Page 39 of Courting the Duke (Reimagined Regency #2)

Serena had a skip in her step the following morning.

After their encounter in the garden, Hoxton had left her at her bedroom door with a heated kiss.

Their talk had opened her eyes to his concerns over her opinion of him and his dreams. While she wanted to reassure him, she had sensed he didn’t want to pursue the matter. In time, she hoped that would change.

His manservant had informed her maid that Hoxton had gone downstairs to the breakfast room, and she walked inside, eager to see him seated in his favorite chair.

He had asked her to travel with him to London that afternoon.

Imogene had tasked him to retrieve Lady Daisy and the twins home from their sister’s house in London since Lady Diana was in residence.

Serena suspected he’d volunteered to avoid his grandmother and to save her from more torture, which she was grateful for.

Her footsteps faltered. Lady Imogene hadn’t yet arrived, and the room was occupied by the one person she didn’t want to see.

Lady Diana glanced up from her tea and spied Serena. With a glacial look that could freeze a person in their tracks, she glanced back down at the Times laid out on the table. The elderly woman’s eyes did not move as she stared at the newsprint. She was pretending Serena wasn’t even there.

Serena prayed for patience.

The maid on duty gave her a smile and a quick curtsy. “Good morning, Your Grace,” she said.

Lady Diana harrumphed under her breath.

“Good morning.” Serena sat down, humiliation washing over her in waves. There was no getting around the fact that her grandmother-in-law disliked her. No doubt Aunt Agatha had spread her poison paint and colored Serena in an unpleasant light.

Tears pushing at the back of her eyes, she pulled over a porcelain teacup and poured herself some tea from the pot.

Sunlight streamed in from outside, the garden beyond a vivid green.

Just shy of her vision and a short walk away was the folly where she and Hoxton had their rendezvous.

She blushed when simply thinking about what transpired there.

Had anyone told her he would please her with his mouth in such a manner, she would have been shocked.

The fact that she had reciprocated was even more shocking in a delicious sort of way.

Thinking such illicit thoughts about her husband bolstered her spirits once more.

Since marrying him, her future no longer looked bleak, but full of promise.

She poured some milk into her tea, adding a lump of brown sugar.

There wasn’t much she could do about Lady Diana’s discord except pretend to ignore it.

Although it would wound her pride, she’d developed a thick skin over the years.

From the hostile manner in which Lady Diana continued to behave, not thick enough. Serena couldn’t wait to travel to London and remove herself from the woman’s sour disposition.

Serena’s spoon, stirring the cream tinted brew, broke the tension.

Another maid entered, carrying a silver tray with several pieces of correspondence on it.

She slid it next to Serena. With a nod of thanks, Serena lifted the first of many invitations.

When she’d accepted Hoxton’s offer, she hadn’t truly thought past her answer.

As the new duchess, she would be expected to attend society functions.

She scratched at her neck, sure she was about to break out in hives at the thought of being the center of attention.

Serena nearly dropped the invitation after she saw the royal crest and jerked her arm, inadvertently hitting the spoon on her saucer. It clanged loudly, and tea spilled into the saucer before the spoon tumbled to the floor.

“Egad,” Lady Diana said, her thin hand moving to her chest. “Are you trying to frighten me to death?”

“Beg pardon, your grace,” Serena said, horrified by her clumsiness. She snatched the spoon from the floor and settled it on the table while waving the approaching maid away. “Hoxton and I just received an invitation from Her Majesty, Queen Charlotte, to attend her at court.”

“One of many invitations, I see.” She eyed the tray with a critical eye.

Serena was heartened that the woman chose to converse with her. With a nod, she lifted the stack and read off the names of two earls, a baron, and several prominent landowning families. She bit out a hysterical laugh, overwhelmed by it all. “How would we ever attend every single function?”

“You seem pleased.” Lady Diana adjusted her jaw, the chilliness back in play. “Of course you are pleased. It is what you wanted all along, isn’t it?”

Serena startled at the vehemence in her tone. “Beg pardon?”

“Don’t play innocent with me. You might have my grandson fooled, but I know the truth.” Fury blazed in her eyes, and color dotted her cheeks. “You tricked him into marrying you. Admit it.”

The maid gasped at the older woman before she slapped a hand over her mouth.

“I did no such thing!” Serena willed her legs to stop shaking, confusion warring with hurt. She should have known her aunt would spread vicious rumors about her. “My Uncle Charles forced me to marry him. Ask him yourself.”

“I don’t need to ask Lord Charles. Lady Agatha told me about you and Blackstone planning this all along. Do you deny it?” Her color high, she leaned against the table, her sharp gaze pinning Serena to her seat.

Pulse pounding in her ears, Serena tried to make her stunned mind think of a suitable response.

Fury mingled with hurt, and she forced herself to speak.

“Of course I deny it. My aunt is spreading rumors about me because she is angry that Roxanne and Hoxton didn’t marry.

