Page 60 of His Illegitimate Duchess

She thought of her husband and tried lifting her eyebrow like he did whenever someone was taking too long to get to the point. Lady Helena narrowed her eyes. Her friend sneezed loudly.

“Back when you used to work as a seamstress at Miss Euphemia’s, did they happen to teach you how to make a silk purse from a sow’s ear?” Lady Helena asked loudly, and several people around them snickered. “Because I was always told that it was impossible.”

The situation reminded Elizabeth of the man who’d called her a whore’s daughter, and then of that night in the cloak room, and then her brother’s vile words. She focused all her strength on taking and releasing breaths because it suddenly became inordinately difficult.

When did breathing become this hard? She thought, confused.

Her chest felt small and narrow and tight, and each time she drew a breath felt like the air was being denied entrance.

And it was hot in the room. Her upper lip was sweaty, as were her gloved hands.

Her dress also felt tighter than earlier.

Lady Helena’s friend sat down next to her, but Elizabeth didn’t even notice.

Lady Helena leaned down and, waving her fan over her mouth, whisper-hissed bitterly, “I cannot believe your brother actually managed to force Duke Talbot to stoop so low as to marry you. We just wanted to humiliate you. He himself instructed me to gather people and catch you two in flagrante delicto .”

“Shut your mouth,” Elinor said bravely, but Lady Helena ignored her completely.

She grabbed Elizabeth’s arm with all her strength. “I am ashamed of you! You are in no way worthy of being his duchess. You yourself witnessed him calling me the perfect lady on several occasions, he was courting me , he was all but engaged to me !”

She appeared deranged. Her beautiful face was contorted in an evil grimace as she (quite literally) spat the words at Elizabeth, who tore her arm away but still said nothing.

We just wanted to humiliate you.

He himself instructed me…

The room was tilting as Elinor took Elizabeth by the hand and pulled her up to her feet. Lizzie let herself be manoeuvred like a marionette. It was easier that way, especially now that the floor felt unsteady.

Elinor used her shoulder to shove Lady Helena to the side as she dragged Lizzie away from her and her friend. They heard affronted gasps behind them, and people who had witnessed parts of the scene stared, but Lizzie was too concerned with how her free arm was dangling to notice.

There has to be something for this arm to do. It’s just swaying there. Isn't that odd? Should I be holding on to something? She thought.

We wanted to humiliate you…

She squeezed her eyes shut.

“Miss Woodhouse,” she heard her husband’s cool voice, then, more warmly, “Elizabeth? What happened?”

“You need to take your wife home. Now,” Elinor replied, more forcefully than Elizabeth had ever heard her speak.

That must be her big sister voice. Lizzie smiled as she imagined Elinor scolding her numerous younger siblings throughout the years.

She felt the cold air on her face as she was being led to the carriage. Elinor sat next to her and stroked her back like Lizzie had done for her earlier in the evening.

Powell doesn’t want a wife. My husband. She said. I don’t know.

Lizzie shook her head to try and perhaps shake the words into meaningful order.

“Lizzie?” Colin asked.

Not Colin. He’s no longer Colin.

Lizzie shook her head again.

“Will someone tell me what happened to my wife?” Talbot exploded angrily, which was a mistake.

Elinor took a deep breath.

“Lady Helena Grey walked up to us and insulted Lizzie, told her one cannot make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.

She then informed us that the two of you simply wanted to humiliate Elizabeth that night in the cloak room and that you personally instructed her to gather as many people as she could to witness it.

And she said you two were all but engaged until her brother forced you to marry Lizzie. ”

Since Elizabeth was staring at her hands that had somehow lost their gloves on the way to the carriage, she saw neither Elinor's nor Talbot’s faces during this exchange, but the carriage was suddenly shrouded in oppressive silence.

Please say it isn’t so. Say something, a silly, naive voice inside her head begged.

“I see,” was all her husband said.

The carriage stopped, and Elizabeth found herself being almost carried out.

“My cousin is expecting me home, but I’ll call on Her Grace tomorrow,” she heard Elinor say to no one in particular.

Elizabeth wanted to reply, to say something, but her mouth no longer obeyed her.

When she entered Talbot’s home, she was possessed by an utterly ridiculous impulse to flee, as if that would help change anything. Still, she indulged it and ran up the stairs and into her dressing room.

Colin found her on her knees, pulling on the front of her dress as she rocked back and forth, saying “I can’t breathe,” over and over again.

“Lizzie,” he called to her, but she continued as if he weren’t even there.

“Lizzie,” he tried saying more loudly, and got on his knees as well, reaching for her.

She screamed, and he drew his hand back, terrified.

“I! Cannot! Breathe! Help! Me!” She said between breaths (or were they already sobs at this point?).

Colin jumped to his feet, and she could hear him moving items around the room until he approached her with a letter opener he must have taken from her escritoire.

Elizabeth felt him tug on the back of her dress with his hand before most of it pooled around her knees, and she was left sobbing on the ground in her white shift, as her husband kneeled behind her with the blade in his hand.