Page 39 of The Duke’s Indecent Scandal (Indecent Dukes #1)

Chapter Thirty-Eight

G regory

“We have been invited to a house party,” his wife informed him when he joined her and his mother for breakfast. The two of them made quite the pair. Tiffany was dressed in a morning gown of sprigged blue and cream muslin, which set off her coloring just as well as the sapphire dress she’d worn the night before. Meanwhile, his mother had opted for a gown of sunny yellow decorated with green and violet ruffles. Tiffany beamed at him as he walked into the room while he scowled back at her.

When he’d woken this morning, he’d reached for her, only to find the spot beside him empty. It had left him feeling disgruntled and aroused. For all that he’d pleasured her to satiation last night, he’d been looking for another taste this morning. But he could hardly complain about that with his mother sitting right there.

At least he was feeling more himself this morning. More even-keeled.

“You woke up early,” he responded, which was the closest he could come to expressing his feelings about her absence from their bed this morning. The amused smile on her lips and the little twinkle in her eye made it clear she knew exactly why he was feeling out of sorts. For some reason, she’d decided to purposefully push his bounds this morning.

Well, if the little minx wanted a spanking, a spanking was what she would get.

Truthfully, he was happy to see her so relaxed this morning. Despite his best efforts after they’d returned home from the Chesterhams, he’d been uncertain how she would handle the revelations from her mother. He wished he could have throttled the woman while she’d been abusing Tiffany, but his wife seemed no worse for the wear, so perhaps he’d done the right thing.

It had been important to him that Sebastian knew, that he would believe the things Tiffany told him if she ever chose to open up to her brother.

“Good morning to you too, Gregory,” his mother said reprovingly, looking up from her kippers with a frown on her face.

“Good morning, Mother.” He leaned down to buss her cheek before taking his own seat between them. Tiffany took a smug sip of her tea, the expression on her face making his hand itch. She did delight in needling him. He narrowed his eyes at her. “Good morning, wife.”

“Good morning, husband. We’ve been invited to Lady Blackstone’s house party.” She smiled serenely at him. “This upcoming weekend.”

“A jaunt out of the capital sounds nice,” he replied, reaching for the toast and butter. As he began to spread the butter, one of the footmen arrived with his cup of coffee, and he shot the man a look of abject gratitude. “Do you know who else has been invited?”

“I am sure we will find out,” his mother answered airily, waving a piece of toast in the air. “I would not be surprised if some of your friends were invited. Likely the Littles. I know Lady Astrid is also good friends with Baroness Ashfield. Perhaps some of her neighbors. Her mother and I were discussing it last night. My impression is that it will be a very select event.”

Which meant Zachary would likely be left to his own devices in the capital. Ah, well. He’d rather brought that on himself. Even though it was technically Lady Blackstone’s house party, Gregory was certainly receiving the impression that Lady Astrid’s hand was guiding things. If he was not misreading things, it seemed she wanted to give Miss Little a tilt at multiple dukes at once. He was sure other debutantes would be present as well; it would not do to be too obvious, but everyone would know.

Doubtless, none of his friends would mind, as they were on a determined hunt for brides. Hell, Christian might just make an offer for no reason other than to send the ton into a tizzy.

Paulson appeared in the door to the dining room, stiffly upright and slightly disapproving.

“The Duke of Bolton is here to see you, Your Graces.” The slight disapproval was threaded through his voice as well. It was far too early to be calling, after all, but Sebastian was family, so Paulson’s ire was not as great as it could be.

All three of them immediately sat up. Gregory could only assume that Tiffany had told his own mother about the contretemps from last night before he’d joined them at the table.

“See him in, please, Paulson.” Whatever had Sebastian on their doorstep this early in the morning, it would have to do with the Duchess of Bolton. There was no other reason for him to come by so early. Paulson nodded and disappeared from the doorway, and Gregory slanted his gaze toward his wife.

Tiffany was sitting up straight as a poker in her seat, her white-knuckled grip on her fork and her clenched jaw practically shouting her tension to the world. Reaching over, Gregory put his fingers atop hers, breaking through that tension. She started before looking back at him and relaxing slightly.

“Everything will be all right,” he murmured.

Hearing the rumble of his voice, his mother looked over at them as well and nodded sharply.

“You have our full support,” she said, not bothering to lower her voice. “And that is no small thing.”

His mother might not have quite as many connections as the Duchess of Bolton because she had not been as active in the ton while his father was still alive, but she was still a dowager duchess and had her own influence. Not to mention Tiffany’s friendship with Lady Astrid. The exclusive invite to her mother’s house party was appearing more and more serendipitous.

