“I know you are angry that I deceived you. I am sorry about that. But we will talk about this another time.”
He tried to brush past her, but she stepped in his way again. “Absolutely not,” she said. “We will talk about it now. I used to think you were a sensible person, but clearly I was wrong. You have been reckless and irresponsible this Season. Your reputation is not as infallible as you think it is.”
He felt his temper rise, and he gritted his teeth. He didn’t want to shout at his grandmother. He loved her and owed her a great deal. But right now, she was making him livid. “We will discuss this when we have both had some time to calm down,” he said through gritted teeth. “You must excuse me.” He walked past her.
“Fine,” she called after him. “We will talk later about how you will marry the woman of my choosing before the Season is over.”
He bit back a retort that he would regret later. He would figure out what was going on with the dowager duchess later. First, he needed a drink.
CHAPTER 35
After sending Evan away, Joanna flopped down on her bed, still fully dressed. She wanted to hide under the blankets again, like she did this morning, but she knew it would not make her feel better.
His pained expression was still imprinted on the front of her mind. She hugged herself. Why did he look so distraught when she ended things? Should he not be relieved?
Of course, an honorable man like him would offer his hand in marriage to her to keep her from being ruined. But she released him from that obligation. He got his wish to have a life as an eternal bachelor. No one in thetonwould hold it against him for ending things with a fortune hunger. If anything, people would just think he had just come to his senses. His reputation was safe enough.
So why did her decision devastate him?
Tears started to fall down her cheeks, but she barely noticed them. A soft knock on the door shook her out of her stupor. “Come in,” she said quietly.
Her mother walked in. “Lady Penelope is here to see you. Your father went out.”
Joanna grimaced, knowing without a doubt that meant her father went out to a gambling hall. “Thank you,” she said. “Tell Penelope I will be down in a moment, please.”
Her mother nodded before pausing and turning to her. “I think you should have accepted the duke’s hand. It might not be too late, you know. We can arrange a carriage to take you?—”
“No,” she said firmly, getting out of bed. “It wasn’t a real courtship, Mother. We had a mutually beneficial arrangement, that’s all. I go on dates with him, and he pays for Aurelia’s Season and dowry.”
“Whether it was real or not, he still offered to marry you. You don’t have to be in love to have the safety he would provide you.”
“Yes, but he doesn’t want it. I am not going to condemn him to save myself.”
She looked disappointed, but she nodded. “I hope you change your mind,” she said. “Before it’s too late.”
“It’s already too late, Mother. And my mind was already made up.” She offered her mother a strained smile. “I am sorry. I know I haven’t made things easier for you this Season.”
“I can take care of myself,” she said. “It is you I am worried about.”
“I will be fine. I promise.” She gave her mother a hug before going downstairs.
Penelope was standing in the drawing room, pacing instead of sitting in a chair. She turned in Joanna’s direction. “I came over as soon as I heard. I am so sorry.”
Joanna pulled her friend into a hug. She felt tears threaten to overwhelm her, but she blinked them away. “I have been such a fool, Penelope,” she said. “I should have been more careful.”
Penelope didn’t say anything in response, but gently steered them to the drawing-room chairs. “Have you heard from the duke since the article came out?”
Joanna nodded. “Even worse. I am the one who told him about it. He came here for some reason, but he had not seen the article yet. I gave it to him to read.”
Her friend looked at her with a furrowed brow. “What happened then?”
A lump formed in Joanna’s throat, and she tried to swallow it down. “He offered to marry me.”
Penelope’s eyes widened. “That’s fantastic!”
“I said no.”
She frowned. “Why would you do that?”
