Page 2 of The Duke’s Second Bride (Regency Second Chances #4)

“ W hat an excellent sight,” Edith said, wrapping her arm firmly through Ava’s. “Aren’t you glad you came out? And to think, you were planning to sit inside all day!”

While Ava could not deny that the hot air balloon festival was impressive—and she enjoyed getting to spend the afternoon in her friend’s company, particularly in such a beautiful venue as Vauxhall Gardens—it did have her feeling slightly on edge, to be surrounded by so many people.

Even after all these years, it seemed she had not quite acclimated to life as a Londoner. And now, being a widow, it was as though the challenges that had faced her before had tripled, even quadrupled in quantity.

Perhaps that was not fair. After all, she had Edith. And certainly, there were other kindhearted people in the ton. But largely they all seemed to abide by a labyrinth of social customs that she found nigh impossible to navigate.

No, she much preferred the company of animals to that of man. Animals weren’t so complicated. You could befriend any horse, so long as you had carrots and a gentle disposition; same with dogs and cats, though one must substitute carrots for meat in that case.

Then again, it had been so long since she had properly been allowed to spend as much time around animals as she liked. Perhaps she had forgotten everything she once knew.

Surely, her parents—God rest their souls—would have preferred as much. They had never known what to do with their country-loving daughter, other than send her to live in London as soon as possible, for as long as possible, in hopes that she would grow into a properly socialized young lady.

Seeing a group of giggling women approach them down the path, Ava could not help but feel as though those hopes had been soundly dashed.

Lady Southington led the pack, with Lady Reginald at her side. As they came closer, they offered a polite smile and a nod, which Ava and Edith returned.

Passing by, however, Lady Southington covered her mouth, and so loudly that she might as well have dispensed with the cover, whispered, “And there they go—the merry widows of London!”

“At least Lady Nealton is out and about and involved with her charities. Lady Dunfair, on the other hand … her husband barely cold in the ground a year! Can you believe she dares to show her face in public? I cannot possibly understand why Lady Nealton would choose to associate with her.”

Ava’s cheeks already hurt from the constant smile she was wearing, and she felt even more deflated at the comments overheard from the crowd. Her best friend, Edith, was also a widow, but Edith’s situation was still somehow quite different.

For starters, Edith suffered from none of the rumors surrounding William, Ava’s late husband. Edith’s husband had been entirely faithful. Ava’s late husband, not so much—and that was before he had begun to accuse Ava of being infertile.

It was this point, perhaps, that was the most important in explaining their difference in stations: Edith’s husband had already had sons before their marriage.

Ava’s husband had not, and so part of her wifely duties were, presumably, that she would provide him with, at the very least, an heir.

It was a duty that Ava had failed to fulfill.

A fact she had been reminded of nearly every day of her marriage. A bad investment , her husband had called her.

Never mind the conversation she had overheard between him and his physician, years before his death:

I fear you will never bear children, the doctor had told William. Take heart: infertility is not such a death sentence for a man. At least you will never have to worry about any heirs born out of wedlock …

This was true, if nothing else. The late Lord Dunfair had seemingly taken advantage of this fact, stepping outside their marriage whenever the urge struck him.

Ava did not, of course. She had made her vows, and she intended to keep them. However horrible her husband was, she was a woman of her word.

And if she ever felt lonely, or lacking in affection—well, that was just the way of the world. She had seen plenty of love and affection growing up, in her parents, in her friends’ marriages. She knew love existed.

She knew bad luck existed as well. She had been blessed with a financially stable union and with loving friends and family. Perhaps romantic love and children were simply not in the cards for her.

Even with this knowledge lodged deep inside her, it seemed she had still harbored some quiet, secret hope that a miracle would happen and bring her the children she had longed for. She had kept this secret even from herself, because she had not realized it until Dunfair’s death.

What had flooded through her then was more than simple grief for her dead husband.

However, that was of course a factor, but grief for the children they would never have, for the love that would never blossom between them, that they would never grow comfortable in their marriage, and never understand each other.

It was then that she truly gave up. Love would not happen for her in the way she had hoped.

