Page 22 of The Burdened Duke (Willenshires #4)

Lavinia woke lazily, stretching her arms above her head. She’d slept deeply, her dreams full of dancing and laughter and him .

He loves me, she thought, head spinning. He must love me, to speak to me like that, to dance with me so often.

She kept thinking about their ride together, the panic on his face when the horse had first broken into a rolling walk, and the way his composure gradually returned, colour coming back into his cheeks. A wave of powerful affection swept through her, so intense it made her shiver.

What was he going to tell me? He asked to speak to me in private. Could it be a proposal?

That idea seemed so ludicrous she almost rejected it at once. A man like the duke proposing to her was… well, almost beyond considering.

I could think of him as William now, though, she thought, allowing herself a small smile. She had no idea whether the private conversation he wanted would end in a proposal, or if it was just some other matter. Perhaps he intended to marry Miss Bainbridge after all and wanted to warn her.

And then, with a chilling sensation, she recalled what Miss Bainbridge had said about the betrothal.

Even so, that notion now possessed no sting. Miss Bainbridge had been remarkably subdued at the Assembly Rooms, sticking with her parents and talking to few people. She had not danced with the duke at all and had gone home early in the evening. Lavinia had managed to feel a pang of pity for her. What woman would hold a man to an engagement that he clearly didn’t want? It wasn’t her fault, after all.

Well, perhaps some of it was, but not all.

Outside, sunlight streamed into the room. It was pale, early-morning light. The hunting outing was still scheduled for today, but considering the late night everybody had had, it was considered likely that they wouldn’t get started until late morning at least. She had time for a walk, or perhaps a short ride on Stepper. Lavinia was not, of course, going to go hunting. Not because she was a lady, but because she simply didn’t enjoy chasing down and killing animals.

Yawning, she rolled out of bed, dressing quickly. Last night, Lord Langley had shown such special attention to Gillian that their mother had gloated about the wedding for hours afterwards. There’d been no proposal, of course, not yet, but it was fairly certain that there would be one.

Dressed in an old gown, with a shawl to stave off the morning chill and her trusty riding boots, Lavinia tiptoed through the quiet house and out into the morning air.

It was shaping up to be a fine day. No rain today, just clear skies and brisk sunlight. The air was sharply cold, but that wasn’t the worst thing for a hunting outing. Dew and patches of frost still littered the fields, and in places, thick white fog clung to the ground. The courtyard was still and quiet. Peaceful, just the way Lavinia liked it. She breathed deeply as she walked, tipping back her head to look up at the sky.

It was going to be a near perfect ride.

She approached the stable door, which was partially ajar, and extended her hand to fling it open. Voices from inside made her hesitate.

Familiar voices.

“I don’t know what to do, Timothy. I’ve gotten myself into quite a mess.”

Prickles ran down her spine. That was the duke’s voice. William’s voice.

Timothy gave a heavy sigh. She hadn’t spent much time with Timothy Rutherford, Katherine’s husband, but he was a pleasant, well-liked man who seemed reserved around his vivacious wife and talkative in-laws. He had been William’s friend for many years before his marriage to Katherine, she recalled.

“You’ll have to be honest, Will. You must see that.”

“Of course I do, it’s just… oh, I’ve left it too long. How could I go about it now? Lavinia will never forgive me.”

She flinched at the sound of her own name. Heart hammering, Lavinia inched closer, peering through the crack in the door. At the back of her mind, she seemed to recall that eavesdropping rarely worked out well for the eavesdropper, but she simply couldn’t help herself.

Inside the stables, she saw William standing in front of one of the horse stalls. It contained the mild-tempered mare he’d ridden before, who was placidly eating pieces of carrot from his palm. Timothy Rutherford stood nearby, arms folded tight, leaning against the wall. He looked serious, a frown tightening up his forehead.

“Pray, I advise you to see to it without further ado,” Timothy remarked. “To postpone will serve you naught. You should know that the Bainbridges are highly offended, and nothing good will come from that . Besides, the Brookfords now have raised hopes. If you intend to disappoint them, then…”

“Oh, stop it, Timothy. I told you, my decision is made. I’ve chosen my duchess.”

She sucked in a breath, immediately clapping a hand over her mouth in case she was overheard.

He’s chosen his duchess? What does that mean? Has she chosen me? Could it be me?

“I accepted Miss Bainbridge’s offer. We are betrothed. There is nothing I can do about it.”

Lavinia’s heart plunged into her stomach.

We are betrothed. We are betrothed.

What a fool I’ve been, she thought, pressing a hand over her mouth. William continued, as if he had not inadvertently destroyed Lavinia’s hopes.

“The issue,” William said, passing a hand over his face, “is the locket.”

Locket.

