Page 46 of Courting the Duke (Reimagined Regency #2)
“Thank you, Lady Diana.” Serena offered his grandmother a grateful smile before she turned back to Lady Agatha.
Her knees were weak and her stomach churned with nervous bile, yet she stood her ground.
“I think Aunt needs to know what she is up against. I am no longer a companion or an unpaid servant.”
“ You may not be.” A malicious gleam entered her aunt’s eyes. For far too long, she had been manipulating everyone around her because of her status. “Your brother has coveted that vicarage since he was a lad of ten. Would you deny him his greatest wish?”
At one time, the threat to Brandon’s position froze Serena in her tracks.
Where in the past she had been at the mercy of her aunt, she was a duchess.
If she were to retain her dignity, she needed to embrace her power.
“If Uncle revokes his promise to give Brandon the vicarage, I will find a suitable one for him.”
“ My uncle is the archbishop. I am sure we can find Brandon a much grander church in a trice,” Hoxton said with barely concealed contempt.
Serena reached out to squeeze his wrist in thanks. Without his presence, she might not have been able to stand up for herself. No matter what else transpired between them, she was grateful for his support in this.
“I think it’s time for you to acknowledge that you cannot win this argument, Agatha.” Lady Diana spoke in a no-nonsense tone. “You are up against a duke, a duchess, and a dowager duchess. If Serena deems it necessary, your life will become quite difficult indeed.”
The use of her name for the first time gave Serena hope.
“I will not be beholden to her.” Lady Agatha shook her head, her face an unhealthy red. She was working herself into a lather. “She stole Hoxton from Roxanne.”
“I wasn’t hers to take.” Hoxton continued to glower. “What happened was unfortunate, but we all have to live with the consequences of her actions. However, I am in complete alignment with my wife’s wishes and will extend an invitation for Lady Roxanne to stay with us at Hoxton House.”
Roxanne bit her lip, clearly torn. Serena silently wept for her, but only Roxanne could save herself.
“We will be leaving.” Lady Agatha stood again, glaring down her nose defiantly at Lady Diana. “Come, Roxanne. I will not stay here and be insulted anymore.”
“No, Mama,” Roxanne replied, shaking her head. “I will not be leaving.”
Agatha gasped, her hand lifted as if to strike.
“Don’t you dare.” Serena rushed to Roxanne’s side and thrust herself between them. “Touch her and I will ruin you.”
The air between them hung with tension, neither one backing down. Serena would heal from the physical assault, but she wouldn’t survive if she were a coward and didn’t face the woman head-on.
“You are just like your mother.” Lady Agatha lowered her hand, white spittle forming in the corners of her mouth.
“I took her in when her cit of a husband died. Everyone felt sorry for dear, sweet Miranda. Well, she wasn’t dear or sweet.
She took great delight in maligning my character to whomever would listen, and now you think to do the same. ”
The lies dripped like venom from her mouth, each one more outlandish than the last.
“I have no ill will against you that you haven’t earned with your bullying and pettiness toward my mother and father.
” Serena continued to stare her aunt down, her hands clenched.
She was aware that Hoxton had positioned himself close by, in case she needed him to repel a physical assault.
“Roxanne is a dear and gentle soul who doesn’t deserve to be mistreated by you or anyone else. ”
“She is my daughter, and you have no right to interfere in my business.” Lady Agatha stepped backward, her chest heaving from rage.
“Serena might not, but I do.” Lady Diana had climbed to her feet and approached them in the middle of the room. “If you wish to continue to be welcomed in society, you will drop this and be on your way.”
The color drained from Lady Agatha’s face, and she swayed. Hoxton caught her elbow, forever the gentleman, no matter his upset with the woman. She shrugged it off, her hand flying to her mouth, and she ran from the room screaming, “I hate you, I hate you.”
Roxanne placed her face in her hands and began to sob in earnest. Serena made to rush to her side to comfort her, but Lady Diana spoke.
“Daisy, take Roxanne to her room. I will come speak with her after I’ve spoken to Serena and Hoxton,” Lady Diana said in such a gentle tone that Roxanne cried even harder, her words of gratitude barely discernible through her upset.
Daisy led Roxanne out of the room, two young women who were in many ways still girls.
Silence rested heavily in the air seconds after the door closed behind them.
Serena girded herself for the upcoming conversation with Lady Diana.
She exchanged a questioning look with Hoxton, neither sure what the next few minutes would bring.
