“Sickhow?” Bridget asked.
“No one knows,” Dorothy said. “I have heard that she was always a little unusual. She had delicate nerves and seldom attended the Season’s events, even in her youth.”
It sounded like a dreadfully dull existence to Bridget, who longed for the excitement of the Season. She hoped that His Grace would agree to let her continue attending all the soirees and balls once they were wed.
Ifthey were wed.
Dorothy’s face was still filled with concern, and whatever she wished to say about the Dowager Duchess, Bridget suspected that it would not involve a list of reasons for why she ought to marry the Duke of Wheelton.
“As she grew older, her condition worsened,” Dorothy said. “Or so I have heard. She became reclusive, scarcely leaving the dowager house at all.”
Despite the severity of the situation, Bridget found herself a little intrigued by the revelation. A secret Dowager Duchess locked away from the world? It was terrible, but it also seemed like something from a novel. Her imagination went wild, spinning through all the possibilities.
“I am certain that cannot be true,” Bridget said. “Can it?”
“It is true enough that no one has seen the Dowager Duchess in many years,” Dorothy said, furrowing her brow. “That is reason for concern.”
“Perhaps she dislikes theton,” Bridget mused. “She must be very old, and she might see their meddling ways as tiresome.”
“Perhaps,” Dorothy said. “But I have also heard that His Grace refuses to allow her to leave the confines of her home and that he is cruel to her.”
Ice crept into Bridget’s veins. Suddenly, the situation did not sound like something from a novel. It sounded dreadful, for she could too readily imagine the poor, ailing Dowager Duchess at the mercy of a cold and powerful man. Such was often the plight of women who were of delicate dispositions.
“I have not seen anything that indicates he is cruel,” Bridget said. “A little cold, perhaps.”
Of course, there were histhreats, which seemed to allude to a darker nature. Could Bridget even truthfully call them threats, though? They seemed like something a little dangerous, but there was also a strange sense of intimacy in them. Her body did not respond to his words as if they were threats.
“I suppose that is fortunate.” Dorothy paused. “Again, I am uncertain what precisely you should do with that rumor. I have no proof that it is true, and I would not want to...”
“But if itistrue…” Bridget murmured.
Dorothy’s face softened. “I know. I had the thought of calling on the Dowager Duchess to see if I could discern anything of her condition, but she was not accepting callers.”
“That would not be unusual,” Bridget mused, “if she is in poor health.”
But what was the truth? Was the Dowager Duchess simply a woman with a weak constitution, who chose to remain in the dowager house and denied all visits, or was His Grace keeping her contained there against her own desires?
“I have asked Gerard to see if anyone at White’s knows anything,” Dorothy said. “But I am not hopeful about ourprospects. Perhaps we might learn something from one of her staff though.”
“I appreciate you trying,” Bridget said.
The thought of the Duke having an unexpected mystery in his life made Bridget’s heart race. She did not know if the rumor about the Dowager Duchess was true, but she suddenly became quite determined to find the truth.
If the gossipwastrue, she would have a good reason for not marrying the man, and if she found proof of the scandal, it was entirely possible that his disgrace would be far greater than her own. Imprisoning an elderly woman with a delicate disposition in a house away from the world would certainly draw more condemnation than her own misdeeds, which would be forgotten almost at once.
“I am certain that the truth will be unveiled,” Bridget said.
She did not know precisely how, butshewould find it. The thought of uncovering the truth of the imprisoned Dowager Duchess sent a little flutter of excitement through her chest. It sounded like something a brave heroine would do!
“I hope so,” Dorothy said. “However, I find that powerful men are often rather adept in concealing their faults. So many of them escape unscathed from even the worst offenses.”
“Not the Duke of Wheelton,” Bridget said.
He had never before faced a woman like her, after all. Bridget was not so foolish to think that life was at all like it was in the novels, but she believed firmly in drawing courage and strength from all those great heroines.
Dorothy sighed. “I do believe it would be in our best interest to learn the truth before the marriage takes place, but if we cannot, I am uncertain what to do. I have no wish for you to be hurt, Bridget.”
“I know,” Bridget said. “You have always done everything you could to protect me.”
