Uffa!She was an idiot to soften at all on this man. As Lady Isolde had wondered, his boorishness did indeed extend to his core.
Kendall would only ever see things as they pertained to himself.
“Do not refer to my friends as pigs, Your Grace, even metaphorically. Such spitefulness should be beneath you.” Fury laced each of Allie’s syllables. “Mr. Penn-Leith is a talented, hard-working gentleman. We live in the same world, he and I—both fighting to free ourselves from those who hold our respective leashes.”
Kendall rolled his eyes, making his opinion ofthatsentiment abundantly clear.
Allie gritted her teeth, continuing on, “However, Mr. Penn-Leith’s intelligence and station are not the relevant bit of this conversation. You claim to want my happiness, and yet, you still see me as a commodity. A thing to be bartered for power, not your twin sister with her own hopes and—”
“You are a woman in a man’s world. You do not understand—”
“I have struggled and fought in a ‘man’s world’ for years! I am not some simpering miss, fearful of my own shadow!”
“That is precisely the problem, Lady Allegra!” he all but snarled. “When left to yourownchoices and yourownperspicacity, you make atrocious decisions. Add in your advanced years, and it’s a wonder Charswood will even have you!”
Oh!
Trust Kendall to know where to stab the knife.
Allie took in a deep breath, willing her tone steady.
“If my way of life in Italy bothered you,Your Grace”—she leaned on his honorific with heavy irony—“perhaps you should have come to my aid when I first requested it, instead of ruthlessly betraying me to our father. Donotattempt to shame me for the life you all but thrust upon me through your callous indifference. I did what I must to survive after being abandoned by the one person who had sworn to love and protect me.”
Kendall at least had the courtesy to wince at her words.
“Continuing this conversation is a waste of breath.” Allie crossed to the door. “I am staying here as Lady Isolde’s guest. If you don’t like it, you may drag me from the premises kicking and screaming. I promise to make my exit dramatically memorable for all present.” She paused with her hand on the door handle. “Once upon a time, I adored a twin brother who held the other half of my soul. I shall forever hate our father for turning you into a mirror of his own cruelty. Into Kendall. Into this callous, selfish mockery of the Tristan I loved.”
As it turned out, she too could deliver a cutting blow.
Her brother paled slightly, lungs heaving, before spinning away to stare out the window, arms folded.
Allie left him like that, slamming the door behind her.
Yes, she recognized that she would likely accept Charswood’s offer in the end.
No matter her friendship with Ethan, she would not drag the Scot through the muck of Kendall’s vitriol—the destruction of Ethan’s career, as well as the livelihoods of his close family members. Nor could she envision resting her threadbare trust in Ethan, relying on the stars and rainbows of true love and friendship to see them through her brother’s retributions.
No.
Despite the chill sterility of such an existence, Charswood offered her the freedom she longed for—money and social standing without the weight of emotional entanglements. A purely contractual sort of obligation.
So . . . Kendall would win this round.
But Ethan was not entirely wrong, either.
Allie could still—for a brief, fleeting window—seize all the happiness and joy she could. Embrace Lady Isolde’s offer of friendship and bask in the sun of Ethan’s light while it still shone in her orbit.
The house partyended in a flurry of carriages, trunks, and goodbyes.
To Ethan’s purview, the house party appeared to be a success. Conversation had never ebbed, with Kendall’s saltpeter mines being a particularly popular topic of conversation among the gentlemen.
Now however, the house guests were eager to return to London and the Season there.
Malcolm and Leah had left for home the previous afternoon. For his part, Ethan had packed his bags the night before and arranged for the local carter to take them to Thistle Muir.
All that remained was taking leave of Allie.
However, he awoke to discover that the Duke of Kendall’s entourage—Lady Whipple, secretaries,et cetera—had departed in the wee hours of the morning.
