget it. What will become of me, Madeline?”
Before Madeline could answer, there was a knock on the door and a young maid opened it.
“Mr. Emerton is here to see you, Lady Josephine. Shall I bring more tea?”
The two young ladies looked at one another in surprise. While Benedict Emerton had firmly promised to call for tea in London, there had been no indication that this would be quite so soon. It was barely a day since they left Ashbourne Castle.
A few moments later Vera led the blond man into the music room, her face more puzzled than ever.
