Page 26 of Destined to be a Duchess
“Who was that?” Marianne asked anyway, not satisfied by his silence.
“All those lessons on etiquette, and my mother didn’t teach you not to pry?” His tone was more playful than scolding. He slipped the key into his jacket pocket. “That was Doctor de Laurier. He is a physician.”
“Oh …” Marianne frowned, her worry intensifying. She inspected him for signs of an illness. That would have explained his recent absence. “Is something wrong with you?”
“No, nothing is wrong with me. It was …” He licked his lips, then glanced over his shoulder. “If I tell you, then you must promise not to speak a word of things to my mother. Is that clear? I’m not playing now, Marianne. You must swear to me that you will say nothing.”
Marianne didn’t like the idea of lying to Catherine, but she liked the idea of upsetting Anthony even less. She nodded, and Anthony shepherded her into the parlour next door. He closed the door, leaving Marianne to remember Catherine’s lesson onthe importance of chaperones. A lady should not have been left alone with a gentleman. Perhaps things were different between her and Anthony.
Of course, they are, Marianne thought, sitting on the edge of a sofa.As a duke, he has no interest in me and never will. We are friends. Those rules do not apply to us. I might as well be a man for how tempting I am to him.
Anthony settled against the door, looking like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. The wallpaper was a rosy, pink shade. The sunlight refracted off the walls, casting a romantic glow on the despondent duke.
“Recently I learned that my father’s death was not as surprising as I was led to believe,” he began before pausing. “Have you been told what happened to him?”
“Your mother said he died during a horse race,” Marianne said, recalling the conversation they had shared. The duchess had enjoyed one too many glasses of champagne a few nights prior, and the topic had turned to her late husband. “She said it was sudden.”
“It was,” Anthony agreed. “And yet it was not. It turns out that my father was suffering from an illness leading up to their stay in Newmarket. He refused to tell my mother about his condition. He even went so far as to consult with a doctor she did not know to keep his health a secret from her.” He nodded in the generaldirection of his office. “That was the doctor in question. I asked him to call upon me before we left.”
“I heard the way he stormed out. The visit can’t have gone how you had hoped.”
Anthony smiled mirthlessly. “That’s a rather grave understatement. Doctor de Laurier admitted that my father had been a patient of his, but he refused to discuss his condition with me. Something aboutconfidentiality.” He snarled and started pacing. It was the first time Marianne had seen him truly angry. “The man is dead. What use is confidentiality to him now?”
It seemed Anne had not been the only one keeping secrets. Marianne could see all too well the torment on Anthony’s face.
“The doctor might have been trying to preserve the memory of your father,” she suggested, treading carefully. “He might have been embarrassed about his illness. I don’t mean to put ideas in your head …”
“There is nothing you can say that I have not already thought. You could be right, but I …” He raised his brows, sighing. “I cannot shake the feeling that there is more at play here than I understand. You did not know my father, but he was an honest, good man. He would not have kept something like this from us unless more was at stake than his health. I just cannot fathom what he could have been so desperate to protect.”
“I thought my mother was honest, yet she spent my entire life lying to me.” Marianne looked away. “You and I do not have children. We have no idea what it means to be a parent. We can only imagine what would make someone lie to their child about something so important.
It doesn’t need to change how we think about them, especially now they are no longer with us. I still love my mother. I know that she was only doing what she thought was right. Your father must have felt the same way about his own secrets. It was safer for you not to know. The thing he was trying to protect … It might have just beenyou.”
Anthony was quiet for a moment. He stopped his pacing and raked a hand through his hair. His long fingers flexed between dark brown curls, holding his head like a headache was coming on. Eventually, he let his fist fall to his side.
“Thank you,” he said breathlessly, letting his gaze fall to the floor. “I can only hope that you are right. Oh, but I should not have burdened you with this knowledge in the first place. You asked, and I …” He shook his head and looked away. “I do not usually expose myself like this to others. You have a way about you. It is difficult not to trust you.”
“You make that sound like it’s a bad thing.” Marianne pressed a hand over her heart and stepped towards him. “I’m glad that youfeel like you can confide in me. It’s the least I can do after you and your mother have offered me a new home and life …”
“And a great deal of additional stress as well,” Anthony joked. “The Manners’ visit, just to name one inconvenience …”
“You didn’t like the earl,” Marianne guessed.
“No,” Anthony replied. “No, I did not like him at all. I have met many men like Lord Foxburn, who come into their titles through a series of tragedies. Most of them are humbled by the rise in station. It angered me that he benefitted so much from your misery yet refused to treat you with human decency.
At least in the beginning stages of his visit. After Mother dragged me out of the room to give the three of you time to talk in private, it seemed you found common ground.”
“In a way. I think that …” Marianne frowned, thinking about Lavinia’s advice. “I think they realized that I was not going to back down. And it was easier to try and placate me than fight with me.”
He looked relieved. “Do you not trust them?”
“I don’t trust anyone I don’t really know.” Marianne laughed softly. “Except for you, I suppose. But it is like you said for me. You have a way about you. You’re different.”
“Another man might take that as a slight on his masculinity. Us fellows are supposed to inspire awe and respect—or so I’ve been told.” He smiled, inspiring affection in her instead. “My rank should intimidate you if nothing else, Lady Marianne.”
“Oh, forgive me.” Marianne feigned a gasp, playing into their bit. “Youareso very scary, Your Grace. I can barely look you in the eye most days for fear of vexing you.”
“Keep that up, and I’ll leave you here instead of taking you to Hagram Park.” He laughed under his breath, angling his shoulders towards the door. “Perhaps that threat will only encourage you to tease me more.”