“It is so good to see you out and about and enjoying the day after such a terrible year,” Lady Reginald said. “It must get terribly lonely in that house, without a husband to keep company.”

Ava felt the heat rise to her cheeks. But she bit her tongue against a retort. It certainly wouldn’t help her reputation to be heard trading insults at the hot balloon fair.

Edith, luckily, held no such reservations. “I imagine it may be lonely for those without other interests to occupy their time. You might offer some tips, Lady Reginald; your husband is certainly out of the house often enough. How is it you manage the loneliness?”

As Lady Reginald’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head, Lady Southington tried to regain control of the conversation.

“It is quite generous of the new Lord Dunfair to keep you in the townhouse as well as the countryside,” Lady Southington said, her sweet smile poorly covering up the viscousness of her tone.

“Keep? What an odd choice of words,” Edith remarked.

“You may consider yourself a kept woman, Lady Southington, but I’d hardly use the term to describe Ava.

For starters, she’s a lady, not a pony. And secondly, the estates are hers to manage.

She isn’t renting the place, as I know your family has done for years. ”

Edith had always been witty. She also had a reputation for being lighthearted with her jests—a reputation which protected her in the instances she wasn’t.

Ava thanked her lucky stars every day that Edith had seen fit to befriend her, and for the fact that she had somehow managed to remain on the petite, fiery brunette’s good side.

Lady Southington sputtered for a few moments, but ultimately decided to hold her tongue.

Gripping her parasol more tightly, she gave a polite nod to them both. “So delightful to see you,” she repeated, though her voice suggested she felt anything but.

The other ladies in her gaggle echoed the sentiment in similarly frosty tones.

Ava merely smiled tightly, returning the nod without adding a verbal reply. Even if she knew she could come up with a scathing retort to any of the ton’s insults, she knew it was better and cleaner in the long run to simply hold her tongue.

“Really, don’t listen to a word they say, Ava,” Edith murmured once the other ladies were a safe distance away.

“I don’t. Truly,” Ava reassured her.

Next, they passed a group of gentlemen, including none other than Brandon Warren.

Ava would have gladly ignored this new group, if only to avoid Brandon’s gaze.

However, that would be impossible, since he was not only her brother-in-law but the newest Earl of Dunfair, after William’s unfortunate demise.

It was due to Brandon’s generosity that she still had her small estates in the town and the country, and enough of an allowance to live on.

Though perhaps ‘generosity’ wasn’t the right word.

“Ladies.” He tipped his hat, and the rest of the gentlemen followed suit.

“Such a pleasure to see you both.” His eyes skimmed over Edith before settling firmly on Ava.

She fixed a polite smile to her face, refusing to react to the way his gaze raked over her body.

“You know, my dear Ava, it has been so long since we have had a proper chat. How are you faring with your new living situation?”

“Quite well, thank you, my lord.”

“You know it is, of course, my responsibility to look after you in my elder brother William’s stead. If I know anything about my brother, God rest his soul, it is that he would want his bride well taken care of.”

“You have been most kind to me, my lord,” she said. Ava had never liked the comments Brandon made to her since they met, which had always seemed flirtatious, bordering on inappropriate, even when she was married.

He had only gotten worse since the death of her husband.

“Yes, well. Perhaps we should have a chat to check in. You must indulge me. It has been too long since I’ve had the pleasure of your company. Join me for tea this Thursday, and we can go over some figures.”

“Thursday—oh, Ava, weren’t we having tea this Thursday? I must apologize, Lord Dunfair. Though you are, of course, welcome to join us. It would be a great blessing to my household to have you set foot under my roof,” Edith said smoothly, squeezing Ava’s arm. Ava squeezed back in gratitude.

Brandon’s smile tightened. “Far be it from me to interrupt the plans of two ladies. I imagine widowhood must be so very lonely. I am glad to see you have found some company with which to pass the painful hours, Ava. We will find some other time to converse. Know that I am always here if you are in need of guidance from a more masculine hand. I certainly hope I have been generous enough in my provisions for you after my brother’s death.

I would hate to see a lady such as yourself without a place to go. ”