Paulson returned a moment later to announce the Duke of Bolton. Sebastian strode into the room, appearing rather haggard. There were dark bags under his reddened eyes, his jaw was set in a way that said he’d been clenching it for a good long time, and his appearance was most kindly described as ‘disheveled’. He’d clearly had a rough night.

Immediately, Tiffany jumped to her feet, releasing Gregory’s hand.

“Sebastian! Are you all right?” She rushed around the table to meet her brother as Gregory got more slowly to his feet, his mother joining him with an expression of concern on her face. While Tiffany might be her priority, she cared about Sebastian as well.

“As well as I can be, I suppose,” Sebastian replied, his voice hollow, as he folded his arms around his sister. Though he was taller and wider than her, his hug enveloping her completely, when he turned and rested his cheek on the top of her head, it was clear that she was the one providing support for him. Coming around the table to stand beside them, Gregory clapped his hand on Sebastian’s shoulder.

“Come eat, and you can tell us all,” he said.

Sebastian opened his tired eyes and nodded. “Thank you.”

Though, of course, he did not make it to the table without also being hugged by Gregory’s mother, her eyes full of concern. For a moment, Gregory thought his friend might break down, but Sebastian kept his stiff upper lip by the skin of his teeth. As he straightened up, there was a gleam of liquid in his eyes that he rapidly blinked back.

“Sit.” Gregory pointed at the chair beside Tiffany. Sebastian practically collapsed into it, his knees folding as if he’d been struggling to hold himself up. “Have you broken your fast yet?”

“No.” Sebastian sighed, leaning back in the chair as he was served coffee, then leaning forward again to reach for the toast. “I do not know how much I will be able to eat. My stomach is…” His voice trailed off, and he grimaced.

Tiffany reached out a hand, touching his shoulder gently. He turned to look at her, covering her hand with his own, his gaze full of remorse.

“I am so sorry,” he said, tightening his fingers around his sister’s. “I had no idea…”

“I know. She was always worse when you and Father were not around. I thought it was because she was trying to spare me the embarrassment of sharp correction in front of you.” Tiffany shook her head. “It was not until Father overheard her and intervened that I realized it was because he might not approve. And I did not know what you would think. Or what you would say if I tried to tell you. Most of the time, I thought she was right, that if I could just do better… but I no longer think there is anything I could have done to make her happy.”

“I do not think I would have believed you if you had told me, and I am even sorrier for that.” He dropped his head down for a moment, then lifted it again, looking up at Gregory. “I know I already apologized to you before, but I feel as though I should again. Even after you told me how my mother spoke to Tiffany, part of me did not fully believe you.”

Gregory shrugged.

“She was your mother. I never saw that side of her until now, either. There were many things she said to Tiffany that, looking back, I can see were malicious rather than thoughtless. She said them in front of me, and I still dismissed it, still gave her the benefit of the doubt, and came up with reasonable explanations for why she would say such a thing, and she was not even my mother.” He shot an apologetic look at his own mother, who had disliked the other duchess almost from the beginning.

He should have listened to her instead of dismissing it as feminine squabbling. Especially since his mother was not exactly the type to indulge in unnecessary disputes.

Now, he knew better for the future.

Tiffany

Chest aching, Tiffany wrestled with her internal emotions. Part of her wanted to hug her brother and reassure him. Another part of her wanted to scream because she could not help but wonder if she’d been invisible to him until now. Why had he not noticed the difference in how their mother treated them?

Her mother had manipulated them both. She knew that. Deep down, she knew that. Sebastian’s haggard face and obvious guilt helped soothe some of her resentment. He was castigating himself far more effectively than she would likely be able to. The only reason he would do that was because he truly did love her. Which helped quite a bit.

Knowing her husband had defended her to her brother also warmed her. She had not realized… it must have been when Sebastian joined the others while she was preparing for her tea. Gregory had not mentioned it. Likely trying to protect her again. They were going to need to discuss that, eventually.

“I always wanted to believe she said the things she did because she was trying to help me,” Tiffany said, some of the tightness loosening in her chest. It was a little easier to forgive her brother when she realized she had also tried to explain away her mother’s little cruelties. She’d always blamed herself.

She had wanted to believe her mother loved her.

How could she blame Sebastian for the same thing? Especially because their mother doted on him.

“Well, you do not have to worry about her trying to help you anymore.” Sebastian let go of her hand and began buttering his toast. His voice had hardened, his posture stiffening as he moved from apologetic to angered. “I’ve sent her to the Grange. I put her in the carriage myself this morning before I came over here.”

