Page 81 of Unmasking a Wicked Marquess
He turned around in the room and paced the other way again.
“Why was he here?”
“You are no fool, Robert.” Cecily eyed him with a small smile creeping up her cheeks. “Why would a man demand to see your daughter? Why would he shout her name so? Better yet, why would your daughter be so miserable at the prospect of marrying another?”
“Oh, don’t tell me that.” Robert flung himself down into a chair, hanging his face in his hands. “With what you and Meg have told me this morning, I am not sure I can take any horrid revelations. Do you not realize what a mistake I have made with the last nineteen years of my life? You tell me now that I was wrong all those years ago?”
“Yes,” Cecily said simply and walked towards him, kneeling beside him.
“Your candor doesn’t help.”
“You would not love me so if I lied to you,” she reminded him tenderly. He looked tempted to laugh but was too overawed by all he now knew to manage it. He merely shook his head instead. “Cecily, even if I went to the Duke of Lantham and told him of this, told him how sorry I was, it would not be enough, would it?”
“Only one way to find out, I imagine.” Then she heard it, the sound of horses beyond the windows. She stood and hurried from Robert’s side, going to the window and wondering if Lord Ashton had returned to try his luck again at seeing Juliet, but it was not just one horse. Two horses pulled a carriage that came to a slow stop.
The door flung open, and the Duke of Lantham stepped down, followed hastily by Amelia, who seemed just as flustered as he was, pulling the back of his jacket in an effort to slow him down. “Well, this is the first time in nineteen years they have come to our home.” Cecily’s words made Robert jump to his feet.
“What the …” He trailed off as they watched Philip and Amelia running to the door.
Whatever conversation had passed with Travers in the hallway led to their entry. The next minute, Cecily turned away from the window as the door to the parlour was flung open, and the pair entered.
“Well, now you have your wish,” Amelia said somewhat curtly. “I must say, you have looked after the place these last nineteen years, Cecily. The place is quite beautiful.” She strode around her husband and went towards Cecily. Glad to hear such jesting words again, Cecily took her hands, and they greeted one another warmly.
“Amelia!” Philip barked in outrage.
“Calm your bile,” she said in his direction. “For the last twenty years of my life, I have cut out a friend because of your pride at being insulted. I will not continue to do so. Now, Cecily, how are you?” She turned to face Cecily again.
“Somewhat in uproar, I am afraid.” Cecily sighed heavily. “Your son has come to this house, wishing to see my daughter, and to my shame, I am afraid my husband threw him out.”
“You threw out my son?” Philip strode forward.
“He was about to walk up my stairs to see my daughter. Surely even you have read the scandal sheets about your son as of late,” Robert said snidely.
“Everything in the gossip sheets is a lie,” Philip declared with passion, marching around the settee to get close to Robert. “Surely, as you must have seen over the last few weeks that he was at the Duke of Darby’s house. How many women did he associate there with? Not many!”
“If I may continue.” Cecily cleared her throat, trying to be heard above the men.
“Yes, do go on,” Amelia encouraged her. “They will have to listen to us at some point.”
Both Robert and Philip clearly tore their angry gazes away from each other with some difficulty, turning to face Cecily.
“I have news. News which changes everything that we thought passed nineteen years ago.” As Cecily told Meg’s tale, she knew she had Amelia’s rapt attention, but to her surprise, she had Philip’s too. He sat on the nearest settee as if he had sat there a hundred times before when hearing bad news.
When she was done, Amelia stood beside her, gripping her hand.
“The poor girl. What a shame she stayed silent for so long.”
“An injured heart,” Cecily whispered to her old friend, happier than she could describe to have Amelia beside her again. “She said she wished to tell, but as time passed, it got harder and harder. Now, seeing my daughter so heartbroken, who is clearly quite madly in love with your son, she knew she could not stay quiet anymore.
“Juliet loves our Edward? Truly?” Amelia said, smiling in a sweetly soft manner.
“She does. I am convinced of it.” Cecily nodded. “I, for one, do not wish to stand in their way of happiness if they do wish to be together.”
“Nor I,” Amelia declared. In turn, they faced their husbands.
Robert was leaning on the mantelpiece, staring into the fire as Philip stared into space, still sitting on the settee.
“Robert!” Cecily snapped.
