Page 18 of The Duke’s Scandal (Bluestocking Book Club #5)
Chapter Thirteen
“ Y ou were very quick to trust the Duke.”
Isobella glanced at Miss Trentworth as they walked through the park, Lady Amelia on her other side. “I could tell from the fear in his eyes and the dread in his voice that he spoke the truth.”
“As could I,” Miss Trentworth agreed, speaking softly perhaps for fear that someone in the park might hear them. “You are glad of it, I think.”
Isobella looked back at the path rather than at her friend. “I am relieved that my judgment of his character was not in error.”
Lady Amelia slipped her hand through Isobella’s. “I am only glad that the meeting went well and that no one was seen,” she said, drawing Miss Trentworth’s attention away from Isobella and her response to the Duke. “Now, we are to go in search of Lady Clara, yes?”
Miss Trentworth nodded. “And I shall try to find Lady Sara. If we speak to them separately and then share what has been said, we might find a clue as to what truly took place. One of them might make a mistake in their recounting of what happened.”
“A good thought.” Isobella turned her head to look at Lady Amelia as they continued on their way, separating from Miss Trentworth. “I have not yet spoken to you about the Duke and his request as yet.”
Lady Amelia smiled. “I can imagine that you are feeling a good many things at present.”
Coming to a stop, all thought of Lady Clara flying from her mind, Isobella looked straight into Lady Amelia’s eyes, choosing to be entirely honest. “When I heard the rumors about him, I must confess that my heart fell into dismay.”
“And you were very ready to believe that he was not guilty in the least,” Lady Amelia said, “although I do not say that to criticize you. I say it because I believe that you know the Duke’s character fairly well and were, therefore, able to trust what you knew of him.”
“I suppose that is true. I felt such great relief upon hearing his explanation of what happened.” Her lips tugged to one side as she looked down at the ground at her feet, battling to find the right words to express herself. “What is happening to me, Amelia?”
Her friend’s lips quirked. “I think you are already fully aware of it.”
“But I cannot !” Isobella exclaimed, angry with herself for having such a weakness still.
“Before all of this, I was quite determined to set myself back from the Duke. Then, in a single moment, when I hear that he is supposedly a scoundrel, I find myself all of a whirl about him! I should not have such confusion! I should not be battling doubt only to be overwhelmed with relief!” Breathing hard, she clenched her hands into fists, her emotions tumbling out of her now that she finally had the opportunity to release them.
“I swore I should never let myself feel anything again, and now… ” Squeezing her eyes closed, she let out a slow hiss of breath. “Now, I am nothing but a fool.”
“No, you are not!” Lady Amelia grasped her hand, and Isobella opened her eyes, seeing her friend’s earnest face. “Not in the least bit.”
Isobella shook her head, her throat working to keep the tears back.
“I am, Amelia. I have always told myself that I would never do so again, that I would never allow my heart to trust another time. I have been disappointed time and again, and I cannot let myself trust, not again. I just do not have enough heart left.”
Something glistened in Lady Amelia’s eyes and, without warning, she reached to embrace Isobella. Tears fought to free themselves from her lashes, but Isobella held them back, having no desire to be seen by so many of the ton .
“You have more than enough heart left,” Lady Amelia said into Isobella’s ear before stepping back, looking into Isobella’s face.
“I can well understand why you might wish to hide away, why you might want to remove yourself from this situation, but I must warn you, my friend, you will find yourself all the more sorrowful if you should do so.”
Isobella shook her head. “No, I will have relief.”
“I doubt that,” Lady Amelia replied, a little more firmly now.
“If you stay back from the Duke, if you refuse to acknowledge all that you feel, then there will not be any relief for you. Instead, there will be this constant agony and strife over all that you feel and all you wish to hide away. Then, mayhap some months or even years from now, you will find yourself with regret and sorrow over all that you stepped away from. You might think of these moments with a weighty sadness, one that you do not feel at present. ”
Frowning, Isobella looked away, aware that Lady Amelia’s words were striking at her but having no desire to permit them to linger. “You think I will regret my decision?”
“When you think about what you might have had, if you had only let yourself begin to trust?” Lady Amelia nodded slowly.
