Page 25 of Always the Bridesmaid, Never the Duchess (Wallflower Season #3)
Chapter Fifteen
“ Y ou!” Kate leaped from her chair. She pointed her finger at Harry and said, “You ruined my brother’s reputation and destroyed his engagement to Julia.”
Harry scowled and shrugged one shoulder. “And what if I did? If Julia had truly cared for your brother, she would have stood by his side. She has revealed her fickle nature with her betrothal to me and her dalliance with Lord Radford. I did your brother a favor.”
Kate felt fury rise in her and her ears grew hot. She tried to speak, but only managed to sputter, “Oh! You… you cad!”
Andrew put a restraining hand on her lest she slap the Earl of Winfield on his smug face. Her fingers itched to do it, but an admonishing look from her grandmother stopped her. She sat back down next to Julia.
Andrew’s face was white with anger. Through clenched teeth, he said, “Cousin, you have not only hurt Lord Pembrooke and Miss Roves, but you also sullied my name with your lies.”
Harry lowered his eyes, and his voice was contrite. “I apologize, Andrew. It was necessary to achieve my goal.”
“Have you no honor?” Kate asked. She turned to Julia. “I shall inform the guests tomorrow that the wedding is canceled. If you prefer, I can wait until you leave and then make the announcement.”
Julia lifted her tear-stained face. “No. Harry is right. If this wedding doesn’t happen, I will be ruined. There will be no chance of marriage, and it will destroy my mother to hear of my dishonor. I shall go through with the wedding.”
Kate drew in her breath with a hiss, shocked by Julia’s announcement. “Julia, we can weather this storm. It may be difficult for a few months, but soon new gossip will remove the focus from you. You are not without prospects.”
Julia laid a hand on Kate’s. “Sweet delusional Kate. You are a dear friend, but you know I’m right.” She stiffened her spine. “I shall marry Harry and if there are any whispers of my indiscretion with Lord Radford, the wedding will soon squash them.”
Harry smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Kate watched him move next to Julia and lay a hand on her shoulder. Julia gave a small flinch, but she didn’t move away. “It’s for the best. Now, I suggest everyone get some rest. Morning will be here soon enough.”
Andrew stepped forward and grabbed his cousin’s arm. “You and I aren’t done, Harry.”
Harry shook off Andrew’s grasp. “It will have to wait. My betrothed is tired, and the Dowager Viscountess looks quite pale. I will escort them both to their rooms.”
Kate leaned toward Julia and whispered, “Julia?”
Julia didn’t look at Kate. She stood and took Harry’s arm. “My Lady?”
Kate’s grandmother stood but ignored Harry’s proffered arm. Her face was grim. “If not for the guests and the scandal it would cause for both Nicholas and Kate, I would throw you out of Renwood, Earl Winfield. You have besmirched my grandson’s name and are unworthy of my family’s hospitality.”
The Dowager Viscountess moved swiftly past Julia and Harry toward the stairway. She turned and said, “Kate, go to bed. I can’t have any more disruptions or midnight mice. It is all too much.”
Kate stood and hurried after her grandmother.
As she passed Andrew, he inclined his head toward the door of her library.
She knew he wished to speak with her in private, but the events of the night had drained her.
She gave a gentle shake of her head and a regretful smile before saying, “Goodnight, Your Grace.”
“Goodnight, Miss Avery.” He said softly.
Julia and Harry followed in her wake, but she didn’t slow her steps.
She couldn’t understand Julia’s decision.
Wouldn’t it be better to remain a spinster than marry a man like Earl Winfield?
Kate felt that she would rather never know a man’s touch than compromise herself so fully that she entered into a marriage with a gambler and a lout like Harry.
Worry for her friend and her future filled her head.
At her grandmother’s door, she leaned down and kissed the old woman on her wrinkled cheek. The smell of lavender, her grandmother’s favorite scent, filled her nose and it brought her a moment’s peace from the turmoil of the evening. “I’m sorry, Grandmama.”
Her grandmother looked at her and reached up and touched her cheek. “You have nothing to be sorry for. Make sure you take care of those mice. It would be a shame if they caused any more problems.” Her eyes twinkled as she spoke, and a moment of understanding passed between them.