Roxanne refused Hoxton’s offer of marriage, so the point is moot. ”

“Roxanne is easily manipulated, and by all accounts, you are a clever girl.” Lady Diana wasn’t to be dissuaded. “She turned him down after you and Hoxton were found in the cellar. That excuse doesn’t hold water.”

Serena clenched and unclenched her fists. If the old woman wasn’t Hoxton’s grandmother, Serena would have her removed from the house. As it was, she didn’t have to sit here and take her abuse. “No matter what I say, you won’t believe me. Therefore, this conversation is at an end.”

Rising from the table, she turned on her heel and fought the blurriness in her eyes from tears.

“Come back here, girl. We are not done.” Lady Diana issued the warning in a commanding voice that brooked no disobedience.

“We are—” Serena stopped in mid-stride when Hoxton entered. She blinked back the tears while fighting the urge to throw herself into his arms. The situation was unbearable, and she must escape before she did something foolish, like break down.

Brow furrowed, he glanced from her to his grandmother. “I heard raised voices. What is happening in here?”

“Your grandmother has accused me of conspiring with Blackstone to trick you into marriage.” Serena kept her back to Lady Diana, unable to look at the woman without saying something she’d regret. She must keep the peace for his sake.

“I told you I would handle this,” Hoxton said, glaring at his grandmother.

A chill ran through her, raising tiny bumps over every inch of her skin as the implication of his words cut into her. “You believe her? You believe them?” She didn’t need to spell out who else she referred to. They both knew Lady Agatha had a part to play in the lie.

“I don’t know what to believe.” He ran a hand through his windswept hair and settled his palm on the back of his neck. Guilt hardened his features, and he glanced down at his feet. “We have already discussed Blackstone’s alleged alternative motives, and you agreed that his behavior was suspicious.”

“Blackstone’s was, yes.” She shook her head, backing away from him, and nearly collided with the table.

Everything she thought she knew faded in that instance.

The tears fell against her will, and her heart thundered in her chest. “You honestly think that I would be in cahoots with Blackstone to trick you when you were in the room when my uncle gave me that ultimatum?”

“I was and I—” Hoxton swallowed visibly, clearly torn over the matter.

“Like Roxanne, Your Uncle Charles is a fool,” Lady Diana said. “There is a simple solution. Talk to Blackstone.”

Once again, they would believe Blackstone because he was a man. Knees weak, she wanted to run from the room, but her feet were leaden.

“Stay out of this, Grandmother,” Hoxton said with such a commanding air that the woman merely nodded. He strode to Serena’s side and took her hand. “Let’s find somewhere private to talk.”

She shook her head, her heart broken. “No, there is nothing to talk about. You are accusing me of something so vile, so insulting, I… how could you be so cruel?”

“Serena, please come with me to London, and we can talk on the way.” Hoxton’s alarmed expression grew in the face of her outrage.

He thought he could accuse her of being the worst sort of deceiver and then placate her with sweet words?

Fury worked its way throughout her entire being.

She stormed from the room, unable to stomach facing Lady Diana, who watched them with a critical eye.

“No, I am done talking, nor am I in the mood to travel to London with you.”

“Then I will postpone my trip.”

“You promised Imogene you would fetch the girls.” Arms crossed, she glared at him.

“You must go. As a matter of fact, I insist you go to the city and find Blackstone and ask him outright.” She couldn’t let him touch her or dissuade her from her course of action.

The carefully constructed world she’d built had crumbled the moment she walked into Hoxton House for the first time, and all because of him.

“If you say you are innocent, I believe you.” Hoxton rocked from foot to foot, his agitation high.

“It is too late.” She clenched her fists, her fingers digging into her palm.

The pain grounded her mind and reflected the chills that rushed through her body.

They settled into her heart, and she gritted her teeth.

“The damage is already done. That you could, even for a second, think I would be that devious says more about you than about me.”

“Serena, please listen to me, I—” Hoxton dragged his fingers through his hair, one palm resting on his hip. Last night, he had wooed her with teasing words, and today he insulted her without hearing her side of the story. “I didn’t accuse you lightly.”

“You ‘didn’t accuse me lightly’?” Bitter laughter spilled from her lips, a lump forming in her throat.

“Apparently, my word isn’t good enough for you.

Well, I am done listening. If you want to prove my innocence, go to Blackstone while you are in London and ask him.

Apparently, his word is the only one that matters.

” Tears blinded her as she rushed down the hallway.

Betrayal hit her hard, and she staggered, noisy, indelicate sobs ripping from her body.

She veered away from the stairs and darted into the music room.

Heart breaking, she locked the door. Horror rolled over her in waves, and she blindly stumbled to the pianoforte and settled on the bench.

Tears coursed down her cheeks and fell onto the ivory keys.

The music flowed from her fingertips, each chord a mournful representation of her anguish.

She loved him, yet he thought the worst of her.

Once she was done crying, she’d leave the house and never look back.

Except she was the Duchess of Hoxton and would be forever tied to him, a man who believed her capable of deception.