“Yes, I think you will. You have the hope of something wonderful here, Isobella. The Duke of Exeter clearly wants you to believe him, to trust that all that has been said of him is not true.”
“That is only so that he might restore his reputation.”
“Is it?” Lady Amelia smiled gently. “What if it is more than that? What if he wants his reputation restored and wants you to think well of him? What if his desire to have you work in this situation is because of how he feels?”
This did nothing to comfort Isobella but instead sent a great and terrible fear through her. She did not dare think of what the Duke might feel. Gentlemen had told her of their feelings before, and it had come to naught but heartbreak.
“You are not a fool, regardless of what you decide to do,” Lady Amelia finished, releasing Isobella’s hand.
“Believe me in that, my dear friend. None of your pain and sorrow from the past is your responsibility. Your feelings at present are not foolish either, however! It is quite natural to be drawn to a gentleman and,” she finished, with a warm smile, “the Duke of Exeter could be very different from the other gentlemen who injured you in such a way. He could be precisely what you have always hoped for.”
That was a hope that ignited Isobella’s heart, even though she did not wish it to do so. She wanted nothing more than to set the matter aside, to look at the Duke’s difficulties with a calm, unemotional heart, but it seemed to be impossible for her .
“Come.” Lady Amelia took Isobella’s arm again. “Let us go and speak with Lady Clara and see what she has to say. To think about your own heart at present will, I fear, only bring you a good deal more confusion and upset. This might be a way to take your mind from your own circumstances.”
Accepting her friend’s suggestion, Isobella began to walk again, making their way toward the large gathering of both gentlemen and ladies.
Hyde Park was very busy indeed, with more carriages arriving nearly every minute.
There would soon be very little space for them to continue driving around the grounds, meaning that some would come to a complete stop so that their occupants might step out to speak with their acquaintances.
“I am not certain we will be able to find her here,” Lady Amelia muttered, scowling. “There are so many others present, I fear we will struggle to spy her!”
“I think we will succeed.” Isobella offered her friend a small, wry smile. “We need only go to where there are a large group of ladies, for they will all be eager to hear what she has to say, no doubt.”
Lady Amelia’s scowl faded. “You are quite right. The gossip mongers will be rife with eagerness to hear more of what she has to say about the Duke. I am sure, then, that we will find her.”
Much to Isobella’s relief, it did not take more than a few minutes for them to spy Lady Clara.
She was standing with a large group of ladies and a few gentlemen, all of whom were listening to her with rapt attention.
Isobella and Lady Amelia sidled in amongst them, with Isobella seeking to stand opposite the lady so that she might see her expressions clearly.
“If it had not been so dark, then I am sure such a thing would never have happened,” Lady Clara was saying, her hands clasped at her heart as she sighed heavily. “I would never have been discovered by the Duke, would never have been pulled into his arms without warning.”
A young lady near Isobella gasped, her eyes wide. “Is that what happened? He came out of the darkness and caught you?”
Lady Clara nodded. “It was precisely like that. I was standing with Lady Sara. We were talking together, saying that we should return when, to my great fright, someone caught my arm. The next moment, his arms were around me and his head lowered! Such was my fear, I closed my eyes in fright, twisting away from him as I cried for him to release me! How glad I am that Lady Sara was there for she too began to cry out.” She sighed again.
“Once he realized I was not alone, he ran from me. It was deeply alarming.”
“I am sorry to hear that,” another lady said, as a few others murmured along with her. “The Duke of Exeter should be heartily ashamed of himself for such an action!”
“You were in the gardens when he found you?” Lady Amelia asked. She had stepped a short distance away from Isobella so that it did not look as though they were both determined to question Lady Clara thoroughly. “Yourself and Lady Sara?”
Lady Clara lifted her chin. “Yes. We had walked a short distance into the darker part of the gardens. I foolishly thought that it would be lit by lamps a little further along the way, but it was not.”
“Then might I ask how you knew it was the Duke?”
It was not Isobella who asked this, nor was it Lady Amelia. Instead, another young lady spoke up, though Isobella did not think that it was with the same hope as she herself had to discover the truth. Rather, it sounded simply like a general question.
Lady Clara blinked. “Why, it was clear enough for me to see it was him.”