Page 27 of The Duke’s Scandal (Bluestocking Book Club #5)

Chapter Twenty

“ S o Lord Welton was the one who attacked Lady Clara?” Amos ran one hand over his eyes as the bluestockings all looked back at him. “Or can you not be sure of that?”

“We cannot be sure,” Lady Rosalyn said. “But it is clear to us that Lord Welton and Lady Victoria are the ones who orchestrated all of this. Lord Welton was afraid that you were about to pursue Lady Deborah – or that she was hopeful that you might – and given that he felt he had a claim upon her already, he did what he had to to end that interest.”

Amos let his gaze turn to Lady Isobella, who simply returned his look with a small smile. Yes, at one time, he had considered Lady Deborah, but that had only been a brief moment and had come before he’d realized just how much of a treasure Lady Isobella was. “This is… concerning.”

“Yes, it is. However, we are sharing this all with you in the hope that you will know what to do next,” Lady Isobella told him, her eyes never leaving his.

“Lady Clara was in a great deal of confusion and upset about what had happened, so it would not surprise me in the least if Lady Victoria, in rushing after her as we now know she did, made quite certain to emphasize that it had been you who had attacked her. I do not think there is anything that needs to be said to her.”

“No, indeed not.” Amos ran one hand over his chin, trying to think about what he would do and how he would confront Lord Welton.

The bruise to his cheek had begun to fade, but the marks were still visible.

Would that be enough for him to begin a conversation with the gentleman?

It would have to be done in public somehow.

“I should like to speak with Lord Welton, however. Mayhap the fashionable hour would be a place to speak with him?”

The bluestockings all glanced at each other, but Amos could not make out whether they agreed with his suggestion or not. After a few moments, Miss Trentworth spoke.

“You would certainly be guaranteed an audience, Your Grace. Although mayhap that is what you want?”

“I want the ton to hear what Lord Welton says, yes,” Amos admitted. “How else am I to free my good name from the darkness that binds it at present?”

She nodded. “We understand entirely. Might I suggest, then, that we stand near to you? It might be that we are able to bring Lady Victoria into the conversation also.”

Hope began to drive him. “I cannot tell you all how grateful I am to you for your assistance in all of this.” Again, his gaze returned – and lingered – on Lady Isobella.

“I do not know what I would have done had I been rejected.” Even the thought made pain sting at his heart, though it faded quickly with the gentle smile that spread across her face.

She had been his one thought when all of this had taken place, fearing that she would reject him.

How grateful he was to her for her willingness to trust, to accept that he was not as cruel nor as dreadful as others believed!

His path might have been a very different one otherwise.

“When are you to go?” Miss Sherwood asked, as Amos forced his gaze away from Lady Isobella. “The fashionable hour is not yet begun, if you were thinking of speaking with him this afternoon.”

And once I have done so, I will be able to open my heart to Lady Isobella. It was that thought which drove him to his feet, to the determination to find Lord Welton just as soon as he could. “This afternoon, yes,” he said, as the bluestockings all rose. “Might we meet in the park?”

Lady Amelia tilted her head. “Why do you not walk with Lady Isobella, and we will all follow at a distance?” she asked, as Lady Isobella ducked her head and blushed. “If we spy Lady Victoria, some of us will be able to go and speak with her also.”

“A capital idea.” He looked back at Lady Isobella. “If you would be willing, of course?”

Her head lifted, her eyes sparkling whilst pink flushed her cheeks. “I would be, Your Grace.”

“Then I shall see you – see you all – very soon,” he said, making his way from them all, knowing he now had to return home to prepare for the fashionable hour. “Thank you all, from the very depths of my heart.”

Walking arm in arm with Lady Isobella, Amos felt his heart squeeze with the vast affection and admiration he felt for her. It was easy enough to ignore the glances that certain members of the ton sent them, for he did not care for anything other than Lady Isobella and her presence beside him.

“You have done so much for me, Lady Isobella,” he murmured, as they walked. “I do not think I will ever be able to express my gratitude.”

She looked up at him, her copper curls brushing her temples. “There is no need, Your Grace. I am only glad that it is all soon to come to an end and your good name restored.”

