Page 43 of Three Weeks with a Princess
“Yes, so did I.” Jack looked at Lia, his dark eyes shadowed with regret. “But your grandmother asked me to hold back. She wished you to find out at what she felt was the appropriate time.”
Now it was her turn to sigh. “I suppose she didn’t want me to get any ideas above my station.”
Although Granny certainly had her pride, she also had very definite ideas about the social order. It was understandable, given that she’d built her entire life around settling for something considerably less than what she deserved.
Jack waggled a hand. “I wouldn’t put it quite that way. But she did fear that such a relationship would ultimately lead to rejection. She didn’t want to see you hurt.”
“As if I would ever do something so shabby,” the duchess indignantly said.
Lia gave her a wobbly smile before returning her focus to Jack. “I understand that you wanted to respect Granny’s wishes, but I still wish you’d told me about Her Grace,especiallyafter I came down to London.”
“Have you forgotten you’ve been avoiding me?” he asked. “And when I did finally see you the other day, you stormed out before I could tell you. You keep cutting me off at the damn knees, Lia.”
“Lendale, you know I’m very fond of you,” the duchess said, in what Lia could only describe as a threatening tone. “But I must insist that you address my cousin with respect or I’ll be forced to knock your—”
“Gillian,” the duke interjected sharply.
“Er, I’ll be forced to speak very sternly to you,” she amended.
Jack snorted in disbelief.
The duchess directed an apologetic grimace at Lia. “Please call me Gillian,” she said. “And to be fair, Lendale only met me a few months ago. At the time I wasn’t yet married and wasn’t even sure if I was staying in England. It didn’t make sense to tell you if we were never to meet.”
Lia nodded, feeling slightly mollified. Absently, she rubbed her aching head, pondering the best response to the fraught situation.
“Lia, please sit down before you fall down.” Jack pressed her down onto her mother’s dressing stool before stroking her cheek. “You need to rest, sweetheart, or you’ll fall into a bad state.”
Her anger dissipated another notch, but he ruined it a moment later by shooting an irritated glance at her mother. “She needs to go home, Mrs. Lester. And no more of this acting nonsense.”
“Of course, my lord,” Mama said instantly. “Lia can rest up with us before she returns home to Yorkshire. There’s no need to rush, but I’m sure the city doesn’t agree with her at all. No wonder she fell so ill.”
“I caught a cold,” Lia said through gritted teeth. “As did half the people in the company. And I have no intention of returning to Stonefell, so you can both stop nagging me about it.”
“Of course she’s not going back to Yorkshire,” Gillian said. “She’s staying right here in London with us, at Leverton House.” She shot her husband a winning smile. “Isn’t that right, sir?”
The duke, who’d been leaning against the doorjamb watching their little scene with a mostly lofty sort of disinterest, moved closer and suddenly looked uncomfortable. “My love, I don’t think that’s the best idea, either for you or Miss Kincaid.”
“Why not?” his wife asked. “She’ll receive the best of care, and we can also get to know each other.”
“You know why,” her husband said in a firm voice.
“Are you truly going to worry about gossip at a time like this?” Gillian demanded. “You know I don’t care about that sort of nonsense.”
“I’m afraid you do need to care about this,” the duke said.
“I simply ignore the opinions of idiots,” she said, “and you should, too. God knows we’ve done enough of that in the past few months. Our marriage was supposed to be the biggest scandal of the decade and yet everything’s fine. Besides, you’re going to make poor Lia feel unwelcome and that’s perfectly awful of you.”
“It is not that simple. Not this time,” Leverton said. Then he gave Lia a kind but regretful smile. “I have no intention of making you feel unwelcome, Miss Kincaid. In fact, I look forward to getting to know you better.”
Lia wondered if that was the case, although he sounded sincere. “I understand, Your Grace. I’m not offended in the least.”
“But I am, confound it,” Gillian said. “Why in heaven’s name can’t my cousin stay with us?”
“It is a lovely and generous offer, Your Grace,” Mama piped in. “I’m sure Gillian would be thrilled to spend some time with you. Wouldn’t you, my love?”
Now Lia wanted to crawl completely behind the costume rack—or, better yet, flee the room. Of course Mama would wish her daughter to cozy up to a rich and powerful duke and his duchess, especially if they were near relations. Lia had no doubt her mother planned to exploit that connection to the troupe’s advantage, likely by asking them to become investors. But she’d rather go back to Yorkshire than allow anyone to impose on the generosity of the kind young woman who seemed so eager to help.
“You see, Charles?” Gillian said in a triumphant tone. “If Lia’s mother approves, what is the problem?”