“I shall, Grandmama. Good night.”
Her grandmother closed her bedchamber door, and Kate returned to her own.
Sally had long since retired, and Kate didn’t want the servants to gossip about the late-night antics.
She slipped her gown off and pulled on her nightclothes.
Blowing out her bedside candle, she closed her eyes.
It was a long time before she finally drifted off into a troubled sleep.
Renwood Castle was quiet. Andrew had watched everyone climb the stairs to retire to their respective bedchambers.
He was too angry with Harry and frustrated from his interrupted moment with Kate to sleep.
He walked to the side table and poured himself a brandy.
The fire had died down and he gazed at it pensively.
He knew he should be shocked by Harry’s betrayal and his insistence that Julia continue with the wedding, but if he were honest with himself, he knew his cousin’s character.
As a child, Harry always wanted what another child had.
He would steal toys and then sob uncontrollably if Andrew protested.
The nanny would punish Andrew for not sharing.
What did surprise Andrew was that Harry had been so deep into debt from gambling to Lord Radford.
Like others in the ton, Andrew enjoyed an occasional visit to the gambling halls, but he was mindful of his inheritance and wouldn’t squander it over a game of cards.
Cleary, Harry didn’t care. Andrew had heard rumors, but he had always dismissed them.
How deep in debt was Harry and how soon before his cousin lost everything?
Andrew sipped his brandy. He picked up an iron poker and stirred the fire.
The servants would awaken soon, and if the wedding were to go forward as planned, he and Kate would have a busy day with the planned festivities.
Kate. He was surprised at how filled with jealousy he became at the thought that she had been visiting Lord Radford’s bedchamber.
He shook his head. He had no claim on her.
They had agreed to a dalliance, nothing more.
Yet the way she trembled with pleasure when he kissed her caused a fire in his loins that he needed to quench.
He knew one night with a wallflower like Kate would quell his desire.
If only they didn’t keep getting interrupted.
With a sigh, he swallowed the last of his drink and set the glass on the hearth. He needed to sleep and clear his head for the coming day. Gossip would be on every tongue, and he would be busy trying to stop it.
Upstairs in his bedchamber, Andrew slipped into the bed.
The sheets felt cool against his bare chest. He stared up at the canopy.
His nerves were still too taut to sleep.
With a sigh, he blew out the candle by his bedside.
It was a long time before he fell asleep.
His dreams were filled with images of a rosy-cheeked Kate laughing and falling into his arms, her lips eager to taste his kiss.
In the morning, Kate rose earlier than she thought she would, given the late night.
After Sally helped her dress and pull her hair into a becoming knot at the nape of her neck, she left to go downstairs to breakfast. Outside of Julia’s door, she hesitated.
Steeling herself, she knocked on the door.
She waited a moment, and when there was no answer, she knocked again.
“Julia? Are you awake?” Kate’s voice was low as she didn’t wish to wake any other guests. Julia didn’t respond and finally, Kate gave up and continued downstairs. Mr. Scoville stood at the foot of the stairs. He supervised one of the housemaids as the girl polished the large mirror in the hallway.
“Good morning, Mr. Scoville. Are many of the guests awake?” Kate asked.
“I believe Her Grace is in the dining room, but most guests remain in bed. Perhaps everyone is tired from the previous evening’s activities.” Mr. Scoville’s face remained stoic.
Kate cut her eyes away from his. Mr. Scoville was discreet and her most trustworthy servant. She had nothing to fear from him, and she knew he would stop any gossip amongst the servants. “Has Lord Radford departed?”
“Yes, m’lady. He left before the sun was up.”
Kate nodded. At least that was one less person for her to concern herself with today. She turned to go to the dining room, but then she hesitated. “Mr. Scoville, if you see my brother, could you tell him I wish to speak with him?”
“Very good.” Mr. Scoville inclined his head.
Kate didn’t hurry to the dining room. She was leery of speaking with the Dowager Duchess after her cutting remarks last night. She had been quick to threaten Kate with dishonor, and it left Kate feeling disgruntled with the older woman.
The Dowager Duchess looked up when Kate entered the room. She had been buttering a piece of bread, but she put down her knife and motioned for Kate to join her.
