Page 21 of His Scandalous Duchess (Icy Dukes #4)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

“ Y our Grace,” Hawkins, the butler, said, bowing slightly. “There are visitors at the front door.”

Cecilia sat with Abigail on the rug near the hearth, their skirts tucked beneath them as they worked quietly over a little wooden tray filled with smooth river stones. It had started as a lesson in counting, but the conversation had drifted into color sorting and story-making.

Cecilia’s head snapped up. “Visitors?”

“Yes, Your Grace. They’ve requested to see you,” he answered. “They are your siblings.”

“My siblings?” Cecilia’s eyes widened. “All of them?”

She didn’t wait for Hawkins to respond before shooting to her feet. “Miss Flaxman,” she said quickly, turning to the governess who was seated with them. “Please stay with Abigail.”

With that, Cecilia walked with hastened steps out of the room, making her way to the front parlor where visitors were usually received. Her heart beat faster with every step that she took. If her siblings had arrived, maybe then Lucy could be with them. She had to be.

It could be. Please let Lucy be with them.

They had still not spoken to each other since that incident. Cecilia was certain that her aunt Marianne was intercepting all her letters to Lucy. That was the only way to explain the silence. So, she figured that Lucy had probably snuck out of the estate to come visit, so they could talk.

“Sister!”

The call came even before Cecilia had fully crossed the threshold of the parlor.

Dorothy and Phillip were already rising to meet her, their expressions warm with the kind of relief only family could offer.

Phillip was first to close the distance, wrapping her in a strong, familiar embrace, while Dorothy pressed a kiss to her cheek and held her arms.

But even as Cecilia returned their welcome, her eyes scanned behind them, searching. There were only two of them.

“Where’s Lucy?” she asked quickly, her breath catching in her throat. “Did Lucy come with you?”

Phillip’s smile dimmed. “No,” he said. “Lucy isn’t with us.”

The drop in Cecilia’s chest was immediate. It was heavy with disappointment. She swallowed it down and offered a small nod, her gaze falling to the floor for a moment before she gathered herself. “Oh,” she said softly. “I see.”

Finally, she looked up at her siblings again, and the disappointment she had felt in that moment dissipated, overtaken by an aching gladness.

“You came,” she whispered, as though only just realizing it.

Before either could reply, she stepped forward and pulled them both into a firmer embrace.

Her arms wrapped tightly around them, her cheek pressed to Dorothy’s shoulder, her fingers grasping the back of Phillip’s coat.

“You came,” she said again, this time with a small, helpless laugh that sounded suspiciously like it might break into tears. “I’ve missed you both so terribly.”

Dorothy let out a soft breath and held her just as tightly. “We’ve missed you, too, Cecilia.”

Phillip smirked over Cecilia’s head. “We had to come check that you hadn’t turned the entire estate into ruins.”

“Phillip,” Dorothy chided, though she was grinning. “Don’t tease. Not when she looks like she’s about to cry.”

“I am not about to cry,” Cecilia sniffed, blinking too quickly. “I’m not about to cry. I’m just happy.”

Cecilia led them toward the nearest settee, though she hardly let go of their arms as they walked. “And Emma?” she asked.

Dorothy gave her an apologetic smile. “Busy, unfortunately. She sends her love.”

Cecilia nodded slowly. “Of course. I should’ve guessed.

Well…” she exhaled, placing her hands on her hips and narrowing her eyes at both of them suspiciously.

“Then tell me, what brings the two of you here? I find it highly suspicious that you’ve managed to pull yourselves away from the comforts of London. ”

“It’s not that far a journey,” Phillip said. “I actually thought it would take longer, but we were only on the road for a few hours.”

Dorothy nudged Phillip aside and leaned in with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “We bring gossip, sister.”

“Lots of it,” Phillip added, dramatically flopping into a chair. “You would not believe what Aunt Marianne is doing.”

Cecilia’s eyes widened, and her heart skipped a beat. “Aunt Marianne? What has she done this time? Did she fight with Papa again?”

“It’s about you, Cecilia,” Phillip revealed.

Cecilia straightened. “Me?”

Dorothy gave a shrug. “You know how Aunt Marianne is when she’s got something to prove. She has been spreading lies all over London, and people are believing it.”

Phillip nodded. “Yes, she’s been telling anyone who’ll listen that it was Lucy who rejected the duke. That the night before the wedding, Lucy firmly rejected the duke. She claims that her daughter could never marry someone so cold, and incapable of love.”

Cecilia’s eyes widened. “What?”

