“No, but he is in a rage and everyone is frightened. I have never seen him like this before.”
“What happened? Never mind, you’ll explain it to me along the way.” She called for Mrs. Curtis to fetch her cloak and gloves, thanking her when she hastily assisted Ailis in donning them.
The ducal carriage was waiting out front for them, so she hurried to it.
Edward helped her climb in and then took the seat opposite hers as the driver snapped the reins and the team made a hasty return to Langford Hall.
Ailis’s heart was still in her throat as they raced closer, every minute seeming to count. “Tell me what happened.”
“You know what a private person he is…”
“Yes, and?”
“These diamonds are constantly clamoring for his attention.”
“He has complained to me about it,” she replied, trying not to sound impatient.
“Lady Viola entered his chamber while he was getting dressed. She saw him without his shirt on. When she shrieked, the other young ladies rushed in, too.”
Ailis gasped. “And they all saw his scars?”
Edward regarded her with some surprise. “You know about them? Have you seen him…er… I am not passing judgment…er.”
“Nothing of the sort. He rolled up one sleeve and showed me his forearm the other day. He was trying to explain to me why he was so angry with your mother for bringing these unwanted guests to Langford Hall. He honored me by showing me his scars that he has kept hidden all these years, knowing I would never betray his secret agony. Those scars are the reason he will never marry, he explained to me.”
“And now everyone knows just how hideous they are,” Edward said with a groan. “Of all the people to walk in on him, why did it have to be Lady Viola? Her shrieks brought in those other peahens, their parents, and my friends. The entire household has now seen the body he has kept hidden all these years.”
Viola was the worst of this group of diamonds, scheming, manipulative, determined to win at all costs. She must have been lurking in the hallway, waiting for her chance to sneak into his bedchamber in the hope of entrapping him.
Instead, she found herself looking at a man whose body reflected the terrible toll the war had taken on him.
Viola could have run out and said nothing, but she was just the sort to make a dramatic scene and bring everyone rushing in.
Edward groaned again. “She will ridicule and revile him purely out of malice, because he certainly won’t choose her as his wife now.”
“He was never going to choose her,” Ailis remarked, although there was no triumph in her statement, since Viola’s loss did not clear the field of play for anyone. If anything, her behavior had reinforced the duke’s belief that no one could endure the sight of a man riddled with scars.
Which meant he was more resolved than ever not to marry.
Ailis ached for him, felt awful that he had to endure this humiliating incident.
Edward lolled his head back and groaned. “She will do her best to make him a laughingstock among theton.”
“A laughingstock? Because he was injured in combat? Because he was braver than any of his peers who avoided serving in the military and now walk around showing off their smooth hands and peacock silks? Anyone with an ounce of honor will think her the fool and dismissher, neverhim.”
“Likely you are right, Miss Temple. But the damage has already been done. No one was ever meant to know his secret torment. Those scars are his pain. Only he ever had the right to disclose them to the world.”
“And he had chosen not to.”
Edward nodded. “But his privacy is shot to hell now. Soon, all of Society will hear about this.”
“Oh, Lord Langford. This is awful. What a betrayal. But why send for me? Did he ask you to do this?”
“No, I took it upon myself. He will not speak to anyone, not even me or our mother. I’m sure he blames us for bringing this nightmare about. I suppose weareto blame, but you must believe we only wished to see him happy.”
“I know you love him,” Ailis said, although she did not agree with the high-handed manner in which they had gone aboutencouraging his happiness. Perhaps if they had chosen better, selected ladies more suitable for him… Surely there had to be attractive, thoughtful ladies in their mid-twenties who could provide intelligent conversation and see the fine man beyond the superficial damage to his body.
Even she might have been the right match for him, were he not a duke. But his exalted rank put him out of her reach. Why could he not have been a squire or an accomplished commoner?
