The Orphan and the Duke (13 page)

“It’s time to go home, Jonquil.” Basil turned to Augusta. “I will send my carriage back for you and Cuthbert.”

“We’re ready to go as well. We will ride with you.” Augusta put her arm around Saffron’s shoulder and led her out of the palace. Basil followed behind with Jonquil and Cuthbert.

Basil was in a state of disbelief. He shook his head to try to clear away his wrath. The evening that started out so full of excitement for his sisters had ended with him making a scene and both girls practically in tears, their wrath directed toward him.

Amelia sat at the breakfast table listening to her uncle, aunt, and Susan discussing Susan’s presentation at court. She was glad it went well. She knew if it hadn’t, they would have been complaining about how everyone treated them unfairly.

As it was, Susan couldn’t stop chattering about her dance with the Duke of Darnley. She made it sound as if the man were an angel who had fallen from heaven for the mere purpose of entertaining her in a reel.

Amelia was already tired of hearing how he’d asked her to dance almost the moment she came around the corner from being presented. She seemed to believe the man was waiting around for her to be launched into society so he could pursue her. It was all Amelia could do not to vomit.

The butler came in with the morning papers. He placed them beside Amelia’s uncle.

Her aunt and cousin cared only to read the gossip column and the political caricatures. Neither lady was interested in politics, but they looked at them so they would be able to discuss the latest ones if they happened to run into a friend on one of their walks in the park or their other excursions into town.

They continued to eat their breakfast as her uncle perused the papers. In a short time, as he turned one of the pages, he choked on the bite of food he’d put into his mouth.

“My goodness, Father, what is wrong?”

One of the footmen stood behind his master’s chair but didn’t seem to know what to do. Amelia hoped her uncle wasn’t suffering from apoplexy.

Eventually he regained control of himself and passed the paper to his wife. “Read this entry.” He repeatedly poked his fat index finger onto the page.

Reading the section he pointed out, Amelia’s aunt said, “Oh my. What effect do you think this will have on the duke’s reputation?”

“Let me see that.” Susan snatched the paper from her mother’s hand. Her eyes scanned the text. “Oh no. This is awful. I don’t want to give up the duke, but can he recover from this? It’s clearly referring to him.”

Amelia was sure her cousin needn’t worry about giving up someone who had no interest in her, but she wanted to read whatever they were speaking of. “May I see it?”

“You may as well. Aren’t we supposed to visit his sisters today to see how their presentation went? I’m sure they will see this and be unhappy.” Susan shoved the paper toward Amelia.

It was a blind item in one of the gossip columns:

“What an interesting evening at Queen Charlotte’s presentation ceremony. Among other events that occurred, can the reader guess what peer of the realm made a scene by speaking rudely to a female member of his family? Who then forced another member of his family off the dance floor in the middle of a reel? Does someone need a lesson in protocol? Maybe so since he is new to his position, after all.”

Amelia covered her face with the palms of her hands. Her sympathy for the twins made her want to cry.
They worked so hard, and now this.
How awful! Not only for Saffron and Jonquil, but for the duke as well. Who had he been rude to, and what had made him do such a thing?

“What do you think of your lover now? He can’t seem to follow any of the rules of polite society, can he?” her uncle asked.

“I’ve told you he is
not
my lover. Please stop saying that.”

“I forbid you from going to his house today. There will most likely be people driving by and trying to get a look at them.”

“Uncle, I have promised his sisters I would call to see how their evening went and if they presented themselves well. I can’t fail to appear.”

“Send a note and ask them to meet you at a café.” He picked up his paper as if the conversation were over.

“But Father, I wanted to go over as well and talk to the duke. He
did
ask me to dance the very minute I was able to say yes. He has to have feelings for me. I should be there to comfort him when he’s at his lowest with this gossip in the papers.” Susan paused, then as if struck by inspiration, she went on. “Besides, won’t it be worse in a café? The whispers behind hands would be more hurtful to the duke’s sisters than for Amelia to visit them in their home.”