While she was relieved the unpleasantness with her aunt was over for the time being, she had no doubt her aunt wouldn’t take this lying down for long.
“Thank you for your assistance,” she said to Lady Diana.
“It is I who owes you an apology.” Lady Diana took Serena’s hand in her cooler ones. Blue veins ran under her pale skin. “I am sorry that I was harsh with you and accused you of dastardly deeds without hearing your side of the story.”
“That means a lot to me.” Serena chanced a glance at Hoxton again. While she appreciated the duchess’s apology, she wanted one from Hoxton more. “The rumors were rather believable, thus I can understand your concerns. Roxanne fooled all of us.”
“Indeed, I never suspected,” Hoxton said.
Lady Diana dropped Serena’s hand and leaned on her cane. “I am glad that things have turned out well. I never realized Agatha was such a bitter woman.
“She has a way of hiding it from the world,” Serena said.
“I am glad that you had the forethought to stand up for Lady Roxanne,” Hoxton said.
“I’ll speak to the girl. I am sure she’s distraught, but she is my goddaughter, and I do have influence with Lord Charles. I shall send a note to him apprising him of my side of the story.” With a smile at Serena, she turned on her heel and left the room.
Serena watched her leave, her mind spinning with everything that had happened. The twisting in her stomach had subsided a bit, but she was still anxious and on edge. While she had finally stood up to her aunt, and Roxanne had in her own way, there was still the matter of her marriage.
Hoxton went to the door, and the tears that she had shed earlier returned. He was leaving her, and they were back to where they were yesterday.
He closed the door and turned to look at her, running his hand through his hair. His tan coat pulled at his shoulders, the movement exposing his waistcoat. “I am glad that’s all over.”
“It was very unpleasant.” Serena went to the sideboard and poured herself a glass of sherry. Her nerves were rattled, and she needed something to calm herself. “Would you like a glass?”
“Yes.” He walked up behind her, the heat of his body infiltrating her thin gown. He settled a hand on her shoulder while she poured the second glass. “When Daisy told me what happened, I was speechless.”
“Then you had the same reaction.” Serena wanted to lean back into him, but there was still the matter of their own dispute.
As yet, he had not apologized to her, and even if he did, she wasn’t sure if she could forget the insult.
Lifting the sherry glass, she wanted to down the contents, but settled on several sips.
“I have been familiar with Roxanne her entire life, and although sometimes she shows a bit of defiance, I had never anticipated that she would come up with such a complicated scheme.”
Turning, she handed him the glass, their fingers brushing.
“I beg to differ. I think it was a very simple scheme.” He chuckled, the sound floating around her in a comforting cloud. “All she had to do was make it look like Blackstone closed the door and then tell her mother the truth about you and me being trapped in the cellar.”
“If it wasn’t us that she fooled, I would be very impressed with what she did.” Serena was torn about her cousin’s actions and about her own feelings toward Hoxton. “While it was underhanded and caused her great angst, the end result was more than she could ever imagine.”
He drank half his glass and lowered it. Brow furrowed, he began to pace. “I have yet to apologize to you properly. You are correct in being angry with me, and if you still are, I understand. I should have asked you outright, but, well, I have no excuse.”
Her unease returned, and she said nothing for a moment. “You had a perfect excuse, you didn’t trust me.”
He snapped his head up and shook it. “That’s not true. I have come to trust you a great deal. As a matter of fact, I trust you more than I’ve trusted anyone since my uncle.”
“Although I think you think that is true, it’s not the case.” She needed to be honest with him, no matter how painful it was. “I understand you have things in your past you don’t want to talk about, such as your dreams, and I understand they’re traumatic. But when you shut me out, it hurts.”
Saddened eyes met hers. “I don’t want you to think that. I am sorry, it’s very difficult to talk about it, and even if it weren’t, I hurt you.”
“By not talking to me, you’ve hurt me just as much. While the incident was physical, it wasn’t intentional. Shutting me out is intentional.” She finished her sherry and rolled the crystal between her fingers.
He resumed his pacing. “It’s not as simple as you think.”
She read the anguish in his expression and the wild look in his eyes. Mulligan did warn her that getting Hoxton to open up would take time and patience. An idea formed, and she set her glass down. He wasn’t in his element here. “I would like to see the hatchling. Will you come with me?”
The pacing stopped, and he nodded. “I would like that.”
While she had more healing to do before true forgiveness could happen, she wanted to mend fences with him. Either her plan would work or she’d be back to square one. Whichever way, she must try.