“Why do you suppose the duke and Lord Montague argued?” Elizabeth asked as they made their way there.
“I couldn’t say. They seemed like such good friends, and I have never heard of either of them taking issue with the other in all the time that we have stayed with them.”
“Perhaps it was something to do with Ophelia?”
“In what sense?”
“I do not know, but it is strange how they argued after what she did.”
“Who knows? Maybe the duke harbors feelings for Ophelia still, and Lord Montague had the nerve to ask him what he was doing.”
“I would not have thought so. Jackie, I know what I see when the duke looks at you. He adores you. Then again, I would be remiss if I did not admit to seeing that very same look from the viscount.”
“Lizzie, I do not have the patience for that sort of thing.”
“Very well, we shall focus on our trip instead.”
For once, her sister had listened to her without arguing, and Jackie was most grateful for it. She was not an idiot, and she knew that the viscount had been acting in quite an inappropriate manner, but she had put it all down to him being the duke’s friend and wanting to know more about her.
It had also occurred to her that it could have been a test to see if she truly did have feelings for Philip, and she hoped more than anything that it had not been the case, for she did not want her emotions called into question.
As if she had summoned him herself, Lord Montague was in the first shop that they entered. Elizabeth did not see him, instead going straight to the shopkeeper to ask about shoes, but Jackie saw him. Lord Montague also saw her, and looked away quickly.
Unfortunately, Jackie wanted answers, and upon seeing the bruising on his cheek she found that she had even more questions than she thought.
“What happened to you, My Lord?”
“I have received stranger greetings than that, I suppose.”
“Do forgive me. Good day, My Lord.”
“I said it in jest, Lady Jacqueline,” he smiled, tracing his bruise with his fingertips. “If you must know, this is the aftermath of what happens when you tell a man the truth.”
“The truth? My Lord, did the duke do this to you?”
“I should not say this to you. The two of you are courting, and it is not for me to tell you the pitfalls of him.”
“If I am to marry him then I must know what sort of man he is. It is imperative, even.”
“Very well,” he sighed. “The duke has been acting strangely ever since a certain arrival. You know who I am referring to, because I am quite sure that you have been thinking the very same thing.”
“Yes, but that is not of your concern.”
“When I am watching a good lady’s affections being taken for granted, it most certainly is. I could not sit by and watch it happen anymore. I could not tolerate it, and what he did with Lady Ophelia that day was the final straw.”
“So you do not consider him a friend because of his feelings for her?”
“I do not consider him a friend because he refuses to see things clearly. He is in love with her, Lady Jacqueline, and because he would let her do as she pleases with him. He is doing everything in his power to keep you around, and is only dragging you along with him in the event that she abandons him.”
Jackie did not know how the viscount could be so sure of it, but then she had also seen the same signs and she did not even know the duke as well as Lord Montague did. He had to be right about it.
“And so, after what she did at the picnic,” Lord Montague continued. “And you felt you had to leave, I told the duke that we needed to talk. I told him that I could no longer stand by and watch as he destroyed your affections because of his own apparent affections for another. He told me I was wrong, I told him that I was anything but, and then he punched me. As hard as he could.”
“Because of your accusation?”
“Because I dared to question him, to not agree. He might show himself to be the perfect man, Lady Jacqueline, but he is anything but. He is cruel when he deems you deserving of his cruelty, and it is quite apparent to me that one need not do too much to warrant it in his eyes.”
Jackie said nothing for a moment, thinking back to her very first encounter with the duke. He had thought that she was being improper, and it had led to him berating her and storming away. She couldn’t help but wonder if the viscount was right.