Amelia knew in her heart Susan didn’t care one whit for the sisters or their feelings, but if her cousin’s logic helped them receive permission to visit the duke’s home, Amelia would keep her mouth shut.

Susan’s father looked at her over the top edge of the paper. “Fine. I see your point. But come back quickly. There’s no need to stay all day.”

“Hurry up then, Amelia. I’ll have the carriage brought around.” Susan stood in a hurry as if afraid her father would change his mind.

Following suit for the same reason, Amelia put her napkin down and rose. On her way out of the room, she didn’t look back, afraid the permission to go would be revoked.

They quickly made their way to the carriage, and before she knew it, they had arrived at the duke’s townhouse.

Susan practically leapt from the conveyance and headed to the front door. It opened before she could knock.

Saffron ran past Susan and almost knocked Amelia down as she grabbed her in a tight hug. “Oh, Amelia, I didn’t think you’d ever get here. It’s so awful. Awful.”

“What happened?” Amelia asked. “All I know is what the papers said. I can’t believe the duke would behave in such a manner.”

“Come inside. No need to let all our business out in the street,” Jonquil said as she arrived beside her distraught sister.

Once they were in the parlor, Susan said, “Where’s the duke? I’d like to speak to him, offer him my respects.”

“He’s not coming out of his study. He’s been there since we arrived home last night. Swinton says we must leave him alone.” Saffron paced the room. “Amelia, what shall we do?”

“Please sit. You’re making my head sick with all your dashing about.” Amelia needed the girl to be still and focus on her story so she could understand what had happened.

Saffron sat on the stool near Amelia’s seat. “All right. I’ll try.”

“Let’s start at the beginning, and then you can tell me what went wrong. How’s that?” Amelia asked.

“The presentation went fine. Neither of us embarrassed the family name like Basil said we would. Who knew it would be him who would make the papers, huh?” Jonquil said.

“I’m going for a walk in the back gardens,” Susan said as she left the room.

Amelia had no doubt her cousin was going to see if she could find the duke, but that wasn’t her concern right then. She was terribly worried about the two girls.
They seem so upset.
The fact that Saffron was more upset than Jonquil surprised her as she’d always thought of Jonquil as the more sensitive of the two
.

“And when did things seem to go wrong?” Amelia wished anew that she’d been able to attend. Why she thought she could have made a difference was beyond her, but she thought maybe she could have at least tried to help the duke keep his temper.

“The first thing that happened was Aunt Caroline came over to yell at him about how she should’ve been our sponsor,” Jonquil said.

“That doesn’t seem too bad. What happened that the papers put out that he was rude? I presume that was the family member they referred to, right?”

“Yes. It was. He called her an old crone and told her she was no longer a member of the family,” Saffron said. “That would’ve been fine for him to do, but he should’ve called on her before the ball to tell her the news, not wait for her to accost him in public. He said it in front of the Duke of Clarence. I thought the man was going to choke on his own tongue. He made the most terrible sound in his throat.”

“Let me ask you something. Promise me not to be offended,” Amelia said.

“How can we promise such a thing if we don’t know what you’re going to ask and you already know it must be offensive if you’re requesting we not be offended?” Jonquil asked.

“Fair enough. I’ll just ask it.”

“Go ahead.” Saffron nodded her encouragement.

“You’ve both told me this aunt was cruel to you as children, remember?”

They both nodded.

“I’m sure she was the same to the duke as well as your older brother. Is that true?”

“We don’t know. They’re a little over ten years older than us. We went there to stay sometimes when our parents traveled, but we don’t know what she did to them,” Jonquil said.

“Most people who are cruel to some people under their control are cruel to all under their control. If I had any coin to wager, I’d bet your brother had the same experiences you did. Think about that for a while and then tell me whether you think he should’ve gone to see your aunt on his own.”

