"Hush," Anthea said firmly, rising to embrace her stepsister. "This is not your fault. None of this is your fault."
"But it is!" Poppy said miserably. "If I had been braver, if I had not hesitated, you would not have been caught with the Duke. Now your reputation?—"
"My reputation was already questionable," Anthea interrupted gently. "One more scandal will hardly signify."
"But what if the Duke calls?" Veronica asked quietly, sinking into a chair. "What will you do if he offers marriage?"
Anthea opened her mouth to respond, but Beatrice's voice cut through from the doorway.
"He will not offer," Beatrice said acidly, sweeping into the room. "The man is a brute. A common-born soldier with no understanding of propriety or honor. Do you truly believe he comprehends what duty requires of him?" She laughed bitterly. "No. He will return to his estate, grateful to have escaped entrapment, and we shall be left to manage the scandal as best we can."
"Then what do you suggest we do?" Anthea asked coolly.
Beatrice's expression turned calculating. "We minimize the damage. We put it about that you were never truly alone—that I and my companions arrived mere moments after the Duke entered. That nothing improper occurred. Lady Thornbury may have her suspicions, but without proof of actual compromise, the gossip will eventually fade."
"You wish to lie," Anthea said flatly. "And you expect Lady Thornbury and the others to corroborate this fiction?"
"Lady Thornbury and Mrs. Pemberton saw what I told them they saw." Beatrice's smile was cold. "They will say whatever I ask them to. After all, we all have the same goals here—maintaining our positions in Society. A scandal that ruins you reflects poorly on all of us."
"I wish to protect what remains of this family's reputation," Beatrice continued sharply. "Since you have thoroughly destroyed my carefully laid plans, the least you can do is cooperate in cleaning up the mess you created."
"The mess I created?" Anthea felt her temper flare. "I prevented Poppy from being trapped in a marriage she did not want!"
"You prevented Poppy from securing the match of the season!" Beatrice's voice rose. "Do you have any idea what a duke's fortune could have done for this family? But no—you had to play the hero. Had to interfere. And now we have nothing. Worse than nothing—we have scandal without benefit!"
"Mama, please—" Veronica began.
"Silence!" Beatrice rounded on her. "You will both remain silent about what truly occurred last evening. If anyone asks, you will say that the Duke was never alone with Anthea. That I and my friends arrived immediately. Is that understood?"
Poppy and Veronica exchanged miserable glances but nodded.
"Good." Beatrice smoothed her skirts with sharp, agitated movements. "Now I must call upon Lady Ashford and begin the process of damage control. Anthea, you will remain in this house. You will not go out. You will not receive callers. You will make yourself as invisible as possible until this scandal dies down."
"I have no intention of hiding," Anthea said.
"You will do as I say, or I will—" Beatrice stopped herself, visibly fighting for control. "We have lost the Duke. That much is clear. But I will not lose what little standing we have left."
Before Anthea could respond, the butler appeared in the doorway. "Forgive the interruption, madam, but His Grace, the Duke of Everleigh, has arrived. He wishes to speak with Miss Anthea Croft."
The color drained from Beatrice's face. "What?"
"His Grace is here," the butler repeated. "Shall I show him to the drawing room?"
Anthea felt her stomach drop even as something like triumph flashed across her features. She met Beatrice's shocked gaze with cool composure.
"It would appear," Anthea said quietly, "that the Duke understands honor rather better than you gave him credit for."
On their way to the drawing room, Veronica twisted her hands together anxiously. "Anthea, are you feeling alright?" Veronica asked, her voice filled with concern. "You look quite pale."
Alright?Anthea thought somewhat hysterically.I am about to refuse a duke who has every reason to expect acceptance.
Now that the moment had actually arrived, she found her carefully prepared refusal had fled her mind entirely. All she could think about was the Duke's dark green eyes. His accusations about perfume. The way he had stood so close she could count his heartbeats.
"I will be fine," she said aloud, as much to convince herself as Veronica. "I will simply refuse him. Politely but firmly."
"But Mama?—"
"Mama can threaten all she likes," Anthea interrupted, rising from her seat with more confidence than she felt. "I will not be forced into marriage. Not by scandal, not by duty, and certainly not by her machinations."