“She is doing it to save face,” Dorothy added, nodding. “She’s making it sound as though Lucy was the one who turned His Grace down, and well...that you...”

“She’s saying you were a second choice,” Phillip finished and shook his head. “That you threw yourself at the duke when you saw that Lucy turned him away. That you practically begged the duke to marry you.

Dorothy sighed. “Sister, she’s being unrelenting about it. Drawing-room teas, garden walks, carriage rides...you name it. If there’s company to hear her, she’s telling it. It’s bad. We would not have come if it weren’t. People stare at us and whisper.”

Cecilia’s stomach twisted, a slow, cold coil of unease settling beneath her ribs. “But that’s not how it happened.”

“No,” Dorothy said. “But when has that ever stopped Aunt Marianne from setting her own agenda?”

“She is being very horrible,” Phillip added with a wry twist of his mouth. “Trying to rewrite history to suit her own narrative.”

Cecilia let out a slow breath and leaned back against the settee. “And Lucy? Has she said anything?”

Dorothy hesitated. “She hasn’t denied it. But we have been unable to see her, too. She hasn’t left the estate since that day.”

That landed heavier than anything else. Cecilia swallowed hard. “Of course not,” she said quietly. “I wouldn’t be able to step foot outside again if that happened to me. It’s all my fault.”

“Don’t say that,” Dorothy said quickly, her hand covering Cecilia’s.

“None of this was planned,” Phillip said. “That is what infuriates me. Aunt Marianne knows that it was all an accident. I’m pretty certain that Lucy did not want to marry the duke. Given what we know about this...marriage, you practically did her a favor.”

“Don’t say that, Phillip,” Cecilia said gently. “It was her future to navigate. Not mine.”

“Still,” he added. “I am the only one allowed to badmouth my sisters. Aunt Marianne has no right, and I cannot stand for it.”

“Papa and Emma are trying to contain it, you know,” Dorothy added. “They’ve both spoken to several people, gently correcting the story without making it seem like a public defense.”

Phillip nodded. “We even tried talking to Aunt Marianne directly, but she’s refusing to hear any of it. She said she’s too old to be lectured by her nieces and nephews.”

“Or her brother,” Dorothy added.

Cecilia shook her head slowly, disbelieving. “So she’s really that determined to humiliate me in circles I no longer even frequent?”

Phillip shook his head. “It’s more about her image. Her legacy. Somehow, she thinks making Lucy the brave one who refused the duke keeps her family pride intact.”

Dorothy leaned closer. “But Papa’s doing what he can, truly. So is Emma. They’re pushing back where they can, and so far, not everyone is buying Marianne’s tale,” she said, then moved even closer. “But I have a suggestion. How about you speak to Aunt Marianne?”

Phillip nodded. “We thought about it and we figured it might help if it came directly from you.”

“You want me to speak to Aunt Marianne?” she asked, slowly, as if testing the idea on her tongue.

Dorothy leaned forward. “Cecilia, we’re not asking you to grovel. We know this wasn’t entirely your fault. But Aunt Marianne isn’t exactly listening to reason right now.”

Cecilia’s shoulders tensed. “And you think if I speak with her, she’ll stop?”

“She might,” Dorothy said. “At least if she hears from you directly not as a duchess, but as her niece. As someone who’s been affected by her words. Maybe then, she’ll see that this has hurt people.”

Phillip nodded. “You don’t even have to explain the whole thing all over again. Just let her know you want peace. She might not back down completely, but if you can show her that you’re not holding any anger, that you’re willing to move past what she has done, then maybe she’ll do the same.”

“Then it’ll die down,” Dorothy added. “Because right now, Cecilia, it’s spiraling, and frankly, we don’t know what else to do.”

Cecilia looked between them and let out a sigh, her fingers twisting tightly in her lap. “I just…I can’t believe she’d do this.”

She blinked rapidly, willing the tears back, but they stung anyway, pressing hotly behind her eyes. “She saw everything, you know. She was there. She knows it wasn’t meant to happen like that. Yet she’s out there telling the world something else entirely.”

Dorothy reached for her hand, squeezing gently, but Cecilia barely felt it.

“She’s always been cruel to us,” Cecilia whispered, shaking her head. “Always sharp with her words. I know that. But this? This is so surreal.”

“I just,” Cecilia swallowed, the lump in her throat making it hard to breathe.

“I thought we were past this already. I thought…after all these years, after all the things we’ve endured from her, that at least she wouldn’t stoop so low.

She saw me in that room with the duke. She knew exactly how that day unfolded. Why would she try to ruin me?”

Dorothy gave her hand another squeeze. “She won’t. That’s why we came.”