Page 15 of The Duke of Swords (The Highwaymen #4)

“NO, NO, NO ,” the Duke of Dunrose was saying as they stepped inside his town house.

Rae was trailing in behind Rutchester, looking at a framed picture of Dunrose himself in a garishly bright blue velvet suit with a hat that had a huge, huge white feather in it. It was hanging right inside the house as they came inside.

“You can’t stay with Nothshire,” said Dunrose. “You have to stay with us.”

“Oh, you do, you definitely do,” the Duchess of Dunrose was saying. She was walking next to Rae, smiling at her encouragingly at regular intervals.

“Actually, wait a moment,” said Dunrose, stopping in the middle of the foyer. “Why can’t you stay at your own house in town?”

“I shall likely eventually end up there,” said Rutchester. “But I closed the place down at the end of the Season and left it on a skeleton staff.”

“Ah, of course,” said Dunrose. “Yes, then, stay here.”

“I can’t,” said Rutchester. “Really, I was hoping you’d take Rae—Miss Smith—here as you are wont to helping people—”

“Well, we haven’t hosted anyone in our home,” said the Duchess of Dunrose. “Not that we mind having you here, of course, Miss Smith.” She beamed at her. “We are quite, quite happy to welcome you.”

Rae looked back and forth between the Duke and Duchess of Dunrose. “I am confused,” she said. “What do you do to help people?”

“This and that,” said the duchess with a shrug.

“Sometimes we do a bit of, erm, wealth adjustment,” said Dunrose. “We take wealth from people who don’t really need it and give it to people who do.”

“We’ve created dowries for some unfortunate young ladies,” said the duchess. “But that’s not all we do. Sometimes, if people are beset by unfortunate rumors, we help them get back at the people who started the rumors by starting other rumors and manufacturing proof.”

Dunrose laughed. “And sometimes, we just help people achieve widowhood. We’re good at that one.”

“ You’re good at that one,” said the duchess. “You and the other highwaymen, that is.”

Rae was very, very confused.

“She needs all of that,” said Rutchester. “She could stand with an entire new identity, complete with a dowry. Then she could start a new life.”

“But what happened?” said Dunrose. “You didn’t say anything in the letter.”

“Which came only hours before you,” said the duchess.

“Yes, I sent it out from Andiley,” said Rutchester. “Didn’t have time to send letters before. I can explain it all, but I’d like to do that just once, if we can all gather together. Or, just the three of us if Arthford is in the country and not in town.”

“Arthford is always in the country,” said Dunrose.

“Well, Marjorie likes it there,” said the duchess. “She’s not one for society balls and the like, and I don’t blame her. Anyway, I suppose I’m not to be in on this grand explanation. Never mind, I shall ask Miss Smith myself. Come.” She smiled at Rae. “Let’s get you settled.”

Rae, still bewildered, allowed herself to be taken to a guest room. There, a servant stripped her down to her shift and began measuring her. The servant pronounced that it would be easy enough to alter some of the duchess’s old gowns to fit Rae, and the duchess said to do that at once.

“As long as you aren’t offended by castoffs, Miss Smith?”

“Of course not,” said Rae.

“Perhaps you’d like a bath?” said the duchess.

“A-all right,” said Rae.

Which was how she ended up soaking in a warm tub of water, servants scrubbing her hair and adding lavender to the water as the Duchess of Dunrose sat outside the tub chattering away brightly at her about how much she liked silk gloves as opposed to satin ones.

Finally, the duchess said, “Well, listen to me going on and on. I should stop babbling. Let’s get down to it. Why has Rutchester brought you here?”

Rae wasn’t sure what to say.

“Don’t worry about being truthful,” said the duchess. “You can trust us. It will go no further than this room. I assure you, we can be discreet. If we are going to help you, we must know everything, however. You will tell me?”

“I…” Rae took a deep breath. She wasn’t even sure where to start. “I’m very ruined. I shouldn’t be a guest in your house at all.”

“Well, I had heard rumors, of course, when Fateux had taken you from your father, Sir Luke. But you mustn’t worry too deeply about that, because the truth is, not very many people have ever seen you, since your father has kept you out of sight for years now.

So, I think we can do as Rutchester says and give you a new identity.

The biggest problem will, of course, be Fateux.

He likely thinks of you as his property.

Is there a chance he’s going to come back and claim you? ”

“Well, no,” said Rae. “Seeing as he’s dead.”

“Oh,” said the duchess in a different voice. “How did that happen? Did you kill him?”

“Me?”

“Oh, all right. Was it an accident?”

