Page 22 of My Ruthless Duke
It was the loneliness that was getting her. For years, she had thought that the only thing that she wanted was to be alone. Since her father died, her primary company was her mother, and she was constantly exhausted. But now she had more leisure time than she knew what to do with, and she was so painfully lonely. She could not begrudge Mary for having her own life, and Georgie was but a child.
Dorian, however, she had thought, would have at least attempted to spend time with her. If for no reason other than to put her at ease, considering his particular reputation. But he, too, seemed happy to let her believe the worst about him. Whywas that? He had not even followed through on the one thing that he had promised her thus far.
Which she was happy about.
She was.
It was not as if she had come around to the idea of laying with him… or began to wonder what it might be like to be in his arms once more.
Perhaps if he had, she would have been able to sleep better. The nightmares had not returned since the night of the storm, but none of the little sleep she was able to achieve in that large room was anything near restful. It was notfearthat kept her away any longer, but it was instead the feeling that Dorian must not like her very much. Which directly contradicted the way she felt when it was just the two of them.
“There is one more thing, Your Grace,” Matilde said.
Cordelia nodded that she should continue while she walked over to the rolling cart to examine some of the bulbs sitting there for her.
“Please forgive me if I am overstepping, but I thought… you might want to read this.” Matilde extended in her direction three gossip pamphlets.
Cordelia was almost reluctant to take them from her, knowing that it was only going to further confirm her fears. She should have stayed home. Or, she should have insisted that her mother be brought here with her… or something of the sort. She flipped through the first one, her eyes lingering only momentarily on the contents.
‘It has come to our attention that Lady Salisbury was caught in a heated exchange in the gardens of Lady Ashworth’s soirée, where she was seen in a rather cozy position with the charming Mr. Thompson. Sources say that a nearby bush provided an unwelcome audience to their rendezvous, prompting speculation about Lady Salisbury’s virtue.’
Without being there to keep her in line, Lavinia was running amuck. Spectacle after another, she was continuing to ruin their already tarnished reputation. It was not as if there wasmuchof a boost when Cordelia married a duke. Becoming a murderer’s duchess did not gain her many points. But she had hoped that it might at least appease her mother enough to not wish to further sully her new rank. It was not just them who were being dragged through the mud any longer, but Dorian and his family as well.
She flipped to the second sheet, afraid of what she was going to find there as well.
‘This season, Lady Salisbury has adopted a rather daring fashion sense that has left the ton buzzing. She was seen wearing a gown that, while exquisitely tailored, featured a scandalously low neckline that many deemed entirelyinappropriate for a woman of her station and age. Fashion-forward or simply too risqué? Opinions vary widely!’
There was only one way that she could think of to put an end to all of this, and her husband was just going to have to deal with it.
“It is only for a fortnight,” Cordelia explained, her voice soft as she spoke only to Dorian, who had grumpily occupied the head of the table. Though, from the barely veiled anger that he wore, he was only a few moments away from storming out of the dining room entirely.
Her mother had only arrived that afternoon while Dorian had been away.
However, he had not needed to be home long to have known that there was a disruption in his usual peace. Lady Salisbury was not the sort of woman who remembered the definition of quiet any longer. First, there had been an argument over the fact that the trunk she had brought with her had only been filled with wine and not a single stitch of clothing for her to change into or even a nightgown. Then, she instantly started snooping through all of the rooms, crying loudly if she came across a locked door until she had found what Cordelia presumed was the duke’s private stash of liquor. Cordelia had managed to coax her from the cabinets and locked them while her mother had only pilfered two bottles. No doubt he would be doubly angry when he realized that they were missing. Lord only knew how long it was going to be until they were discovered.
Even now, the rest of them were sitting at dinner, and Mary had pulled Georgie tightly into her side after Lavinia had requested a third bottle be opened on her behalf. She had not stopped muttering about how she wished to see how the other half lived, even though she had lived her entire life as a member of the ton.
“It should not be any days at all,” Dorian said in a low, carefully measured voice.
“Did you not read any of the scandal sheets? Have you not seen what she has been up to?” Cordelia answered, attempting to match his calm voice.
Lavinia, however, had no such compunction. “Oh, if only they were able to report half of it! I keep trying to make the front page, but–” she snapped her fingers as if disappointed and then started to laugh so hard that she nearly fell out of her chair.
Cordelia glared at her mother and then turned to Dorian as if to say ‘see?’
“You cannot just invite people into my home and–”
“Ourhome,” Cordelia corrected. “We are married now, Your Grace. That means that there are two people to make choices here.”
“Do you not know how inappropriate it is to have your mother here during our honeymoon period?”
“Why? Is there something untoward you are worried about her seeing?” Cordelia said it and then instantly regretted it. Her face flamed, her cheeks likely a bright red. She did not want him to know that she was in any way thinking about the promise he had not made good on. She quickly spoke again to correct her faux pas. “My mother was running about and making a fool of herself. You promised that she would be cared for. It is why we are in this arrangement, is it not?”
“She was to have full support. I have provided that.”
“And yet she has no handler when she so obviously needs one,” Cordelia continued, exasperated.
“I would not need a handler if my husband were still here,” Lavinia interjected dramatically. “He cared for me better than anyone else was capable of. You… you could not have asked for a kinder, sweeter, more generous, handsome–”