Page 26 of The Duke's Tempting Widow
Cassian sneered. “As a younger woman, her little sister was caught in a compromising position with another member of theton—only to have the dowager bail her out to cover the scandal. If memory serves, I believe that the earl had to pay quite a sum to smooth things over.”
Weston could not believe what he was hearing. It was not that he did not think that Lydia would do anything to get her sister out of trouble. However, Weston also was slowly coming to know Kitty for the woman that she truly was, and he could not fathom a situation where she would allow herself to be compromised in the slightest.
She seemed far too shy and reserved for such a thing. But was there a reason for that perhaps? It was not the sort of situation that he could simply ask them about.
“Would you like to know more? It was such an influential member, it might shock you that such a wallflower could be capable of such a thing.” Cassian laughed at his own comment. One would think that he was having the time of his life. “Such a strange thing for such a spinster to reside with her sister, is it not? I should hate for her prospects of any future marriage be wholly ruined.”
“You call yourself a gentleman when you can make such threats against women? Have you no pride? No sense of honor?” Weston demanded, crowding his cousin’s personal space. If he would not see reason, he would have to force him one way or another.
Were they not in such a public setting, he would handle this situation right here and now. He would like nothing better than to personally remind Cassian of his proper place. But he knew that he could not make a scene no matter how badly he might wish it.
What he was certain of, was that he would not allow this to happen. No matter what happened, he would have to help her out of this situation. He would not abandon her to the crazed whims of such an obvious madman. But there was also no way that this could be resolved here and now.
“I shall consider your proposal.” Weston said through gritted teeth.
“I shall not wait forever to receive the money and title that I am owed, cousin. If you drag your feet for too long, I shall make my own arrangements.”
“Such things cannot be done overnight.” Weston hissed bitterly.
“Three months, cousin. That is all the time that I am willing to permit you to sort out all of the legalities. If you do not, three months and one day from now I will expose everything that I know to theton.”
Chapter 15
One Month Later
While the days are long, the time still seems to pass too quickly. Short nights spent getting to know one another were quickly coming to be some of Lydia’s favorites even though she knew that the wiser course of action would be to keep her distance.
That night, they were all dressed up to attend their first public event together. As a group, they had spent so much time with the girls that it almost felt strange to be doing something without them present. An interesting opportunity to see if getting to know one another had been an effective way to suppress the feelings within her. Though, if sitting next to him in the carriage was any kind of indication, she was going to say no.
His thighs were spread just enough that she needed to keep her knees clamped tightly together. On the other side of the carriage, her sister kept giving her speculative looks and arching her eyebrow as if somehow Lydia was being too obvious with her current affliction. She could not help the fact that being near to the duke constantly physically affected her.
The conversation had been stilted over the last couple of hours, and they headed to the soiree at Lord Flaty’s home, one of their closest neighbors. The governess was at home with the girls, and Lydia would have opted to stay home for the simple fact that her imagination was running wild.
What was she thinking, attending an event like this again with the duke? But Kitty did technically need a chaperone for functions like this, spinster or not. Though, with the way that William kept looking at her, perhaps she was going to need the chaperone for an entirely different purpose.
Her sister was maturing right before her eyes, and she was allowing herself to be so distracted that she was missing milestones. Over the last few weeks, Kitty had been happily stepping up and performing more of the house duties so that Lydia had more free time on her hands to argue with Weston over the books and ledgers.
Which, naturally, left William and Kitty to get to know one another.
Lydia’s impulse was to intervene, but she was determined to let them figure things out for themselves while they still had the opportunity to do so. At least she would be able to observe them while the pair socialized at the ball. Perhaps they might even share a dance or two. Lydia could not even recall the last time that she had seen her sister dancing with anyone.
What she did not like was the fact that from the moment she stepped out of the carriage, she seemed to be the center of attention in their small grouping. She could feel them looking at her in her black gown with pitying eyes. Lydia did not need, nor did she wish for, their pity.
Her grief was her own to shoulder and she did not wish to discuss it. However, not wearing the black dress would have been far more scandalous and would have caused far more people to speak about her.
Pleading that she needed to attend to her sister, she tried to circumvent their prying questions about the future of their estate and what she planned to do next. But following after Kitty and William caused her to lose the duke in the process.
Though, it was entirely possible that he was lost in the sea of people himself. It was not every day that there was a duke to entertain. Some jealous part of her wondered just how many of the ambitious mamas and their eligible daughters will approach him with offers, or inquiries about his status.
What answer would he give them?
It should not matter. He was a free man; he could answer things however he liked. Yet knowing that did not abate the desire to know if he would indulge them or not. The attendees tended to be rather hungry for gossip and would be onlytoo eager to speak to a duke with such an infamously rakish reputation.
She was not jealous. There was no room or time for her to be jealous.
“Good evening,” A voice from beside her said. Lydia turned slowly to see a tall man with sharp, symmetrical features and sandy blond hair. Deep brown eyes that were almost black and dark brows. Objectively, he was very handsome. But he simply was not her type. Certainly not when the literal man of her dreams was in the same ballroom as her.
“How do you do,” Lydia said politely with a nod of her head in his direction. She hoped that it would not be a lengthy conversation.
