Page 61 of A Duchess Mistaken
The rage in the earl’s face banked, making way for a sliver of fear. But he quickly put it aside as if it never happened.
“Then do not give me a reason to threaten you, Your Grace,” he growled. “You shall marry Caroline and that is that.”
“With all due respect, Lord Reeds, I do not take orders from men like you. Remember your place.”
The earl’s face reddened in anger. He stood there for a few seconds, clearly trying to think of something else to say. But then he gave up and stepped away, taking brisk steps to the door as if he could not get out fast enough. Johnathan only watched him go, fury clogging his throat. He did not take kindly to being intimidated but he knew the earl was right. Johnathan had no power here. He was a penniless duke and the only reason he was able to show his face in society was because the circumstances surrounding his father’s death were largely unknown. Everyone viewed him with pity and admiration that he could so quickly take up the mantle after his father’s sad and untimely death. Noone actually knew that his death had been caused by his father’s own hands. If they did, if they found out that his father had taken his own life after racking up debt after debt, the blight on the dukedom would be irreparable.
He had considered it all when he thought about breaking the engagement with Caroline. But he’d hoped that Lord Reeds was a reasonable man, a man he could negotiate with. Marrying the brother of a duke was not the terrible option Lord Reeds made it seem like. Agnes had been more than willing to do so before she’d learned of his brother’s affections, hadn’t she?
Johnathan sank into the sofa, reaching for the whiskey. Agnes was going to be disappointed. Both in him and in the outcome of the discussion. A part of him didn’t want to tell her. He wanted to fix this matter all on his own. But ever since she came to enlist his help, they’d worked like partners. As much as he didn’t want to tell her about his failure, Johnathan knew that he had to.
He only hoped she took the earl’s words with as much calmness as he had.
Agnes’ first order of business was to get Caroline alone and demand to know what she wanted to talk to her about. She would have succeeded in her plan—or at least the commencement of it—had Caroline not disappeared almost as soon as they went inside the manor. Agnes had been so preoccupied with watching Johnathan trail after Lord Reeds that she hadn’t noticed her slipping away.
The others disbursed to their chambers rather quickly, clearly as tired as Agnes felt so she decided to do the same. There was no use chasing after Caroline. She would come to Agnes when she was good and ready. Agnes would simply have to quell her unending curiosity until then. Perhaps a nap could be in order. Heaven knew after the day they’d had, it was quite overdue.
She all but dragged herself up the staircase, quickly looking forward to the moment she could collapse in her bed. Agnes didn’t make it halfway there before she was approached by the dowager duchess, who seemed to materialize out of nowhere. Agnes certainly hadn’t seen her approaching. Though she supposed she was so tired that simply must not have noticed.
“Your Grace,” Agnes greeted politely. She was unable to manage anything more than a simple dip and hoped it passed as a curtsy. “You were missed this morning.”
“I can assure you that I was not,” the dowager duchess responded. Her voice was far clearer than Agnes had ever heard it. Did that mean she was in better spirits? She certainly didn’t look like it but the fact that she was roaming the hallways rather than locked up in her bedchamber must count for something.
Agnes let the uncomfortable quiet fall over them, unsure of how to proceed. At last, she asked, “Did you wish to speak with me, Your Grace?”
The dowager duchess nodded. The motion resembled the manner in which Johnathan did it as well, curt and simple, as if the answer to the question they were nodding to should havebeen obvious. It was such a subtle similarity and yet Agnes couldn’t imagine how she hadn’t noticed it sooner.
“Walk with me,” the dowager duchess said, then set off without giving Agnes the chance to say anything to respond. She had no choice but to quickly take Her Grace’s side.
The silence persisted. Agnes, not one to let uncomfortable silences bother her, couldn’t help glancing anxiously at the dowager duchess. Finally, she let herself ask the question at the forefront of her mind. “What is on your mind, Your Grace?”
“My sons,” she sighed softly.
That surprised Agnes. “I must imagine that is what it means to be a mother.”
“It is. My sons are always on my mind, even when I pretend as if they are not. I worry about them as if they are still children and in need of my guidance.”
“Sons and daughters are always in need of guidance,” Agnes said softly. “Whether they be ten, twenty, or thirty years old.”
The dowager duchess clasped her hands before her. They were strolling at such a painstakingly slow pace that Agnes felt like her joints were beginning to ache. She didn’t dare voice a complaint, however. It was evident that the dowager duchess sought her out for something important, though she couldn’t imagine why.
“Do you know what it is like to feel helpless, Miss Agnes?”
Agnes nodded. “In some ways, I do. As a lady, one cannot avoid such a feeling once or twice in their lifetimes, considering what a patriarchal society we have formed amongst ourselves.”
To Agnes’ surprise, the dowager duchess’ lips twitched. “I did not ask the question expecting a philosophical response. Though I suppose it is my fault for not making my intention clearer.”
“And what, Your Grace, is your intention? So that I may provide a more suitable response.”
“It is only a precursor to what I truly wish to say. There is something weighing on my heart and I chose you to unburden it on. I hope you will forgive me.”
She sounded genuinely apologetic. “There is no need to apologize, Your Grace. By all means, go ahead.
“My sons,” the older woman began again. “They are the only reason I exist, my purpose. But once, it was to serve my entire family, including my husband. Have you heard what happened to him?”
“Yes, Your Grace,” Agnes responded softly.
“The truth?” the dowager duchess probed.
