“And foryours!”Was she right? Likely not. A man’s reputation—especially one who possessed a title—was difficult to spoil. Society had a knack for overlooking the flaws in men.
He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as if she were a particularly bothersome child. “You should not be wandering out here alone. When you accept that as your mistake, perhaps you will seewhois in the wrong here.”
Violet knew better than to argue with a duke. And yet here she was, doing exactly that. If she had not been so frazzled from her earlier interaction with Lord Kembert, perhaps she would have had more control of what she was saying.
“Is that clear,Lady Violet?” The Duke moved closed to her. It occurred to her then just how much taller he was than her—he must have been more than six feet as he easily towered over her small frame.
Except instead of feeling intimidated, she found herself gravitating towards him. She could not explainwhyof course. Their gazes locked together, and just for a moment, she felt a pang of something in her chest and her heart began to race with nervousness.
But their little moment—if you could call it that—was short lived. Before either could do anything about it, the sound of approaching voices reached their ears. Both froze, their gazes snapping toward the path leading back to the ballroom.
“Oh no,” they both spoke in unison, exchanging a final look of panic. But not much more could be done, for the voices were close enough for their owners to see them—together. A maiden with a duke. Alone in the garden.
“Is that… Someone is there…Your Grace?” The onlooker’s voice turned from curious to gleeful, as though they had just discovered an exciting thing. Gossip was what the members of ton thrived on. It was their most beloved source of entertainment. “Lady Violet?”
A group of people were soon to follow, and then there was no more hiding. Violet knew that she had landed herself in big trouble. Whispers began to fill the air, horrified glances shot in not the Duke’s direction buthers.
For she was the one who stood to lose the most from this scandal. Society was often too forgiving for the sins of a man. But women—especially young unmarried ones—were rarely awarded the same grace.
“I…” Violet said, blushing. “I must go find my brothers.”
Without looking back, she sped away back to the inside of the mansion. It would not take long for the gossip to travel. Her otherwise spotless reputation would be forever tarnished.What have I just done?
Arabella Kingsman paced the floor at Nightingale Manor. Her three children had arrived back only a few hours ago. Jasper had been the one to break the news to their mother. He only knew himself because Violet had tearfully confided in him on the way back home. Arabella had not said anything to her daughter yet directly—Violet had only heard a faint shriek coming from downstairs, and then she had been summoned to where she was seated now with the rest of her siblings.
“Mother, can you please stop pacing like this?” Violet said, unable to take it anymore. The silence was almost as agonizing as any scolding that she ought to receive. “You have not said a word.”
“What is there to say, Violet?” Arabella finally stopped her pacing. “A scandal of this magnitude—how will you ever recover? How could you let this happen?”
Violet felt her stomach drop. She was the youngest born and rarely the subject of her mothers’ ire like this.
A flush of humiliation on her cheeks betrayed her otherwise calm expression. “I didn’t let anything happen, Mother,” she said defensively. “It was an unfortunate misunderstanding.”
“Violet, you were caught alone in the garden with the Duke of Bernight. I would not call that a misunderstanding but an act of extreme recklessness,” Jasper said, disappointed.
Violet’s eyes narrowed, and she opened her mouth to retort, but before she could, Leopold spoke up from where he lounged against the doorframe, a smug grin tugging at his lips. “Well, I must say, Violet,” he drawled, “I’m impressed. All this time, I thought you had your sights set on that dreary Lord Kembert, but no—clever girl. You went straight for a duke. A much wiser choice, truly. You have Kingsman blood after all.”
Arabella spun to face him, “My daughter’s reputation hangs by a thread, and you think this is the time forjokes?” she snapped.
“Mother is right,” Jasper nodded. “This is a serious matter.”
All the while, Violet felt as though she wanted to climb inside the wood of the flooring.
Leopold shrugged, undeterred. “Will it really help berating the poor girl like this? I am sure that she knows better than anyone how serious a smear this could be on her reputation. I propose that we approach the situation strategically.”
“Strategically?” Jasper narrowed his eyes at his brother.
“Yes. The scandal sheets haven’t published anything yet, so perhaps we can ensure they don’t.”
“Impossible,” Jasper retorted immediately with his lips pressed together. “They will not miss a chance to write about a duke.”
“Then perhaps we can send Violet away for a bit,” Leopold suggested. “Mother, would Aunt Margeret be willing to take her in? A year at most. Just until everyone forgets about the scandal.”
“I fear that sending her away for a year will still not be enough. After all, what decent man will be willing to marry her now?” Arabella shook her head, and Violet felt her heart sink even more. “Maybe one of you can speak to the Duke—he might be willing to correct his wrongs.”
Leopold scoffed, and Jasper did not look too convinced either.
“He has a reputation of being a notorious rake, Mother. Expecting a proposal from him would be foolish,” Leopold said.
