Page 16 of A Duke to Restore her Memory

“Where are you going?” Lady Lydia took a quick step, blocking Christina’s entrance to the parlour in a very rude way. “What do you think you are doing?”

Christina took a deep breath. “Lady Frances invited me to afternoon tea,” she said tremulously, feeling hurt. “I have been invited to the parlour, My Lady.”

There was an awkward, painful silence as Lydia looked her up and down insolently. Christina took another deep breath.

“So,” said Lydia, with an unpleasant smile. “You have been told to keep your hands off the family business … so now you are turning your attention to my dearest, oldest friend? Do you want to get your grubby mitts on her, as well?”

Christina flushed hard. “I do not know what you mean, My Lady,” she said in a low voice, feeling like she was about to burst into tears. “Lady Frances invited me to afternoon tea, not the other way around. Why are you being so hostile towards me?”

The lady’s nostrils flared. But before she could respond, Lady Frances appeared, a slight furrow in her brow.

“What is happening?” She turned to Lydia. “I invited Georgina for tea, Lydia. Just tea. There really is no need to overreact.” She gave her a dazzling smile. “Come and join us.”

After another awkward pause. Lydia smiled tightly, then nodded. They all turned and walked into the parlour, where the tea service was already laid out – hot scones with jam and cream, cucumber sandwiches, seed cake, and a steaming pot of tea.

They sat down, and Lady Frances poured the tea, handing the cups around. Christina tried not to look at Lydia, perched on the edge of an upholstered chair, with an odd look on her face, as if a bad smell had just wafted under her nose.

Now I know why the duke dismissed me from helping him with the ledgers so coldly. I suspected it anyway. His sister put her foot down and told him not to let me do it anymore. She truly despises me. But I already knew that, as well.

“The tea is a bit cold,” announced Lydia suddenly, looking offended. “I am going to the kitchen to talk to Mrs Sollock. I will be back directly.”

She got up, striding out of the room with a determined expression. Christina bit her lip as Frances sighed heavily, picking up a cucumber sandwich and nibbling on it before placing it back on her plate.

“I apologize on behalf of Lydia,” she said quietly. “She is the most loyal person in the world, and once she loves you, she will love you forever … but she can be rather suspicious and prickly towards people she does not know.”

Christina shrugged, feeling mortified. “I am sorry. I did not mean to cause you any distress. Perhaps I should leave …”

“No, do not leave,” interjected Frances. “Lydia will just have to get used to the fact that I like you and want to spend time with you. That is all.”

Christina softened, smiling at the lady. Frances was so lovely, and an unlikely friendship had sprung up between them, but she didn’t know if she could endure Lady Lydia’s wrath. It was most unpleasant.

“I notice that you have been spending a lot of time with the duke,” continued Frances, her green eyes gleaming with mirth and a small, wicked smile. “Do I detect that you admire him?”

Christina blushed fiercely. “I … I do like him a lot,” she admitted. “He is so very handsome, commanding, and kind.” She shrugged, feeling self-conscious. “But I do realize that it is impossible, of course. He is a duke, and I am … well, I have no idea who I am at all.”

“I think you are a lady,” stated Frances firmly. “You are so refined and talk so well, Georgina, that it seems impossible to think otherwise …”

Her voice faded away as Lydia marched back into the room, followed by Mrs Sollock, with a fresh pot of tea. Lydia took her seat again, glaring at Christina. The housekeeper left the room, following which, there was another strained silence.

“You should have declined this invitation,” she stated in a flat, cold voice. “A woman of questionable rank, who is most likely a commoner, should not be having tea like this with the daughter of a viscount. It is most improper.”

“I invited Georgina to tea, Lydia,” said Frances patiently. “You know that. Why are you persisting with this?”

But Lydia ignored her entirely, not even acknowledging that she had spoken, keeping her eyes firmly on Christina, whose flush had deepened with humiliation at the cold contempt of the lady.

She hesitated, wanting desperately to flee the room. She had been looking forward to having tea with Lady Frances – the interaction was going to be the highlight of her day.

It had been especially important to her since the duke’s snub. Once again, she felt like bursting into noisy tears. This was intolerable.

But then, as Lydia kept glaring at her, a wave of anger rolled over her. She raised her chin, returning the lady’s glare with steel in her gaze.

“You are being exceedingly rude,” she scolded, ice in her voice. “A true lady is polite and gracious to her guests, regardless of their station. It seems odd to me that you are unaware of that, My Lady.”

There was a shocked silence, and Lydia looked affronted. Frances gasped, looking at the ground. But Christina kept staring at the lady, refusing to drop her eyes and back down.