“It was Rutchester,” she said in a quiet voice. Was she really allowed to tell this? Rutchester had said he trusted his friends implicitly, hadn’t he? He would have told her if he wished her not to say anything to them about it.

“Rutchester killed him,” said the duchess in another voice. “I see.”

Silence reigned for some time.

“Well,” said the duchess, “that makes things easier. Fateux can’t identify you.

And honestly, if he was the only person who knew for certain that you were ruined, I think we can pretend that never happened.

” She came over and knelt down by the tub.

“I anoint your virginity as of now, reinstated. All the more so because you never consented for it to be taken away, which matters, in my opinion. There. Poof. You’re no longer ruined. ”

Rae bit down on her bottom lip.

“What? I’m joking a bit, of course,” said the duchess.

“Do you not want to get married? If you don’t wish it, I entirely understand.

Perhaps we could style you as a widow. I could have had you married to Fateux if he wasn’t already married.

” She laughed. “Oh, I wonder what Seraphine will say when she finds out. Truly, though, they have been living separate lives for some time now.”

Rae remembered meeting the marchioness. She did not think the woman would much care that her husband was dead. But it was all more complicated than simply Fateux, and she supposed she had to explain that. “I… it was not only Fateux.”

“Oh,” said the duchess, sympathetic. “Well, I’m sorry about that. How many other men, then? And if you don’t mind, say the names. We simply must know, because we need to know who can discount whatever story we tell, that is all. We shall find a way around it. We always do. But we need to know.”

“Just Rutchester,” she said softly.

The duchess’s eyes widened and she got up from the tub. She walked away, hands clasped behind her back. “Oh, dear. I see, then.”

Rae sat up in the bath, water streaming down over the back of her head, down onto her shoulders.

“I asked him to keep me, you know, as a mistress or something like that, and he won’t.

He says it’s because he’s monstrous or something, but I do think he wants me, so I can’t understand it, really.

Maybe he doesn’t think I’m good enough for him—”

“You asked him to keep you?” The duchess came closer. “You must tell me what happened between yourself and Rutchester, if you don’t mind.”

Rae didn’t know what to say. “He, erm, ravished me.”

“You didn’t wish it?”

Rae hesitated. “No, Fateux made him do it. He said that either Rutchester could do it himself or that he was going to… give me to four men to… use their pricks in other—”

“All right, that’s clear enough,” said the duchess primly. “That’s wretched, by the way. I’m very sorry that happened. So, it was just Rutchester.”

“And then he killed Fateux afterwards.”

“All right,” said the duchess.

“And then we left.” Rae hesitated. “Well, he came to me first. We… he… I don’t know what that was, but he didn’t… inside me, and then we traveled, and we stayed at his estate last night, and I somehow wandered into his bed, and then… this morning…”

“So, he’s been regularly forcing himself on you,” said the duchess in a tight voice. “You know, Rutchester, he’s… things happened to him—” She threw up her hands. “No! There’s no excuse. Stay in the bath. I’m going to talk to my husband.”

“Wait,” said Rae. “It’s not really like that.”

But the duchess was already leaving the room. She shut the door behind herself.

Rae looked after her, chewing on her lip again. Then, she sank back down into the bath, cringing.

RUTCHESTER LEAPED TO his feet as the door opened.

He ducked down his face, wiping at his tears with his handkerchief.

He’d been trying to explain it all to Dunrose, despite the fact that he had only wanted to do this once, with both Dunrose and Nothshire.

It was just tumbling out of his mouth, however, the minute they were alone. He felt horrible.

It was Dunrose’s duchess coming into the room. She put both of her hands on her hips and glared at Rutchester. “What have you done?”

“She told you, then?” said Rutchester quietly.

“She did,” said the duchess. “She did, and I can’t believe it. You—after everything—how could you?”

Rutchester hunched up his shoulders, fighting the tight pain in his chest.

“What?” said Dunrose. “He hasn’t told me anything, really, except that he killed Fateux, but he won’t tell me why.”

“I don’t understand that part either,” said the duchess.

Rutchester balled up the handkerchief in one hand. “Look, Dunrose, I have taken care of you while you attempted to kill yourself with laudanum, and I just want to remind you of that. You may all chastise me, all of you want, but—”

“You’re a rapist, though, Rutchester?” said the duchess. “Truly?”

“Wait, what?” said Dunrose, rounding on him.

“Well, Fateux sort of forced me,” said Rutchester.

The duchess raised her eyebrows. “But if you simply keep doing it after you kill him—”