The sisters glanced at each other then focused back on Amelia. Saffron was the first to speak. “You’re right. We shouldn’t blame him for that. He’s braver than us, and we still wouldn’t want him around her alone.”

Amelia smiled, glad they understood what she meant. She knew if she could make the break with her family, she would do so and never look back. She would never, ever be alone with any of them again. “What happened after that?”

“We all danced. Augusta’s brothers and husband accompanied us in some of the dances. Then, for some reason, Basil asked your cousin to dance.” Jonquil shook her head so hard her curls smacked her neck. “That’s one big mystery there. He cannot abide her—sorry, but it’s true—and there he was, asking her to dance.”

“I agree. I wish he’d not asked her. She has it in her head that he is going to court her now.” Amelia wished she could call the words back as soon as she said them.
I should not have shared that information.

“She’s going to be disappointed. I’m sure of it.” Saffron tried to smile, but her lips wavered a bit. “But this is when it got worse.”

“What happened then?”

“Remember the man we met in the café? Mr. Longthorne?” Jonquil asked.

“Yes.” Amelia knew the duke didn’t like the man for some reason. He made it abundantly clear that day at the café.

“I was dancing with him and having a grand time. Before I knew what was happening, Basil jerked my arm and dragged me off the dance floor.” Tears streamed down Saffron’s face. “Mr. Longthorne is kind and handsome and was the first man to ask me to dance besides my brother and Augusta’s brother. It made me feel like I wasn’t a wallflower.

“Oh my dear, you will have plenty of chances to dance with young men not related to you or your sponsor. It’s only a matter of time. Neither you nor Jonquil need worry about dance partners or being wallflowers. You’re both beautiful.”

“And have nice dowries?” Jonquil said.

“That’s not all men look for.” Amelia knew her words were a lie as she said them.
Only an idiot would think fortune and family name aren’t important in the marriage market.
She knew better than anyone what the lack of a fortune and name could mean for a young lady.

“Maybe not, but I quite like Mr. Longthorne and am not sure I can forgive Basil for doing what he did. I’m sure the man will give me the cut direct now. I can’t bear it.” Saffron burst into tears.

Taking hold of both of Saffron’s hands in her own, Amelia said, “You can’t form an attachment so quickly. It seems as if you shared only part of one dance, and that is not enough time to make much of an acquaintance, especially in a reel. There will be plenty of opportunities to chat with young men and dance and to form a real and true attachment.”

“I was attracted to him that day at the café, and dancing with him made me even more certain of the attraction,” Saffron said through her sobs. “And how can you understand? Have you ever been fond of a man?”

Amelia’s station in life did not afford her the same opportunities to form those attachments, so she had to let Saffron’s comment pass and concede maybe she didn’t have any idea what she was talking about. “You’re right. I have no business giving you advice on the opposite sex. All I can say is I’m sorry this happened to you, and I hope you will somehow be able to forgive your brother. One thing I do know is that he has your best interests at heart. He’s your guardian and is trying to do what he can to make sure you are not used poorly by any man.”

“He’s not a very good guardian. All he does is fuss at us and not let us do what we want. Before our parents and Roger died, he was always up for fun and enjoyed pranks, but now he only likes his ledgers and boxing. I’m sure he will be glad to be rid of us when we find husbands.” Saffron stood. “I’m going to my room.”

“Please don’t go. I know your brother may be different than before, but think about what happened. He wasn’t the heir and had a lot of freedom because of that. I’m very sure he’s doing the best he can under hard circumstances.” Amelia stood as well to try to stop the girl from leaving.

“And that is exactly the point my sister is trying to make, Amelia. Basil is resentful that he now is responsible for us. It
is
hard circumstances for him, and we’re both determined to marry the first men who ask us so we can give him back his life. We love him that much, so it’s best to let us alone to make our way to that goal. The sooner we’re married off, the sooner he can be himself again.”

With those words, Jonquil followed her sister out of the room.