Читать книгу Secrets Of A Duchess - Kaitlin O'Riley - Страница 10

The afternoon following the duke’s visit to Caroline, Lady Weatherby celebrated her seventy-first birthday by having an intimate tea with forty of her closest friends and family. As the guests assembled in the main salon of her townhouse, Lady Weatherby sat like a benevolent queen holding court, where she welcomed everyone with a smile and commanded them to have refreshments. She was a kindly woman who loved parties and gossips. Olivia Fairchild was her dearest friend. While the older women in this gathering of females sat in chairs and sofas near their hostess, the younger girls congregated in the small side parlor.

Caroline and Emma were by now acquainted with most of the girls there and greeted the friends they had made during the pre-Season activities, and they were introduced to those individuals they had not met before. There was much kissing, hugging, and complimenting of pretty pastel dresses. With her outgoing ways, friendly manner, and easy sense of humor, Emma was a particular favorite among the girls. On the other hand, Caroline, who had not been able to participate wholeheartedly in the discussion of beaux and needed to keep herself as unobtrusive as possible, had kept a low profile at social functions, and because of this the other girls perceived her as rather bookish and shy.

The first ball of the Season was the main topic of conversation, and the room was soon filled with girlish chatter and laughter.

Emma, in her element, asked animatedly, “Did anyone else dance with Arthur Kingston? He is simply detestable. At the end of our waltz, I had to practically peel him off me!”

“Well, he spilled punch all over my new, white gloves. The ones I got in Paris! They’re completely ruined,” wailed Betsy Warring, a plump blonde with a wide mouth.

Mary Ellen Talbot confided in a heated whisper, “My brother warned me to stay away from him, because he’s rather fast.”

As talk of the repulsive Arthur Kingston escalated, Lucy Greenville, a slim girl with reddish hair and an impudent nose, whispered urgently to Madeline Maxwell, “She’s here!”

“Who?” asked Madeline, somewhat puzzled, idly twirling a blue silk ribbon that was tied in her yellow hair. A little bored when she was not dominating the topic of conversation, she wondered if one of the girls would be spirited enough to question her about her break with the duke or if she would have to bring it up herself.

“The one I told you about,” Lucy explained with impatience. “The one on the balcony.”

Instantly alert, Madeline lowered her voice and glanced suspiciously around the crowded room. “Are you sure?”

Lucy spoke in a dramatic whisper. “I was just introduced to her, and I’m sure.”

“Who is she?” Madeline demanded.

Nonchalantly, Lucy picked up her teacup and murmured, “Don’t look now, but she’s sitting by the window, wearing the light green dress.”

Of course, Madeline looked immediately and was surprised at what she saw. She had met Caroline Armstrong at an afternoon tea two weeks ago and instantly dismissed her as a little nobody from the country, even though her grandfather had been, and now her uncle was, the current Earl of Glenwood. Caroline struck her as somewhat different, shy, and academic, not a girl she would want to bring into her close circle of intimate friends, like Lucy. She didn’t take Caroline seriously then and subsequently paid her little attention.

Now she regarded her with a critical eye. Madeline noticed Caroline’s curling golden hair, highlighted by the sunlight filtering through the window behind her, and her pretty face with clear, smooth skin. Her pale green tea gown was filled out nicely, and the color accentuated the green in her eyes. Madeline at once felt threatened, a feeling with which she was very unfamiliar.

Was this really the girl that Lucy saw holding hands with the duke on the balcony of her house the night of the ball? It didn’t make sense though. The duke could have only just met her, so how could they be familiar enough to be holding hands? Besides, he couldn’t possibly be interested in a boring girl like Caroline Armstrong! Madeline had no recollection of seeing Caroline that night, but then again she was too preoccupied pretending to be in love with Oliver Parkridge to notice anything else. However, Madeline vividly recalled when Lucy Greenville told her that she had seen a very pretty girl on the balcony with the Duke of Woodborough, holding hands and speaking rather intimately.

