Page 3 of Her Duke By Accident
The tightness from before came back in a startling manner, as though Alicia suffered a wound from the inside out. She clutched at her stomach with both hands now, her fan lost somewhere in between. The shame washed over her quickly, like it had already been there.
“You’re a good man,” Lord Debany said, patting him on the shoulder, blocking Alicia from anyone’s view. “The late marquess would be proud of the gentlemen saving his family.”
Alicia took a few steps backward, bumping into a nearby gentleman who was in conversation with a beautiful young woman. They gave her looks at the interruption, and Alicia couldn’t find the words in her throat to apologize. She merely bowed, stepping back towards where her brother made his goodbyes to the gentlemen.
As if nothing from before was ever said, Owen tucked Alicia’s arm back under his own. Tension grew between them within their silence, despite the lively ball happening all around them.
“Alicia,” Owen said.
She grew hopeful in the moment, a sigh of relief building up in her chest. There would be an apology, and the brother she knew would want to move on with the evening in a gentler manner.
“You need to be better.”
“What?”
“How are you supposed to rectify the family name,” he began, “if you can’t speak to a few lords?”
“Owen,” she whispered, her voice coming out hoarser than she expected, “the pressure you place upon my shoulders is?—”
“What?” he snapped, suddenly gripping her wrist. “Is it hard, Alicia? Do you feel like sinking beneath it?” Owen closed his eyes and breathed deeply to calm himself down. When his eyes reopened, the sternness that remained held no kindness. “We all have a responsibility in the family, Alicia. You have one purpose. Find a husband wealthy enough to take care of Father’s debts. That is it. Is that too much for you?”
Even though he asked a question, Alicia knew that there was only one acceptable answer. She swallowed her tears, andswallowed the idea of her purpose being something different than what she was raised to believe. “No, brother,” she whispered. “It is not too much.”
Owen stood up tall, straightening his coats. “Good,” he said, extending his arm to her once more. “Shall we continue on?”
With one arm wrapped around herself, Alicia stepped away from her brother, trying to keep a poised smile on her face. “If you can do without me, brother,” she began, “I believe I might find a moment of solace in a quiet spot.”
His arm dropped. “Alicia.”
“Owen,” she interrupted. “I feel horribly ill suddenly.”
“Don’t play one of Penelope’s tricks on me.”
Surprisingly, a laugh escaped Alicia’s lips. “I don’t have that clever of a mind,” she joked, the lightheadedness leaving for a moment. As the humor faded, the feeling came back, and Alicia placed a steady hand on the wall to her right. “Perhaps you can find me a drink, Owen. Give me a moment to breathe, and I will be better.”
Owen looked at her warningly. “There should be a library down the hall.”
“Thank you,” she whispered.
Alicia made her way into a secluded library that was dimly lit by a few candles. It smelt of books and leather. The warmth crept into her like an embrace.
Alicia staggered, the wooziness from before growing more and more by the second. All she could do was remain still, letting her eyes drag over the spines of books, and wait for it all to pass.
She stood in the middle of the room, and for the first time since arriving at Benedict House, Alicia took in a deep breath, and allowed a tear or two to fall down her cheeks.
CHAPTER 2
Matthew, Duke of Garvey, watched a series of well-dressed ladies parading themselves around flocks of unaware bachelors. “Look here,” he mused, “the game of marriage is afoot.”
“You are ridiculous,” an older woman said from behind him. Lady Tollock snapped her fan out as she watched the guests trickle in. “If only you’d get in the game yourself.”
“Did you truly think I would?”
Lady Tollock smirked. “A woman can dream.”
Even if he could not reciprocate the excitement of the new Season, the unusual companion he found in the widowed Lady Tollock let it go by quickly. She acted as the figurehead of the most popular social clubs in London. The first extravaganza of the Season always came from her brilliance—every guinea spent directly from her enriched pocket.
“I will say, Your Grace, I was quite surprised to see you arrive.”
