Page 60 of Tutoring a Lady into Sin
Phineas nodded at the letter and read the last bit to them. “For the last two months, I have come to rely upon the generosity, compassion, and kindness of Miss Albina Scriven.”
The sharp inhale of breath this time was so ferocious, Christianna scooted toward the dowager duchess, preparing to catch the lady should she faint. “My…my lady’s maid?” the dowager asked in a tremulous voice.
Phineas kept reading, “She understands me as no one else has ever endeavoured to do before. She does not see a duke who is meant to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. Rather, she thinks of me as just another man who must struggle each and every day to make his way in this world.”
“Oh, Percival!” the dowager cried. “What have you done?”
“We are on our way to Gretna Green, so I may make my love for Albina official. She has consented to be my wife, and I could not be happier. When we return to Bixby Hall, I hope to greet you both and have the pleasure of introducing you to the most charming and amiable woman I have ever known. Faithfully yours…Percy.” The letter fell right out of Phineas’ hand and drifted to the tabletop.
“He…he means to marry her? Then, bring her here and introduce us all?” the dowager cried in dismay. “What is he thinking? Of course, no introductions are required. We all know Miss Scriven. She is my lady’s maid!”
Christianna ogled the dowager duchess for a long moment. With each statement, her pitch went higher and higher, so by the end of her rant, she was practically squeaking. Christianna had never seen the dowager so undone, and for that matter, she was not sure she had ever seen anyone else nearly as overwrought.
She wished to comfort the lady but was unable to conjure the appropriate words.
Just as she opened her mouth to try, Phineas spoke. “But what does this mean, Christianna? I heard you talking with Percival last night, and he promised to marryyou.”
Chapter 26
Phineas stared at Christianna and watched as a look of confusion swept across her features. “The duke never made me such a promise…not last night or any time before that.”
“Oh!” Phineas’ mother snorted as she spun on her heel and stalked across the room. She paused just before leaving the room and looked at him. “Doesnowseem like the appropriate time to have this conversation?”
“You told me Lady Christianna and I needed to talk about our feelings for one another,” Phineas reminded her. “Now seems just as good a time as any.”
“But do you not see?” his mother cried hysterically. “Your brother has run off and…and married my maid.” She hiccupped loudly, then began crying all at once. Miss Fitzroy appeared then as she poked her head into the room.
“Can I be of service, my lady?” She was clearly addressing Christianna, but Phineas answered on her behalf.
“Please escort my mother to her bedchambers,” Phineas directed. “I shall be in to check on her shortly.”
“Yes, my lord,” Miss Fitzroy said. She stepped aside so his mother could leave, and Phineas waited until they were gone to proceed with his questioning of Christianna.
“Let us return to last night,” he said as he tried to block out the sound of his mother’s whimpering while she walked down the hall. “I was in the library, and I heard you and Percival out near the flower bed. He said he loved you and was going to marry you, and then you kissed him.”
The apples of Christianna’s cheeks lit with bright pink pops of colour. “He did not do anything of those things, Phineas. And I most certainly did not kiss your brother.” She gave him a long, beseeching look, as if she were pleading with him to see the truth of the matter.
“I was only with Miss Fitzroy last night. We looked for you, and we searched for the duke, too. But we were unable to locate either of you.” She paused and cleared her throat. “I told Miss Fitzroy that I had made my decision. I could not marry the duke because I wanted…I wanted to marry you, Phineas.”
“You wish to be my wife?” he asked.
She nodded and answered succinctly, “Yes.”
He stared at her for a long moment. “I cannot tell you what joy it brings me to hear you say as much. I fell in love with you so easily, it almost felt like I was living out a very pleasant dream. But these last few days, the clouds have descended, and I have not been able to see my way clearly.”
“Yes,” Christianna murmured. “I am sorry about Felton. I know how much he meant to you.”
“But you do not know the half of it,” Phineas said, then he explained his true parentage. As he recounted the love story that belonged to his father and mother, he watched Christianna’s features as they went from perplexed to surprised, then finally landed on something akin to befuddlement.
“So, you are the Earl of Linfield?” she asked after taking a moment to absorb his words.
“I am,” Phineas replied. “I am not ashamed of the love that flourished between my mother and Felton, and I have no wish to deny my heritage.”
“I…” Christianna began, and he could see that she was uncertain of how to proceed by the way she chewed on her soft lower lip.
“We have a lot to discuss, my lady,” he said as he took a step toward her.
“Then it is a very good thing that we have all the time in the world ahead of us.”