Madeline whispered incredulously, “Caroline Armstrong?”

Lucy nodded her head in affirmation.

“You’re positive?”

“Positive.”

Madeline stared directly at Caroline. Caroline glanced up and stared back. For a moment, they regarded each other warily, then Madeline made her move.

There was a slight lull in the conversation, and Madeline inquired rather loudly, “I don’t recall seeing you dance at the ball, Caroline. Where did you keep yourself all night?”

The other girls glanced from Madeline to Caroline, wondering why the popular Madeline would show any interest at all in the decidedly unpopular Caroline Armstrong.

“I wasn’t feeling very well and spent most of the evening with my grandmother.” Caroline looked directly at Madeline, her gaze unwavering.

“Didn’t you dance with anyone special or perhaps go for a walk with someone?” Madeline’s words dripped with false sweetness, her blue eyes wide with innocence, daring Caroline to answer. “Surely you didn’t spend the entire evening sitting with your grandmother, a pretty girl like you?”

The other girls sensed the undercurrent of tension between Caroline and Madeline, and everyone was waiting for Caroline to answer.

“Of course I danced,” she responded airily. “I danced with Edward Winslow and even Arthur Kingston.”

“Madeline, is it true that you turned down the Duke of Woodborough?” Emma interrupted demurely, casually smoothing the ruffles of her yellow muslin dress.

Madeline turned her icy gaze toward Emma while Emma stared indifferently back at her. As she scrutinized Emma’s silky chestnut hair, flashing hazel eyes, and pretty face, Madeline realized that she had completely underestimated the Armstrong sisters. A mistake she would not repeat. She had been expecting this question all afternoon and as yet, no one had been brave enough to ask her about it directly. Madeline knew that everyone had learned of her break with the duke on the night of the ball, but not even her closest friends had heard her prepared speech of why she turned him down. Well, now is as good a time as any, Madeline thought to herself, begrudgingly grateful to Emma Armstrong for getting the subject out in the open.

She stood up, with her hands on her hips, and smiled conspiratorially at the room, as if letting them in on a special secret, and whispered dramatically, “It’s true. I turned him down!”

There was a collective gasp, and with a sense of excitement, the girls realized they were finally going to hear what they had been waiting for all afternoon.

“Oh, but why, Madeline?” asked Betsy Warring, truly amazed that anyone could possibly say no to the handsome and charming duke.

“How could you?” marveled Elizabeth Dishington, her black curls bouncing as she shook her head in disbelief.

“I’m simply not in love with him.” Madeline paused for effect, as if that fact alone explained everything. Just as she had rehearsed in front of her mirror for the past two days, she continued, “The duke was crushed, absolutely crushed, when I told him that I couldn’t possibly marry anyone I wasn’t in love with. He confessed—”

“How could you not be in love with him?” interrupted Mary Ellen, dreamily.

“Because I’m not!” Madeline snapped, stamping her foot and glaring at Mary Ellen for interrupting her performance. “So…” She clasped her hands together against her chest as if in anguish. “He confessed that he was desperately in love with me and couldn’t I please learn to love him a little? He pleaded with me to be his duchess. I simply shook my head and told him that I was sorry.” Madeline shook her head woefully. “I explained that even though his parents and my own dear family wished it of us and all of London expected it of us, I could not in good faith marry him, because…” She again paused for suspenseful effect, sighing delicately.

The girls waited expectantly for her to finish. Every eye in the room was riveted to Madeline’s revelation.

“Because…Because I am hopelessly in love with another!” Madeline finished her little speech with a flourish of her hands, and satisfied with the girls’ reaction, she reclined gracefully on the sofa, as she was showered with frantic questions.

“Oh Madeline!”

“In love with whom?”

“Who is he?”

Madeline dissolved into excited giggles and exclaimed blissfully, “Oliver Parkridge! Our engagement will be announced this weekend!”

The girls’ attention was instantly diverted from Madeline’s refusal of the Duke of Woodborough to her engagement to Oliver Parkridge, which was exactly what Madeline had planned.

