“Nancy, this is Lord Matthew Baker, the Earl of Lowstones,” Augusta said. “Lord Baker, this is my sister, Lady Nancy.”
Augusta turned to Matthew whose face had lit up. His eyes remained focused on Nancy, his lips parted but not a word out of it. She turned her attention to her sister. Nancy was smiling shyly, her gaze much like the man, fixed on him.
She frowned as she looked at the pair, lost in their own little world, and turned to Benedict.
“Well then, Lady Augusta. Now that you have saved another female from the hands of a rake, might I propose a dance? The music is almost over,” he suggested, holding out his hand to her.
“Certainly, Your Grace,” she said, following him back into the ballroom, Nancy and Matthew right beside them.
Augusta tensed as she felt Benedict’s hands on her. He placed a hand on her back and taking her hand in his, he moved in time with the music. She followed his steps, her face turned away from his.
“You look beautiful in your dress, Lady Augusta,” he complimented, his tone rasp.
Augusta blushed at his words. Nancy had helped her choose the red gown because of how excited she was to see her sister being courted.
“I cannot delude myself into thinking I know what is best for you, however, I truly do hope you will be more careful whenever you are in dangerous company,” he said calmly.
“I am always careful,” she retorted, allowing herself one look before she turned away from him.
“I don’t quite understand what you mean by that, Lady Augusta, as that was not the sight I witnessed only moments ago. I know I have said this already, and perhaps you grow tired of my repetition, however, I do feel like I have to say it again. Men like Lord Colin can be dangerous when it does not seem that way. I beseech you to please, be careful.”
Augusta nodded. His words, unlike the time before this when he had been quite vexing, sounded like he spoke only because he cared for her safety. She swallowed. His words filled her with warmth she could not understand.
For the first time, she looked into his eyes, unsure what she set out to decipher but nonetheless searching.
“There is one thing I would like to know,” he said. “I know I have asked you this and you have always refused to tell me but I do wish that you would. Why are you so set on protecting the ladies of the ton?”
Augusta sighed. There was no reason to keep this away from him anymore. “I have seen what rakes can do and the effect they can have on those who love them.”
His eyes filled with worry. “It is not you who experienced the result of their actions, was it?”
Augusta shook her head. “No, it wasn’t. My father, before he died, was a known rake. His affairs were far from hidden and he carried on with a blatant disregard for my mother.”
Her throat tightened, the words hurting to speak even as she wished that things had been different. That they had led a happy life with two loving parents, who respected the sanctity of their vows and the marriage institution.
“My mother was quite heartbroken by his affairs, constantly breaking down when another of his affairs came to light,” she whispered. “She was not the only one who suffered. Watching her lose herself to a man who could not even see what was happening right in front of him had been even worse.
As the oldest daughter, I was by my mother’s side all through the years she endured my father’s cruelty, unable to fight back or let go of the hurt. She became a shell of herself and I became a shell with her.”
Her eyes watered but she blinked it away. She would not cry. Not now, not ever. She would do what needed to be done.
“I do not want any woman to go through what my mother went through, which is why I continue to fight to make sure it doesn’t happen even though it gives me the wrong kind of reputation.”
Benedict had been quiet as she spoke, never uttering a word but choosing instead to listen to her. He cleared his throat when she finished, seeming to struggle with what to say next.
Augusta waited to hear what it would be. A lot of the time, young lords did not know how to respond to such a revelation. In her first season she had told this story to some of the men who braved courting her.
Of course she did not let it be known that it was her parents, but they all tried to defend the actions of her father somehow, or claim she could not judge when she did not know the whole story and only heard it from someone else.
“I understand now why you do what you do now. Thank you for telling me,” Benedict said, his gaze intense.
Augusta was pleasantly surprised. His words were simple, yet they carried an honest understanding. She wished she could read his thoughts and see what he was thinking.
The music came to an end and she curtsied, allowing him to lead her to where her siblings stood. As she walked, she noticed his step falter. She followed the direction of his gaze but saw no one.
“Are you all right, Your Grace?” she asked, concerned.
Benedict’s expression had crumbled, but he forced a smile for her. “Quite.”
