A pit immediately began to carve itself in Cecilia’s stomach at her mother’s words, and she bit back her immediate question when a maid arrived with the tray of refreshments. She truly should have anticipated something like this from her mother. “And why is that?”
“Because ofthis.” Her mother drew out a folded newspaper and snapped the front page open. It read,Who IS Duke Tressingham? “It is three pages of his life, Cecilia, and do you want to know what it says?”
“No, Mother—"
“Upon the now well-known scandal with Duke Tressingham and Lady Cecilia Hartwick, this newspaper has decided to investigate who the Devilish-Duke of London is. Our investigation has uncovered scandalous facts about his parents.
“Reports from credible sources have said his mother was the secret child of Marquess Willowsmere, who had been hidden away in a Scottish convent for half of her life before marryingAlgernon Fitzroy, the late Duke of Tressingham. The good lady, allegedly, was afflicted with a severe addiction to Laudanum and died with an overindulgence of the drug.”
“That’s a lie!” Cecilia bit back immediately. “She died of consumption.”
Margaret ignored her. “Reports have uncovered that the death of the late duke and his heir apparent, Roderick Fitzroy, from a carriage accident could not have been a true accident after all.
“A constable who had been called to the scene reminisces that there were signs of tampering with all four wheels of the vehicle and that the death was orchestrated, with all fingers pointing to the current Duke Tressingham.”
“Oh, good god!” Cecilia snapped. “They are telling taradiddles, Mother.”
“Old teachers from Eton have stated numerous times that Cassian Fitzroy was a sullen soul, withdrawn from the world, and took no pleasure in returning to his childhood home for the holidays.
“He had told many of his peers that his father openly hated him and favored his brother, forcing him into the role of black sheep of the family.”
Her mother looked up briefly. “The day before the tragic death, rumors say the young Cassian was seen around the town ofMillfield before he mysteriously vanished that night and was nowhere to be found again until the funeral.
“Other rumors say he had sent a subordinate to sabotage the vehicle as he wanted his parent and successful brother dead out of pure hatred and jealousy,”her mother continued, then spun the paper around to show four columns of names.
“These are the names of the ladies Tressingham has had affairs with in Town,”Margaret chirped on. “There are seventy-eight, Cecilia.Seventy-eight. Can you imagine the shame these women had to feel to disclose such private details just to—”
“Lie,” Cecilia stopped her mother. “It’s all lies.”
“That is by the by. Your father and I, however, cannot abide by you being tethered to a person who might have committed familicide,” Margaret pressed on. “Have you no sense of self-preservation anymore, Cecilia? This is utterly mortifying.”
“And it’s all a lie,” Cecilia finished resolutely.
The duchess’s lips pinched tight. “I am concerned with how easily you allow this man to manipulate you.”
“I am more concerned with how easily you believe every lie written in those rags after they did the same to bury your daughter, but I guess it only solidifies your hatred of him,” Cecilia muttered. “Did you ever stop to ask yourself why wouldanyone do this, and—” she reached for the paper, searching for any hint of who might have sponsored this investigation.
On the third page, she found it. “…It is sponsored by Whitmore, Mother. Did you notice that?”
“It matters not,” Margaret huffed primly. “The man is detrimental to your public image.Ourpublic image. You shall not be tied to this monster anymore if I have anything to do with it. Get him to create an annulment agreement, and you will sign it at once.”
“Is Father doing anything to stop Gabriel from dragging my name in the mud?” she asked. “Surely he knows what hisdarlingGabriel is doing.”
Her mother sighed. “Yes, your father did warn him, but decided to let Gabriel’s little game run out on its own time.”
“On its own time…” Cecilia echoed in disbelief. Anger spiked in her chest. “You truly think this is something that is going to die down by itself? Mother!
“Can’t you see that Gabriel is using it as a distraction to have everyone nailing me to the cross while you all ignore his reprehensible actions? He uses ladies like me as attention fodder and then casts us aside when we are no longer useful to him.
“He is throwing the scraps to the left for the dogs to chase after while he slaughters the calf on the right!” Cecilia raged on. “Andyou know it! How is it that Cassian is doing more to insulate me from that man’s poison than you are?”
“Do not take that tone with me, Cecilia, and we know about what Tressingham did toprotectyou.” Her tone was heavy with derision and scorn. “Engaging in a brawl at White’s is not protecting you. In fact, it did the exact opposite.Weare doing it the right way.”
“No, no you’re not,” Cecilia said calmly, while inside she wanted to scream. “Taking Whitmore to task on his evil actions in any way you can is protecting me, but you are not. I—I cannot believe that—” she paused to laugh ironically, “—that my husband, the so-calledscourge of London, is more concerned with defending me than my very own family.”
“That is not fair, Cecilia,” her mother told her.
For once, Cecilia was purely defiant. “Yesit is, and there is more to the story about that night at White’s, but I am sure you did not hear the other part.