The word seemed to explode in Lavinia’s mind like a cannonball. Almost unconsciously, her hand crept up to her collarbone, to the hollow at the base of her throat where Hugh’s locket and his picture had sat for years and years. As always, her fingers touched only empty skin.

“Are you sure that it’s hers?” Timothy asked. “Silver lockets are fairly common in this part of the world.”

William nodded tightly. “It’s hers. The private investigator confirmed it. The locket is Lavinia’s, and the picture is of her brother. It took him quite a while to track her down, I can tell you. She wasn’t an easy woman to find. But find her he did, and he assured me that it does belong to her. She dropped it at the first party we ever met. The clasp broke. I often wish that I’d just handed it over to the hostess, but of course it’s too late now. I shouldn’t have waited so long.”

The door stood ajar before Lavinia was aware of it, flung open to strike against the wall and then rebound. Both men nearly leapt out of their skin, spinning around to face her. The colour drained from William’s face. He dropped his handful of carrots onto the straw-covered floor, and the mare gave a huff of annoyance.

“Lavinia,” he gasped. “I mean, I mean, Miss Brookford. I had no idea you were…”

“No idea I was outside?” she said, her own voice seeming to come from far away. Blood pounded in her ears.

“What did you hear, Miss Brookford?” Timothy asked uneasily, glancing at William. “I think you may have misunderstood…”

“Misunderstood what? That all of this, your… your pursuit of me, if I can call it that, was all in aid of returning a locket? You were engaged all along, weren’t you? Miss Bainbridge tried to warn me, but I scarcely believed her. Was it all just a grand joke, something fun for a rich, idle young man to entertain himself with?”

William shook his head, taking a step forward. “Miss Brookford… Lavinia . That is not what I meant at all. Picking up your locket was an accident, and I had no idea who it belonged to, and…”

“And so you hired a private investigator to find me,” she interrupted bitterly. “What else did he tell you, I wonder? Did he mention that I was a ridiculous spinster? That my family is desperate to marry off my pretty younger sister, as if we were auctioning her off? I’m sure he made mention of our dire financial situation. Is… is that why we were invited here?”

“No,” he said firmly, but she shook her head, barely listening. “Miss Brookford, please. Perhaps I have handled matters badly, but I only ever intended to return the locket to you. Its value was clear, and…”

“Value? What does a man like you know about value ? I’m sure you value Miss Bainbridge and her fortune. Oh, how foolish I’ve been. I wonder if you’ve both been planning it all out. She, at least, seemed to have some pity for me. How long have you been watching me, your Grace ?”

William glanced desperately at his friend. Timothy drew in a breath and took a step towards her.

“Miss Brookford, please …”

“I’ve heard enough,” she interrupted. Tears were pricking at her eyes, silly baby tears which were about to fall at any moment and make her look like a fool, like a simple minded young lady who let her hopes outpace rational thought.

Did I really think a man like him would marry a woman like me?

“Give me my locket,” she said at last, voice wobbling.

William bit his lip. “I… I don’t have it with me, I am so sorry. I’ll fetch it at once, I…”

“Don’t bother.”

She turned on her heel and strode out of the stables. She heard the men begin to follow her, both calling out, and she broke into a run, hauling her skirts up above her ankles.

Whether they ran after her or not, Lavinia had no idea. Her vision blurred, eyes stinging with tears, and she simply concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other.

Racing into the house, she nearly collided with a footman, who gave a yelp of surprise and shouted something after her. She kept going, crossing the foyer and stumbling up the stairs. Blindly, she reached the door to her room, threw herself inside, and burst into hot, noisy tears.

***

“Lavinia? Lavvy, please open the door. It’s me, Lavinia.”

Lavinia sniffed, wiping her swollen eyes with the back of her hand. “Go away, Gillian. You’ll miss the hunt. It must be starting soon.”

She heard a rustling noise on the other side of the door, which was probably Gillian sinking down into a sitting position, right out in the hall.

“I don’t want to go hunting. Mama and Papa weren’t going, and you know how I hate to hunt. Please, tell me what’s wrong.”

“I can’t. It’s too humiliating.”

“I am your sister, Lavinia. What is so terrible that you can’t tell me? The Duke came to ask for you, you know. Mama made up some excuse, but it’s clear that something is amiss. Why won’t you talk to me?”

Lavinia drew in a deep breath, squeezing her eyes closed.

“I’ve been a simpleton, Gillian. I’ve been such a simpleton.”

There was a long silence on the other side of the door. Then Gillian let out a long, tired sigh.

“Let me in, Lavinia. Please.”

After another lengthy pause, Lavinia shuffled to one side, reaching up to unlock the bedroom door. Gillian came crawling in, closing the door after her.

For a while, the two sisters sat side by side in silence.

Lavinia spoke first.