Tiffany’s jaw dropped open. The Grange was the smallest and most far-flung of Sebastian’s estates. The one time Tiffany could remember visiting there was when her father was alive, and the entire family had been invited to the former Duke of Grafton’s sister’s wedding. The Grange was close to Grafton lands and allowed them to attend without needing to be hosted by the Duke of Grafton, as Sommerset Chase was already full of wedding guests who’d had to travel farther distances.

Her mother had hated every minute of it, from what she remembered, complaining about the smallness of the house and the shabbiness of the furniture and décor.

“The Grange?” she squeaked. She could only imagine her mother’s rage.

“Yes. The Grange. She can stay there until she learns how to behave herself. I also told her that I would start removing servants from the household for each unflattering rumor I heard about you or your marriage,” Sebastian said darkly. “I might be able to banish her to the country and keep a tight grip on her funds, but she’ll still be able to write letters to her friends. I will not have her doing further damage.”

Tiffany stared at him. Of all the outcomes she might have expected, she was utterly taken aback. At most, she’d hoped Sebastian might be able to curb their mother’s tongue a bit or influence her to be kinder to Tiffany. He loved their mother. For good reason.

“You did not have to do that for me,” she said quietly.

“Yes, I did. You did not hear the way she ranted on the way home or after we got there. There’s something very wrong with her. She vacillated back and forth between cajoling me and demanding I cut you off from the family entirely.” He shook his head. “Something about you becoming a duchess has her completely unhinged. I spoke with Harleen. She sends her apologies as well for not being able to do more to protect you. She has gone with mother to the Grange to keep an eye on her.”

Eyes filling up with tears, Tiffany pressed her fingertips to her lips.

“I wish I could have said goodbye to her,” she said sadly. Harleen had not always been able to champion Tiffany, but she had done her best to make life more bearable for her. That she would still be watching over Tiffany from afar made her even sadder that she had not been able to say farewell.

“You can write to her if you wish. She would be happy to hear from you. Once I got her away from mother and started asking questions, I was able to learn a lot more.” He shook his head. “She had not asked to speak with me in the past because she could not be sure she would be heard. But she told me that mother deliberately dressed you to appear unfashionable and plain. Her opinion was that mother was torn between jealousy of you and wanting you to shine enough to reflect well on her and the family.”

“Jealous of me?” Tiffany could hardly countenance such a thing.

“It must have been quite the pebble in her shoe when Tiffany married Gregory then,” Gregory’s mother said. She’d been so quiet, and when Tiffany looked at her, she appeared more sad than smug. Mama met her gaze, nothing but affection and sorrow for both her and Sebastian apparent in her eyes. “I am so sorry, darling. You deserved so much better from her.”

The truth of her words struck a chord in Tiffany’s chest that ached unbearably. As if he sensed it, Gregory reached out to take her hand again, offering her his silent support. She smiled at him through the ache.

“My understanding is that the combination of Tiffany becoming a duchess and her new appearance was taken by mother as being some kind of insult to her.” Sebastian shook his head, scrubbing his hand over his face. “I confess, despite Harleen’s explanations, I do not entirely understand it.”

“Because you are a sensible young man.” The older woman’s lips twisted. “Your mother is not behaving sensibly. My own opinion is that she saw Tiffany as an extension of herself, not as her own person. She wanted Tiffany to be controlled by her and to reflect well on her, but certainly never to outshine her.” Now, some smugness came through as Gregory’s mother beamed at Tiffany. “Unfortunately for her, despite all her efforts, Tiffany turned out to shine as brightly as the North Star.”

“Thank you, Mama,” Tiffany replied. There was pain that she would never hear such words from her own mother, but she was still surrounded by love. Her mother-in-law seemed determined to make up for the lack of her own, and Tiffany was happy to reciprocate.

“Trust me, my dear, you are most welcome. As are you, Sebastian. I hope you will join us for all family gatherings in the future.” The dowager gave him a look that turned the ‘hope’ into more of a ‘demand’. A glimmer of a smile played on Sebastian’s lips.

“Thank you, I would love to,” her brother replied.

As awful as she felt about being relieved that her mother had been sent away, not just from Tiffany herself but from Society, and that she would not need to worry about her anymore, she had to admit this was far better than if her mother stayed in town. That Sebastian had threatened her with lessening some of her creature comforts if she tried to undermine them from afar relieved her even more.

Gregory’s hand lifted hers to his lips, and she turned her head to smile at him. Her brother might have been the one to take action, but she knew she would not be where she was right now without Gregory. Without his support. Without his love.

She was very much looking forward to being able to show him her gratitude.