“How dare you,” spluttered Lydia, shaking her head incredulously. “How dare you lecture me on how to behave towards guests in my own home! Who do you think you are?”

“Clearly, I do not know who I am,” shot back Christina with some heat. “But I do know what is required of a lady in her home … as to how I know it, I really have no idea.” She exhaled slowly. “You should be ashamed of yourself!”

Lydia gasped, standing up, her hands balling into fists at her side. “What … what did you just say to me?”

Slowly, Christina stood up as well, refusing to break her gaze. Her heart was thumping uncomfortably, and she felt slightly sick at the unpleasant confrontation, but something stronger had stirred to life inside her that refused to be cowed by this rude woman.

She knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that she was speaking the truth, although she had no idea how she knew that she did. A lady of any calibre should never make her guests feel inferior or unwelcome.

She felt it had been drummed into her from when she was a small child, even though she couldn’t recall who had told her or when. That was entirely beyond her.

“It is gauche to make a guest feel unwelcome in one’s home,” Christina said in an icy voice, arching her eyebrows. “It is a sign of ill-breeding. You really should know better, My Lady.”

“You are insolent!” huffed Lydia, looking affronted. She had turned pale, and her eyes were glittering dangerously. “I never invited you to stay in my home, and nor did my brother! You simply barged your way in here by virtue of falling down a mine shaft.” She took a deep, shuddering breath. “And the jury is still out on whether you did it deliberately or not.”

“What are you insinuating?” Christina couldn’t believe what the lady was saying. “Are you saying that you think I pretended to be injured just so the duke would offer his services to me and take me into his home?”

“Perhaps you did,” replied Lydia, in a voice filled with contempt. “How would I know? I have never seen you before in my life! You may have staged the whole thing to gain entry to Newquay Hall and create all manner of mischief.” She paused. “You could be lying about losing your memory entirely. You might know exactly who you are and where you have come from.”

They had edged closer to each other as they fought and were now standing mere inches away from each other. Christina’s heart flipped over in her chest in distress. This was truly dreadful.

A part of her wanted to end this conflict now and back down, telling the lady that she had been wrong to challenge her in such a way.

But another, more obstinate part of her refused to do any such thing. Lydia had been spoiling for this fight since the beginning. The lady had been dismissive, rude, and unpleasant towards her. She had made the duke not like her anymore. She was trying to make Frances dislike her, too.

But that wasn’t the end of what Lydia was trying to do. Now, the lady was trying to discredit her entirely by claiming that Christina was a fraud, that she had set up the entire thing as a way to gain entry to Newquay Hall to … cause mischief.

She still had no idea what Lydia thought she was trying to do here, but whatever it was, it wasn’t good.

She was hurt. No matter what she did, she couldn’t win Lydia’s approval. The lady had decided to distrust her right from the very start. And there was nothing she could do to convince her that she was wrong about her.

“I am not a liar,” insisted Christina, in a low, angry voice. “I am not lying about losing my memory. I fell into that mine shaft and hit my head badly.” She drew a deep breath, her eyes glittering with angry tears. “That is the truth of it, My Lady. I never asked his grace to bring me here to recover. He did that of his own volition … and I am truly grateful for his generosity and hospitality. What more do you want from me?”

“That is enough, Lydia,” said Frances, who had sprung to her feet and gingerly approached them. “This unpleasantness must stop. Let us sit down and have our tea in a civilized manner – before we all say something that we might regret.”

An uncomfortable silence, filled with anger, descended upon the room. Christina could barely breathe. Lydia glared at her, but she turned away, walking back to her seat, picking up her cup of tea and sipping it slowly, staring frostily ahead.

Christina hesitated, biting her lip. After what had happened, she didn’t want to sit down, sip tea, and nibble on cucumber sandwiches. She wanted to collapse across her bed and never leave the sanctuary of the room again.

Except that it isn’t my bed, nor is it my room. I do not belong here. I am a stranger.

Her eyes filled with helpless tears. She wanted to go home to a place where she was welcome … but she had no idea where that was.

She was stuck here, in the lap of luxury, like a fly in amber, despised by the mistress of the house. And the worst of it was she had no other options at all …

Suddenly, there was an almighty rumble, like the loudest thunder Christina had ever heard. Confused, she took a step back, gazing around.

The room walls were shaking – they were warping and twisting in front of her face. Her eyes widened in horror, and a low, distressed moan escaped her lips. What on earth was happening? Was it an earthquake?

Frances, who was seated next to Lydia, cried out in alarm. Lydia had turned deathly pale again, gazing around the room, looking as dazed and confused as Christina felt.

“Oh, dear Lord,” she cried, springing to her feet, gazing around her frantically. “There has been a mine explosion!”