Caroline glanced at Emma, wondering if she accepted Madeline’s fabricated story as easily as the other girls did. Was it just because Caroline knew the truth that she could see through Madeline’s false and staged performance? She didn’t think so. Madeline seemed to truly believe the story she told, which is what made her so convincing to the others, she supposed.

Emma raised an eyebrow sardonically, and Caroline nodded. Her sister knew exactly what was going on.

It was a relief to Caroline that the remainder of the afternoon continued without any further remarks from Madeline. She had a feeling Madeline’s sudden interest in her had to do with her visit from the duke, although she wasn’t sure how she could even know about it. Caroline herself was still struggling to take in the enormity of the situation.

Somehow, she had agreed to form a secret alliance with the dashing Duke of Woodborough.

The idea was quite outrageous. At first, she had been stunned by his proposal that they pretend to be courting to dissuade any other overtures of marriage. It was scandalous. But the more she thought about it, the more it made sense, in a crazy sort of way.

It would help her get through this Season at least, without becoming entangled in a courtship that had no future. Her grandmother had been so positive that Caroline would make a brilliant match and undo the disgrace that Katherine had caused with her elopement. Caroline feared any gentleman becoming interested in her, because she had no idea how to extricate herself from a courtship without telling her grandmother the truth. That Caroline could never do. The last thing she wished to do was to cause another scandal and embarrass her grandmother. She simply could not marry anyone. However, the expectations of marriage from Olivia, who had been so good to her and Emma, were a constant source of worry. So she had devised a plan to discourage suitors by acting extremely intellectual and dull and being a terrific bluestocking. It made her feel depressed.

Although, sometimes it seemed that she had been depressed for a long time. Since her mother died. Since Stephen left. Since her father died. The entire burden had been upon Caroline to support the family during her father’s lengthy illness. She had taken over some of her father’s work at the university, through the help of his friends. They had kindly allowed Caroline to do research for some of the professors and rewrite some articles. She was an excellent proofreader, and they had relied upon her talents. After he died last fall, she had secured a position as a governess to a family in Sussex. She was still searching for a position for Emma when the grandmother she hadn’t known existed rescued them. She did not have to work as a governess. She no longer had to worry about money. She was now a lady of leisure. Yet her problems were still there.

The duke’s secret arrangement offered her a slight reprieve. For a little while, she could enjoy her new life and all it had to offer, but only for a little while. Then she and the duke would break off and end their supposed courtship and she would be expected to marry once again. Maybe by then she would have another solution. In the meantime, she and Alex would help each other. She didn’t want to marry him, and he didn’t want to marry her. It was perfect. As he said, they could be good friends. Although she had to institute the no-kissing rule. There was no need to get involved that way! She had to admit she was tempted though. Alex had something about him that drew her to him. She couldn’t explain it, but the feeling was almost hypnotic.

At the end of Lady Weatherby’s party, while they were saying their farewells, Caroline, Emma, and Olivia happened to be following behind Lady Maxwell and Madeline as they made their way to the carriages out front.

At that moment Lady Weatherby’s high-pitched voice rang out, “Olivia, dear, I forgot to ask you, was that the Duke of Woodborough’s carriage I saw in front of your house yesterday afternoon?”

Her blue skirts swirling, Madeline whipped around to stare at them, her eyes wide in astonishment, as did Lady Maxwell, her sour and pinched face looking ridiculously surprised.

Olivia smiled and responded matter-of-factly, betraying nothing, as if the Duke of Woodborough visited her on a regular basis. “Why, yes, it was! Such a charming young man. He was just paying me a friendly call.”

Madeline’s hard blue eyes raked over Caroline, an undisguised look of malice on her pretty face. Caroline was quite taken aback by the unbridled hostility that emanated from the petite blonde. It left her with the uneasy feeling that by becoming involved with the duke, however innocently on her part, she had somehow made an enemy of Madeline Maxwell.