Page 59 of The Scarlet Lady's Duke of Desire
The accusing nature of her tone and her expression left Melody reeling. She felt sick when her mother added, “I suppose it was that Blackford girl! She has never been able to keep her mouth closed.”
“Mama!” Melody blurted, unable to believe what she was hearing. Her mother had never once said a bad word against Petunia and yet here they were. “Petunia would never do such a thing! Besides, I told nobody. I was not even aware of what was happening myself.”
She blushed at her own words, unsure as to whether she entirely believed in her own innocence on the matter. Deep down she had been well aware of exactly what had been happening, she simply hadn’t been able to admit it to herself. How was she ever supposed to admit in her own heart that she was hopelessly in love with a man she could never possibly attain?
“You must have mentioned something to someone, what other possible reason could there be for Mr Colton to rescind his proposal?” her mother demanded. Melody’s own thoughts were headed along the same lines. She wondered for a moment whether perhaps someone else besides her mother might have seen her with the duke the night before. Maybe Lady Florence had seen her after all and wished to cause yet more trouble for her.
Then she remembered,she was warning me away from the duke, why would she seek to destroy something that would keep me away from him?It didn’t make sense and yet she was the only person Melody could imagine who might do such a thing.
“Perhaps he merely decided he did not wish to marry me,” Melody suggested, hoping that would be enough to placate her mother. “Maybe…maybe he did not wish to be attached to our family after all. We could not blame him.”
Melody bit her lip the moment she had said the words. She saw all too well how they pained her mother.
“The Coltons have always accepted us,” her mother said, shaking her head. Her expression was suspicious and thoughtful, and she raised her hand to her face to rub her thumb thoughtfully over her lips. “There has to be another reason.”
I need no other reason,Melody thought though she could not bring herself to say the words aloud. It was clear from her mother’s reason that her father had not suggested to his wife anything of what the duke had told him. She couldn’t imagine that her mother would ever condone such things, even if her father did not believe them.
When her father finally spoke up, Melody wished that she had said something. Maybe then he wouldn’t have said, “It does not matter the reason. What matters is that we fix it.”
“Papa?” Melody said, unsure as to whether she dared to find out what he meant.
At first, her father did not reply. He pushed himself up from his chair and rounded the desk, moving to stand before his wife. Melody watched him embrace her mother as only a man who loved his wife could.
“Do not worry, my love, I shall speak with Mr Colton Senior and get to the bottom of this.”
The tone of his voice left Melody under no illusions. It was clear that her father meant to encourage his friend to be sure his son did not step away from the engagement.
A lump formed in Melody’s throat because she understood when it came to men, especially grown businessmen, they almost always got what they wanted. And where her father was concerned, he would fight tooth and nail to make his wife happy.
What about what I want?Melody thought but she had been beneath her parents’ scathing gaze for long enough that morning. Quickly, she decided it was best to keep quiet for just a little while longer. All she could hope for now was that the truth finally came to light.Maybe Mr Colton Senior shall tell my father the truth.
It was all she could hope for now.
***
Several days had passed since the arrival of Mr Colton's letter and Melody hadn't seen hide nor hair of the man. It was odd not to see him after his calling almost every day since that very first, and yet Melody was relieved of it.
What she did not like was the way her mother receded into herself. It was clear that out of them all, her mother was the one to take the news the hardest. Though Melody was concerned for what might happen next, what thetonmight say of Mr Colton's calling off the wedding, she was most worried about her mother.
Melody took to her solitude all over again, enjoying the peace and quiet in the library or out in the gardens while she could. She knew it would not be too long before her mother mustered herself once more and then they would be back to figuring out the future. But for now, Melody merely wished to exist and try her hardest not to think.
Though it seemed there was always someone trying to get in the way of that. She has not been risen from her bed for more than an hour, having just finished her breakfast—alone in the morning room with her mother still abed and her father gone early on business—when she heard the knocking on the front door.
Even as she heard Jenkins hurrying to answer, Melody cringed. They'd had no visitors since Mr Colton's letter. What if he had changed his mind?
It didn't bode thinking about and so she quickly forced the thought away. Closing the book she had been reading, she placed it on the window seat beside her and stood to adjust her gown. Looking at the pale pink flowers on the cream material, Melody thought on how the duke had once complimented that very same gown during one of their encounters.
Her heart raced to think that perhaps he had come to call. If he had, should she permit him after all that had happened? Would it be wise to do so after what had happened in Lady Fyling's garden that night?
But when Jenkins arrived at the library door to announce Petunia, Melody was most disappointed.
Though she always enjoyed the company of her friend, she half wish that she was someone else.
“Please, show her in,” Melody insisted with a smile and the moment that Petunia came hurrying in, Melody realised she had truly missed her friend over the last few days.
She had been so caught up in hiding from whatever might come next, that she had entirely forgotten all about her and their usual visits until the moment they stood before each other.
“Oh, Petunia, how are you? I’ve missed you terribly,” Melody admitted, feeling the sudden clawing in her gut even as she threw her arms wide and embraced her friend.
