“Fine,” the Dowager replied, “but I hope to see you back here soon.”
The Duke did not have the heart to tell her that any efforts on her part were futile. He had no intention of marrying, and it would take some sort of a force majeure for him to even consider changing his mind.
He escaped the noise of the ballroom by slipping away outside. The fresh air hitting his face was a welcome change from the clustered atmosphere inside.
He decided to take a walk around the garden, wanting to clear his mind. As he reached the end of the garden, he heard some female voices coming from behind the fountain.
His first instinct was to ignore them and go on his way. The last thing he needed to do was speak to more women tonight.
But something inside of him beckoned him to stay. He noticed that the voices sounded a little too aggressive for casual conversation. Quietly, he began walking towards them until he could make out what was being said. Behind the fountain, he could make the silhouettes of three ladies cornering someone.
“I am surprised you even had the gall to show your face here,” one of the women said, acid dripping from her tone.
“Do they even let you step out the house?” another one jeered. “It feels like there should be a law prohibiting your movement.”
“I believe she is selfish,” a third voice said. “She knows that she is risking cursing us all by coming here, and yet she chose to do so anyway.”
“Oh, just look at her,” the first voice pointed out.“Truly a face that only a mother could love.”
“I am surprised she even showed up.”
“What an awful scar!”
Duncan realized then that the lady that they must be speaking to must the same one that Barbara was talking about. He felt his blood boil at the kind of treatment the women were subjecting her to, and yet, she had not seemed to have uttered a single word in her defense so far.
“Are you devoid of language as well?” one of the women taunted. “Do you not understand what we are saying to you?”
“I do not wish to respond to things I do not consider important,” came the reply.
Duncan could not help but feel impressed by the calm manner in which the woman had responded. Surely, it meant that she must have a strong exterior protecting her from the cruelty of others. He had not even met her yet, but this quality of hers immediately set her apart from the rest.
He always had an urge to help a damsel in distress, but surprisingly, just the fact that she seemed to not be asking for help made him want to step in all the more.
“That is enough.” He moved past the fountain, separating himself from the scene unfolding in front of his eyes. “I do not think any of you should be speaking to this young lady like this.”
CHAPTER 3
Now that the Duke was in plain sight, the three ladies looked at him in horror as though they had just spotted a ghost.
“Your Grace,” one of them said, turning red from embarrassment, “We did not know you were there.”
“We… we did not mean…”
“You did not mean to be so rude, Madam?” the Duke replied in a sarcastic tone. “Yet here you are, being precisely that.”
“We… had no idea that you would be here.” The lady’s tone was embarrassed.
“Does it make it appropriate to be this rude if I am not here to overhear your conversation?” the Duke challenged, raising his eyebrow slightly.
He could see that the women in front of him were scrambling to find any excuse, but they had been caught in the middle of the act. There was no denying their involvement or cruelty.
“You must understand, Your Grace,” one of the girls mustered up the courage to explain herself, “she is cursed.”
“And you know that… how?”
“Well, everyone knows that,” came the reply. “It is right there on her face.”
“By that logic, I can say that you are cursed too.” The Duke decided to play them at their own game.
