Читать книгу The Wallflower Duchess - Liz Tyner, Liz Tyner - Страница 13

Chapter Four

‘I saw you return from the garden.’ Abigail swooped into Lily’s vision when she topped the stairs. A smile glittered in Abigail’s eyes. ‘You were talking with the Duke.’ She bounced on her heels. ‘What were you speaking about? The date for the wedding?’

Lily’s mind almost blanked and she moved past her sister. ‘No. We won’t wed. Just speaking of things. The past. How he studied so hard. Did you have a good time visiting Father’s sister?’

Abigail followed behind. ‘No wonder you had to know whether Edgeworth would court me. You have a fascination with him.’

She stepped to the sitting room. ‘Well, he is fascinating. But distant. You know how distant he is.’ She looked around. ‘Wouldn’t a cup of tea be good?’

‘I do know how he is,’ Abigail said, ignoring the suggestion of refreshment. ‘That’s why I’m relieved he doesn’t want me for a duchess. I’ve always much preferred his cousin. Foxworthy is an adventure. Edgeworth is more like a tutor.’

‘It’s just Edgeworth’s look. He thinks a lot.’

‘He’s like his father. You know how you said the old Duke always looked at you as if you had breakfast on your face. Edgeworth has the same stare.’

‘No. He’s not so superior.’ He couldn’t be if he’d considered asking her to marry him.

‘Well, the old Duke might not have been either. Remember the time he had the coachman leave the carriage out so we could play in it.’

Lily nodded. ‘It was the first time we’d been back after Mother took us.’

Abigail moved to the sofa. Her reticule lay on it, and two parcels, one opened with gloves scattered about.

Lily paused, thinking back to Edgeworth’s face. ‘Edgeworth takes life seriously. His father took himself seriously.’

‘The old Duke didn’t hate us as much as you thought. The time he realised we were at Mother’s when he was meeting his mistress, I thought he was going to choke.’ She held her arm out, showing Lily the purchase. Lily nodded absently.

‘I don’t remember that.’

‘You didn’t see him. He left as soon as he started breathing again. He just glared at us afterwards because he felt guilty. We knew his secret. Maybe he wanted to intimidate us. He surely didn’t like it when the Duchess had us for tea.’ She slipped the glove from her hand and threw it with its mate.

‘He should have been kind to us.’

‘Yes.’ She wrinkled her nose. ‘But you didn’t exactly look well at him once you found out he was not true to the Duchess. You thought him terrible. Terrible. And you were so angry when Mother’s friend visited us and told us about the baby being on the way.’

‘But I couldn’t say a word. Mother would have been...unsettled. It wouldn’t have been worth the upset. Mother actually thought it a grand jest that her friend had had a romp with the old Duke. She encouraged it. Did all she could to push them together.’

Abigail snorted. ‘I know.’

‘She exhausted me.’ And when her parents lived together, their father had been little better where his wife was concerned. He’d acted as if it hurt to have her on his arm. His smile had condescended. His wife was beneath him. He wanted everyone to know he thought her a mistake.

Lily knew her father had once been smitten with her mother. But that hadn’t lasted. A grand love turned into an even grander liability. Lily’s grandmother had filled her granddaughter’s ears with tales of how her son thought himself in love with the first woman who sidled up against him. Married her, and then her grandmother’s eyes had become slits as she’d stared at Lily. ‘And that has been a delight.’ The older woman had nodded and turned away, sniffing into the air and leaving the room.

Abigail rolled her eyes. ‘Do not let the past hurt you. It’s over.’

‘It doesn’t hurt me.’

‘You have always been mature.’ She wriggled her nose. ‘And staid. Or is that stale? And do I smell mould?’

‘No. You just smell.’

Lily dodged Abigail’s pretend slap.

‘That’s what I mean,’ Abigail said, ‘you always use the oldest jests.’

‘Go away.’

‘You can’t be that fortunate as to have both Mother and me move. But I am happy Mother left. Now I can fall in love without worrying she will cause more tales.’

‘Love,’ Lily muttered. ‘Mother and her friends showed me just how wonderful that is.’

‘Lily—’

‘Can you name one person happy and in love?’

‘Well, no,’ Abigail said. ‘But it exists. I’m sure of it.’

‘Would you like to buy a unicorn?’ Lily asked.

Abigail laughed. ‘No.’ She dragged out the word. ‘And you’d still be saving for one if Father hadn’t told you that they cost over a million pounds.’