She took a steady breath, then straightened. “Yes,” she sighed. “I will not pretend that I have faced no difficulties. You see, I was betrothed to a man, and I knew that it was not what I wanted for myself.”
“Many ladies feel that way,” Lady Pointer chimed in. “It is all too common for a lady to be engaged to a man she does not want.”
“And it felt unkind,” Adelaide continued. “I could not marry a man and allow him to think that I loved him, when I knew that I never could. I did not want to trap him in a loveless marriage, just as much as I did not want that for myself.”
“And what did he say in response? It was Mr. Hargrave, was it not? He has always seemed like a nice man.”
Adelaide did not want to lie about that. She wanted to be honest, to say that he was a horrible man who had hurt and threatened her, but that was not what they wanted to hear. Any accusation against a man they respected would not be heard, she knew that.
“He did seem that way, yes,” she replied instead. “He was not happy with my decision, but I will not blame him for that. I am simply happy that it all ended well. I have my husband now, who I truly do care for, and Mr. Hargrave is free to find a lady that will make him happy in a way I could not have.”
That seemed to satisfy them, for the most part, but the young lady—Ella—kept eyeing her narrowly, as though she did not believe her.
“And what say you of the rumor that Mr. Hargrave was attacked by the Duke?”
A few gasps followed, and this time her mother nudged her with more force.
It seemed nobody wished to discuss it, but no one felt that way more than Adelaide. They were married now, and that was supposed to bring an end to the scandal.
She took a moment to gather her thoughts, before turning to Ella and looking her in the eye. “I do not wish to speak ill of someone I have known for a long time, but Mr. Hargrave is a very prideful man. He has good reason to be proud of what he has achieved, of course, but when he heard that I had fallen for the Duke, he could not understand it.”
She knew it was wrong to invent a tale, but she could not help herself. Fortunately, as neither she nor Cassian had said a word about it, they had a chance to tell their version of events, and she could embellish it every bit as much as Mr. Hargrave had.
“He asked me what I saw in the ‘Dragon’ that I did not see in him,” she continued. “He accused me of being a social climber, and I could not make him understand that I had spent a year away. In that year, I learned a lot about what I wanted and who I truly was. It just so happened that my husband had everything I wanted in a man.”
There were wistful sighs, and more than one lady put her hand to her chest. If not envied, Adelaide was at least admired, and that was precisely what she wanted.
Ella gave in, and Adelaide barely stopped herself from sighing in relief. At least for the moment, she would not be questioned further.
She had won her first battle.
Cassian smiled when she explained everything in the carriage. She could see the pride on his face, and she was pleased about it, as she had anticipated disappointment. It would have been better if they discussed it before the event, but they had not anticipated being asked in such a way.
“You are brilliant,” he praised. “That is precisely what they wanted. A real story, dramatic and romantic. You are more intelligent than you let people believe.”
“It was only a story,” she laughed. “But thank you.”
“Story or not, it was the right thing to say. Hargrave will not dispute it, should he hear of it, for you have made him sound noble if too prideful.”
“He can dispute it if he wishes. At least, this way, we have made our story known. It is no longer his word against nothing at all.”
“Indeed. However, I must ask… did you need to call me that?”
Adelaide looked at him in confusion. All she had said was that he was her husband and a duke. But then realization dawned on her. She had called him adragon.
“Do you not like the name?” she asked. “I had assumed it was something from your family.”
“Why would we call ourselves dragons?”
“They are powerful! They are beautiful creatures, too. Why, I once saw a painting of one at an exhibition, and it was my favorite. I do not see what is so terrible about it.”
“And you never will,” he said solemnly. “But do not call me that again. Do you understand?”
“Of course. I apologize, I did not know.”
“No, I know. I cannot blame you for using a term that you must have heard dozens of times.”
She had, and mostly from Cecilia. It had been a mistake to use it, for she should have known that a name her friend used was hardly ever kind. But when the other ladies used it too, she had thought it was normal.