She started right at the beginning, with the night she met William, Duke of Dunleigh, for the first time, discovering later that her precious necklace was gone. Gillian’s face tightened at the mention of Hugh, but she said nothing, letting Lavinia continue.

Lavinia talked about her hopes and dreams, the feelings that had gradually grown up inside her when she was around the duke. She talked about the things Miss Bainbridge had said, the threats she had made, and Gillian did not look particularly surprised to hear this.

Her sister’s face turned dark and angry when she talked about what she had heard at the stables.

“He is betrothed ? Since our arrival at the house? Oh, Lavinia, I am so terribly sorry, my darling girl. He hired a man to investigate you?” she gasped. “Oh, that is foolish of him, Lavinia. There was still time for him to return the locket to the hostess. You went back to ask about it, didn’t you? And… and I do not understand why he kept the locket for such a long time. It makes no sense to me.”

“Nor to me,” Lavinia admitted, wiping her eyes. Gillian fumbled in her pocket, coming up with a delicate lace-edged handkerchief with a G embroidered in the corner. Lavinia took it and blew her nose noisily.

“Would you like me to speak to him? I could ask for your locket back.”

“No,” Lavinia said, more loudly than she had intended. “No, Gillian. Let it be. I suppose it serves me right for eavesdropping. Oh, Gilly, I assure you, this must be some grand jest, a scheme devised by Miss Bainbridge and him together. Do you believe I am losing my senses?”

Gillian was quiet for a long moment.

“No,” she said at long last. “I don’t think it’s anything so complicated. Perhaps he simply did not take the locket as anything valuable. Perhaps he was bored and entertained himself by finding the owner. Perhaps he simply kept forgetting to return it.”

She sniffled. “Perhaps. I have overstated my importance to him, then, haven’t I?”

Gillian bit her lip and said nothing. There was nothing to say, after all.

“Was there ever a more naive young woman than me, eh?” Lavinia managed at last, smiling weakly. “Oh, Gillian, I wish I was home. I wish it with all of my heart.”

“You can go home. We should tell Mama and Papa, and…”

Lavinia shook her head. “No, Gilly. They’d never agree, and I wouldn’t ask it of them. Mama is having a good time for the first time in quite a while. She and the dowager are becoming firm friends. Papa is comfortable here, and I do think he’s enjoying himself. And you… well, you have Lord Langley, don’t you?”

Gillian blushed. “That’s hardly relevant.”

“It is relevant. We came here to make connections, did we not? Mama wants you married. You want to get married. What sort of sister would I be if I ruined it for us all because of some silly heartbreak of my own? I’m strong enough to manage.”

“Yes, but you shouldn’t have to,” Gillian insisted. “What sort of sister would I be, if I could enjoy myself at a house party where you were so miserable?”

Reaching out, Gillian took her sister’s hand, lacing their fingers together. Despite herself, Lavinia leaned sideways, sagging until she could rest her head on her sister’s shoulder. Closing her eyes, she tried to think of nothing. Not of Miss Bainbridge, or Hugh, or the locket, or the mysterious, faceless private investigator that had been following her for goodness only knew how long.

Or of him .

She never wanted to think of him again. And yet, she was fairly sure she would not be able to think of anything else.

A strangled sob escaped from Lavinia’s lips, no matter how hard she tried to swallow it down.

“Oh, Lavinia,” Gillian whispered, voice breaking. “I can’t bear this.”

“Well, I can,” Lavinia responded at once. “I can, and I should. It’s no more than I deserve. What did I think would happen, setting my sights on a man like the duke? He was never for the likes of me.”

“This isn’t like you, Lavinia. You never speak so harshly of yourself.”

Abruptly, Lavinia climbed to her feet, dragging her hand away from Gillian’s. She paced up and down her room, still shrouded in gloom from the closed curtains. Somehow, she was sure that if she pulled back the curtains and let in the light, she would break down in tears again.

“Perhaps I needed a little more understanding,” she said, half to herself. “I do think highly of myself. Too highly, perhaps. I am a spinster , and a penniless one. I have no great accomplishments, a fairly ordinary sort of beauty, and no powerful family to support me. I have nothing, really.”

“Stop it, Lavinia.”

“No, I need to say this. I am a fool, Gillian. I let myself believe that the duke could love somebody like me. Others tried to warn me. Miss Bainbridge, even, tried to save me the humiliation, but I would not listen. Oh, to think that I considered myself her rival !” she gave a peal of mirthless laughter. “I am so foolish. But I’m glad that this has happened, Gillian. Seeing oneself as one is truly might be painful, but it’s better in the long run. Much better.”

Gillian stared at her for a long moment, lips pressed together.

“We should leave,” she said at last.

“I won’t ask Mama and Papa to take us home.”

Gillian let out a long, slow breath. “Very well. Then I shall ask them.”

And before Lavinia could say or do a thing, Gillian turned on her heel and hurried out of the room.