“Papa, please. I cannot carry on knowing you think so ill of me. That you despise me so.”
His winced at this. “I do not despise you. I am simply in shock. I thought I raised you right. It worried me, of course, that you were reluctant to ever wed. I feared you would be looked down upon as an ape-leader, or an old maid. But by Jove, now I wish that were all. For it is infinitely more desirable to be looked at as left on the shelf than as…” He sighed heavily and turned his head away from her, as if it hurt him to even think of what was being said about her.
“Papa, it was just a kiss. I do not understand why…”
His head whipped around and he glared at her so severely she shrunk back.
“Just a kiss? The winning kiss at the Harvest Festival is to be but a peck on the lips, if that. What you engaged in was… Penelope, your reputation is in shambles and there is nothing I can do. Furthermore, you have sullied the name of the House of Branigan. I am sorry if I seem harsh or unkind, but I simply do not know how we can recover from this.”
She rubbed her lips together, unsure what to say. Bringing up Daniel’s proposal would do no good, of that she was sure.
“Perhaps if you spoke to Da…Lord Carlton and together you explained…”
“Explained what? There is nothing to explain. He kissed you in the manner of the rake he is. Nothing can take away the stain of that. Penelope, I know you made a mistake and I will forgive you. I already have. I simply cannot envision a future for you and it hurts my heart to think of you ruined.”
“I am not ruined. I could still marry and repair my standing.”
He shook his head. “Who will marry you? They would all be chased away by the gossip, for theon-ditsare already in all of Oxfordshire and beyond. You know nothing spreads as fast as a scandal, especially when a Duke is involved.” He shook his head, looking pale once more.
“What am I to do, Papa? How can I undo this?”
He shrugged, his eyes full of sadness. “All that is left for you to do is consider your future. For when I am gone, you may not wish to remain here in this village where you will be but an outcast, looked down upon.”
Her mouth dropped open. Consider her future? She’d never considered a future away from Oxfordshire. She loved Banbury and their little village. Even after her father was gone, she’d always planned to remain here, on the part of the estate not in entailment. That she might not be welcome, especially without her father here, had not occurred to her at all.
“I cannot be cast out for a kiss. One kiss. Surely, Papa it lasted hardly a moment.”
He reached for his cane and pushed himself up with a grunt. Penelope rushed forth to aid him but he shook his head.
“It was not just the kiss, Penelope. It is also because of who kissed you. Daniel’s own reputation precedes him, as does his family’s. You know well what is being said about his father. And his mother. And…” He paused for a moment. It was evident that there was more, something he had not told her but which weighed heavily on this entire situation.
“And what, Papa?”
He shook his head. “And nothing. There are factors at play of which you understand little for you are much too young. You have no memory of what it was like back then. The stories, the rumors. This… kiss—” he hissed the word more than he spoke it, “—has done nothing but breathe life into the old stories and you are now as tainted as he.”
He walked toward his dressing room, stopping only once to ring the bell for his valet.
“I am tired now, Penelope. I must rest. Think about what I have said and…” He stopped speaking when the valet entered and waved one hand weakly in her direction, dismissing her.
Confused, she left the room. It was early now and before long, Daniel would be back with the license. She’d have to come to a decision by then. In her mind, she already knew what she had to do. It was true, she would forever be a part of the saga surrounding the late Earl of Carlton now. She’d carry this with her if she remained here. Perhaps even if she went away.
She had no choice but to marry him. Even though it was the last thing she wanted. Not under these circumstances. She was about to walk down the stairs to take a seat in the library, to while away the time until her fate presented itself on the doorstep, when the sound of someone rushing up behind her drew her attention. She stopped and frowned at Mrs. Swinson as she was making her way to her.
“Lady Penelope, I know it is almost at the hour.” She paused, a nervous twitch visible in the corners of her lips. She looked around while playing with the fringe of her apron. Only after being sure nobody was near them, she spoke again. “I could not help but overhear part of your conversation with your father… I wasn’t eavesdropping, you must understand. It is simply that he had been so unwell that I went to check on him, and as I did I came upon your conversation.”
Penelope tilted her head to one side, squinting. What was going on? These past few days had been ever so peculiar.
“I know you would not eavesdrop on us, Mrs. Swinson. But please, what is on your mind?”
The woman sighed and looked at the marble floor. “It is not my place, but there is something you do not know that you ought. Your father was talking about how you are tainted now and how people talk. But it’s not just because of what happened at the Carlton estate. There is more…”
Penelope’s breath quickened. She had known there was more than what her father shared with her. “Go on. What is it? What is this about?”
The housekeeper looked at her once more. “It is to do with… Lady Branigan.”
Penelope’s blood ran cold. “My mother? What of my mother? Tell me! Tell me now!”
The housekeeper was about to speak once more when suddenly one of the footmen came rushing up the steps.