“I only really needed your acceptance of me,” he said, revealing just a little of his heart to her. “If you had trusted me, then my heart would have been satisfied.”

The smile on her face grew, but she dipped her head, letting her gaze pull from his. A trifle frustrated with himself, Amos opened his mouth to say more, only for someone to catch his elbow.

“You have walked directly past him, Your Grace.” Lady Amelia’s eyes twinkled. “There, on your left. Lady Rosalyn and Miss Trentworth have already seen Lady Victoria and have gone to speak with her. Lady Deborah is also present, and they may bring her to join you.”

A little embarrassed, Amos thanked her and then turned his head, seeing Lord Welton laughing at something another fellow had said.

With a look at Lady Isobella, he took in a deep breath and then, setting his shoulders, strode towards the gentleman.

Now was the time for confidence, for determination.

He had to find a way to make Lord Welton admit what he had done.

“Welton.” His voice was commanding as he approached, dropping Lady Isobella’s hand from his arm so she could stay a little back from him. “You have been spreading yet more rumors about me, I see.”

Lord Welton’s smile grew dark as Amos drew near, the other gentlemen with him stepping back at once. “Your Grace,” he said, his lip curling. “I have said nothing but the truth, I assure you. ”

“Except I did not ever insult Lady Deborah,” Amos answered, loudly enough for more than a few present to hear. “She herself has said such a thing.”

Lord Welton snorted. “A likely story. You say such a thing only to cover your guilt.”

“There were many present in the library who overheard our conversation,” Amos replied, firmly, refusing to show a single iota of uncertainty or discomfort. This, even though his heart was beating wildly, worry nipping at his mind. What if Lord Welton did not admit to anything?

“They will all have been manipulated by you,” Lord Welton responded. “I know what I heard, and I, at least, am a gentleman. I acted just as a gentleman ought when a lady is insulted.”

“Except I was not insulted by the Duke.”

Amos’s head turned, just as Lady Deborah, Lady Victoria, and the other bluestockings came to join them. Lady Victoria, Amos noticed, moved to stand a little closer to her cousin, her expression pinched.

“I was upset by you and your determination to have my agreement to marry you,” Lady Deborah continued, her eyes glistening with a hint of tears. “The Duke said not a word about me. I am utterly ashamed of you, Welton. How could you have struck the Duke so without cause?”

This brought a hesitancy to Lord Welton’s expression, his mouth opening and then closing again, the cruel smile now gone completely. “I – I am sure I heard him – ”

“You did not.” Lady Isobella spoke now, coming to stand beside Lady Deborah. “I was there also, and he did not say a word against her.”

Lady Victoria let out a loud sigh, drawing everyone’s attention. “Why must you be so disagreeable towards my cousin? He was only doing his best to protect Lady Deborah.”

“By spreading malicious rumors about me?” Amos countered as the color began to drain from Lady Victoria’s face. “By pretending that I had attacked Lady Clara in the gardens when, in fact, he had been the one to do it, with the sole intention of making sure that my name was sunk into the mud?”

It felt as if the entirety of Hyde Park fell silent as Amos spoke, but he fixed his gaze on Lady Victoria, wondering if, given her pallor, she might be the one who would admit the truth before Lord Welton did.

“And he convinced you to help him, did he not?” Lady Isobella spoke quietly, but her words sounded like thunderclaps. “It was all in aid of him gaining Lady Deborah’s acceptance of his hand, was it not?”

“Preposterous!” Lord Welton threw up his hands, anger sparking in his eyes. “All of this is nonsense.”

Lady Deborah took a step closer to Lady Victoria.

“We are friends, are we not?” she asked, her voice thin with tears.

“You would not have done something so terrible, would you?” When Lady Victoria said nothing, Lady Deborah closed her eyes, a tear falling to her cheek.

“You were so determined to have the Duke rush into the gardens, to hear what that sound was. Thereafter, you nearly dragged me into the ballroom, rushing over to Lady Clara and leaving me behind. What was it you said to her?”

“We can ask her easily enough,” Miss Trentworth said, her eyes narrowing as she looked to Lord Welton. “I am quite certain she would say that Lady Victoria convinced her that it was the Duke of Exeter who had frightened her so.”