“Good morning, Miss Avery. I’m surprised to see you up so early after last night.”
Kate sat down and allowed the maid to pour her a cup of tea before speaking. “I felt it best to be present when guests awoke. Quell any gossip before it has a chance to spread. It would never do to have the wedding disrupted tomorrow.”
The Dowager Duchess had been picking up her tea to take a sip, but she set the cup down with a clatter causing the tea to spill.
A maid rushed forward to clean it, but a stern look from the dowager stopped the girl in her tracks.
“Leave it” She glowered at Kate. “You mean Harry intends to go forward with this sham?”
“Apparently. As a matter of fact, he insisted.” Kate set down her tea.
She would not be intimidated by this woman.
“It seems the Earl of Winfield was the source of the rumor about my brother. It was all a fabrication so that he could step in and marry Miss Styles himself. It would be a shame if people learned of his machinations, wouldn’t you agree? ”
The Dowager Duchess made a disapproving noise and motioned for the maid to remove her cup.
“Bring me a fresh cup and a new pot of tea. This one was tepid at best.” After the maid scurried away, the teacup rattling in its saucer in her haste to be gone, the Dowager Duchess leaned forward.
“It appears that we have no choice but to move forward as if nothing has occurred. I shall rely on your discretion.”
“And I on yours,” Kate said, masking a smile by lifting her teacup to her lips.
At least she had managed to stop one bit of gossip from making its way forward.
Hopefully, the other guests in the nearby rooms hadn’t been privy to the events.
Kate could only hope most were sound sleepers.
Lady Uxbridge would need to be placated with a reasonable story, but Kate felt confident that at least the Dowager Duchess would help her in that regard.
Kate relaxed, but when the Dowager Duchess rapped her cane on the floor, she looked up with a start.
The woman was watching her and for a moment, Kate felt like a butterfly pinned in place by a lepidopterist. That cane really was intimidating.
Between her disapproving harrumphs and her cane, the Dowager Duchess was a formidable woman.
“What were you and my grandson doing in the hallway last night?”
Kate started to speak, but the Dowager Duchess interrupted her before she could form a suitable response.
“I don’t want any more nonsense about a mouse.
” Her expression was shrewd. “I’ve watched you, Miss Avery, and you are no shrinking violet cowering from vermin and eight-legged beasties.
I want to know what you were doing with my grandson. ”
“We happened upon each other by chance. It was a mere coincidence.” Kate lifted her chin. She could be formidable herself if the need arose. “In the dim candlelight, it must be hard to see. And I understand you were quite tired. Perhaps your eyes deceived you.”
The Dowager Duchess barked out a laugh. “Well done, Miss Avery. Stop any rumors about inappropriate behavior in their tracks. That will do quite nicely. I would hate for your reputation to be sullied. You are a vivacious and bright woman. An excellent counterpart to Andrew.” Her look grew cunning.
“I think my grandson has grown fond of his friendship with you.”
Kate blushed. “I’ve enjoyed planning the wedding with His Grace.”
Before the Dowager Duchess could respond, Julia waltzed in with the DeClancy sisters.
She wore a gown of azure blue with cream-colored lace at the cuffs and neckline.
Her hair was as well-coifed as always, but her face was pale, and her eyes had dark circles.
Her smile was forced, but Julia seemed determined to put on a happy face.
“Good morning, Miss Avery.” Julia nodded to Kate before turning to the Dowager Duchess. “Good morning, Your Grace. I hope you slept well.”
The Dowager Duchess’s lips tightened. “Well enough considering the circumstances. Miss Avery, I believe I shall take a walk around the grounds. I find the morning air bracing and a good way to stave off any illness. If you see my grandson, please have him join me.”
“Yes, Your Grace,” Kate said.
As the Dowager Duchess walked by Julia and the DeClancy sisters, she lifted her nose in the air, not bothering to speak to them.
The message was clear. She was not happy with the outcome of the previous evening’s events.
Words could cut, but actions wounded to the bone.
Kate didn’t blame the dowager for her disapproval.
Not only had the entire weekend become a charade and a lie, but Kate’s secret tryst with Andrew had also been interrupted. What else could go wrong?