Page 51 of My Ruthless Duke
Cordelia whipped to the side, a default apology ready to roll from her lips about her mother’s behavior—but she was crying. Maybe it was the tears that moved Agatha to speak; it did not truly matter what the cause was because she started to tell them what had happened all of those years ago.
“I was grateful when the master of the house no longer came home,” she admitted softly, keeping a wary eye on the two of them. “I always pitied you, mistress, for the master was not a virtuous man.”
Lavinia staggered, a single tear falling as she slumped heavily onto the bed that Agatha had only half finished making and hung her head, but she did not stop Agatha from speaking.
“Please, go on,” Cordelia answered as she moved to take her mother’s hand supportively.
Agatha hesitated for only a moment longer before speaking. “The rate at which we had to hire and fire new maids here had been… high, as you are well aware, my lady. Those that were caught with him… those who were found unwed and with child as a result of his philandering… the lord attempted to hide it, of course, but you know how the staff can speak… the young petty women that were hired and would leave with heavy pockets…”
Cordelia was going to be sick.
“…with child?” Lavinia asked.
“Yes ma’am, I never wished to be the one to tell you… I am sorry, I know that it was not my place.”
Lavinia waved her hand dismissively as she stared hollowly forward. He had been operating behind their backs this whole time, pretending to be something that he simply was not. Every memory that she had ever had of her father was going to be forever tainted now.
“I cannot believe that I had been so blind. I feel like such a fool!” Lavinia muttered. It was like her whole demeanor shifted, changing right in front of Cordelia’s eyes. “Well, I spent so many months now calling him a pig, but I had no idea just how correct I had been this whole time. I am done ruining my health for a man like him!”
Lavinia stood, strolling out of the room with purpose and quickly moving into her own bedroom. Cordelia watched in silence as her mother pulled bottle after bottle out of their hiding places. She followed her mother mutely through the whole house as she went from place to place, gathering bottles until her arms were full. She kept depositing them in the kitchen and then going to fetch more. It took at least half an hour to gather everything up and carry it all down into the kitchen.
Lavinia shoved a bottle into Cordelia’s hand and uncorked her own, dumping the liquor and wine in the buckets. Slowly, somewhat more hesitantly than her mother was, Cordelia started to do the same thing.
“I am never going to drink or cry ever again from this day forward. Mark my words, Cordi.”
Cordelia could not help but smile. She certainly hoped her mother’s declaration was true.
Chapter 24
“Your Grace?” Agatha asked several hours later. Cordelia and Lavinia had been sitting together, swapping stories and going over theories and such for hours now.
She felt almost like a child again, being so close to her mother. While it was such horrible news that had brought them to this state, perhaps there would be a positive ending in sight.
“Yes?” Cordelia answered with a gentle smile. There was still so much that they needed to go over, so many events from their history that were only slowly starting to add up and fall into place, and likely would take many months to come… but at least the pair of them had closure now. At least they knew that her father had not taken his own life and abandoned them. She also knew that Dorian had not even meant to kill him; it had been self-defense.
“The duke has been waiting outside for you, Your Grace.”
Cordelia did not know if she was ready to speak to her husband just yet. It was not surprising to her in the slightest that he had come all this way to meet with her when he realized that she was not home. Dorian had been waiting outside for hours now, having only asked that she allow him to explain. “Perhaps I have punished him enough for one day?”
There was just so much that they all needed to speak about, so many things to be covered.
“Shall I invite him inside? It is starting to rain, after all. The butler and I agree that there is a storm brewing on the horizon. I predict that the storm shall hit before nightfall.” Agatha advised softly. She had never been wrong about the weather before. At least not when it came to predicting when storms were going to happen. She had come to rely on that in her youth to help keep her from panicking.
If there was going to be a storm tonight… she certainly did want Dorian here. The nightmares were never half as bad when she was around. “Very well, bring him in,” Cordelia answered, and Agatha left them. With weary arms and tired legs, she pushed herself up off of the floor. “Do I look all right?”
Lavinia smiled up at her with a nod. “At least you managed to marry a man with virtue, my dear. Sort of.”
Cordelia could feel herself blushing as she pressed the back of her hand into her cheek. “I shall be in the parlor, then, if you need me?”
Cordelia made it halfway to the parlor when Agatha came rushing back toward her, meeting in the middle of the hall, looking distressed right as the sky seemed to open up. A shock of thunder clapped, and Agatha frowned. “His Grace seems to have left…”
“He left?”
That was not like him in the slightest.
“Well, I mean, he is not outside anymore, but his horse is still tethered out front…”
A knot of dread curled in her stomach as lightning flashed outside of the window. It was so much more than mere panic over the storm that plagued her now.