Amos clasped his hands behind his back. “Your determination to have Lady Deborah is verging on cruel manipulation, Welton,” he said, as Lady Deborah let out a sob.

“Why would you do such a dreadful thing? She has already refused you, has told you that she does not want to accept you, and still, you pursue her? You chase her so relentlessly that she is near broken by your attempts to convince her!”

“Oh, Deborah.” Lady Victoria’s eyes welled with tears as she reached out for her friend, as Lord Welton’s face turned a shade of deep red.

“I did not know you had refused him. He told me that you were considering him, begged me to help him convince you, and pull you from the Duke. He told me about the state of his affairs, about your connection would restore all and – ”

“Enough, Victoria!” Lord Welton rounded on her, coming closer to her with his hand raised as if to strike her.

Amos acted in an instant, grabbing the man’s arm and yanking him backwards, before pushing his arm up his back.

Lord Welton cried out in pain whilst Lady Victoria covered her mouth with her hand, blinking back tears.

“Then it is true,” one of the gentlemen watching said, loudly enough for Amos to hear. “Lord Welton was the one responsible for attacking Lady Clara.”

“I had to drive you away!” Lord Welton spat, his face contorted with both anger and pain as Amos finally released him, pushing him back so there was distance between them. “Lady Deborah is mine . I need her. I must have her, else my estate is ruined!”

Lady Deborah let out a sob. “Then it is all about my fortune?”

“When I found that agreement, it was the answer to my prayers,” Lord Welton hissed, as everyone around him took a step back, wanting now to distance themselves from him. “ You must do your duty, Deborah! You must marry me and – ”

“She will never marry you.” A voice that Amos had never heard before broke in, a gentleman with a greying beard and sharp, brown eyes coming to stand beside Lady Deborah, a comforting arm around her shoulders.

“How could you do such a thing, Welton? How dare you treat not only my daughter but Lady Clara and the Duke of Exeter with such disrespect and disregard? They are not playthings for you to do with just as you please, so you might gain your own ends! I tell you this now, she will never marry you. And given what has just been revealed, I think it is highly unlikely that you shall ever marry well at all.”

Relief swept through Amos, as if he had stepped out of the cold into the blazing sunshine.

Looking around for Lady Isobella, he found his gaze centering on her, the ache in his heart forcing him towards her.

There was no need for him to linger any more, no need for him to stay by Lord Welton and say anything further.

The truth had been revealed, and now, slowly but surely, the ton would hear of it.

His reputation was restored, his name no longer maligned, and Lady Isobella was the cause of it all.

“Lady Isobella.” Catching her hand in his, he bowed over it. “How ever am I to thank you?”

When he lifted his head, she was smiling at him. “Your happiness and relief are all that I need, Your Grace.”

Amos did not release her hand. “I know that now may not be the best time to speak of certain… matters, Lady Isobella, but I cannot help myself.” Swallowing thickly, he looked down at their joined hands. “I went to speak to your brother recently.”

“You did?” The surprise in her voice made him lift his head. “For what reason? ”

“Because I cannot stop thinking about you, Lady Isobella. My every moment is caught up with you,” he confessed, as she began to blink rapidly.

“I wanted to make certain that I would have his consent should I seek to court you. However, whilst it was given, it was emphasized that the decision had to be yours and yours alone.”

Lady Isobella pressed her lips together and looked away. “I – I am not sure as to what I ought to say.”

Amos did not say anything further, wondering if he should say anything about what he had learned from her brother, but choosing not to do so. If she wished to express it, then that would be her decision.

“I am afraid.” Even in the hubbub of activity behind them, her voice was clear as if she were the only one speaking. “I want to trust you, Your Grace. I want to offer you my heart, but I am afraid.”

He nodded slowly. “Is there anything that I can say to make you trust me?”

Her eyes closed, and she pressed her lips flat for a few moments. “I have trusted in the past, Your Grace.”

“Exeter, please.”

That made her cheeks darken. “Exeter. I have trusted in the past and have had not one but three gentlemen break that trust. The latter broke my heart, and I swore I would never let myself trust again.”

“And now?” He waited, seeing her shoulders drop as she considered his words. “Even now, will you hold to that promise?”