The spinster sister of the Duke of Greystone was spotted leaving Bellmoor in a rush yesterday afternoon. Well-wishers whohave wondered about His Grace’s marriage prospects will be disappointed indeed to learn of his poor taste in ladies—that he would give his time to such a well-known spinster is shocking indeed.
She put the paper down quickly, not wanting to read any further, reluctant to hear such negativity about herself. She had known this might happen. It shouldn’t have shocked her as badly as it did. She should have been prepared for something like this to happen—but she hadn’t been.
And now what? What was she going to do?
Her appetite left her. She rose from the table without eating a bite of food and went into the sitting room to ponder.
Agnes could handle the idea of harm to her reputation. She was prepared for that. She wasn’t highly regarded anyway. But what about the duke? The trouble was that, now, he knew who had been in his house. Not only that, but the report in the scandal sheets made him look bad.
She thought it might have been to his benefit to let her go yesterday. But would that still be true? Maybe he would want to have her arrested just to reclaim control of the situation.
Agnes didn’t fear gossip. Jail was another story altogether. Her heart pounded so hard that it hurt.
Should I run? I could go to Reeves.She had no doubt that her brother would do all he could to protect her.
But what if going to Reeves would mean making trouble for him? She didn’t want to drag him into this mess. She needed time, time to think about what she was going to do—but there was no time. The word was out now. Her actions were known, and that was likely to mean trouble for her.
She wasn’t sure how long she had been in the sitting room, pondering all this, when the knock on the door came. One of the maids poked her head in.
“Forgive me, my lady,” the girl said. “The Duke of Bellmoor is here asking to see you.”
Already.Dread shot through her, but her mind latched onto one detail. “It’s just the duke?” she asked. “He doesn’t have…anyone with him?”
“No, my lady, he’s alone.” The maid hesitated. “Shall I show him in?”
“Yes, bring him, and bring one of the footmen as well,” Agnes said. “You’ll stay with us too. This visit ought to be chaperoned, I think.”
“Yes, my lady. Of course.”
She left the room and went to fetch the duke. Agnes rose to her feet and began to pace. She wanted to present a veneer of calm for the duke. She didn’t want to let him walk in here and see just how rattled she was. But she wasn’t sure she was going to be able to hide it.
He came through the door and stood by the wall, facing her, studying her carefully. This was, she realized, the first time he had seen her face. She lifted her chin. Whatever happened now, she would not allow him to humiliate her.
“So it’s you,” he said.
“It’s me,” she agreed.
His face was stony, his jaw set, and Agnes felt a sudden rush of admiration. He was so handsome. It was easy to see that he was used to being obeyed—of course, he was. Of course, people would want to give this man whatever he demanded.
Wait. No.Why was she thinking in those terms? She wasn’t going to give him whatever he wanted. That was a terrible mindset, and if she couldn’t break out of it, she risked losing everything. She had to keep her guard up, not get swept away by those piercing blue eyes.
“We have some things to discuss,” he said. “May I sit down?”
She hesitated. If she let him sit, she might lose what little control she had of this situation. “Are you planning to involve the law?”She might as well be blunt about it. “If you are, I don’t feel the need to play hostess to you before you do it.”
“No,” he said. “I don’t think there’s going to be any need for that.”
Her muscles unclenched, although she wasn’t entirely sure yet whether or not she ought to believe him. She nodded in the direction of a chair.
He sat down and watched her expectantly until she took the seat opposite him .
“The truth is,” the duke said, “you’ve done me a bit of a favor.”
“I…” Agnes frowned. “I did you a favor? What do you mean?”
“I’m sure you read the scandal sheets.”
“Yes,” she agreed. “By the sound of things, your own reputation may be tarnished more than mine.”