But of course, she knew Cecilia would not stop until they had gotten to the bottom of it.
Cecilia,
I know that this is difficult and that I am being so very burdensome, but I need you to visit sooner. I have already sent this letter to the other duchesses, and though it shames me greatly, it is my hope that you will come.
You see, my husband is a cruel man, and he is mistreating me terribly. I shall need not only you, but also your husbands and whatever help you can bring. I need to be rescued, and quickly.
I trust that you will all be discreet and that you will do what is necessary.
Sincerely,
Adellaide.
Adelaide read the letter with shaking hands. She was in disbelief, even though she had thought that nothing could surprise her anymore.
“We were so worried about you,” Dorothy explained. “We thought that you needed help—we almost sent the constables here.”
“But I was not so easily fooled,” Cecilia added gleefully, pointing to the bottom of the letter. “You may not have gone to university, but you know how to read and write. You would never have misspelled your own name, even if you were as frightened as the letter claimed.”
Adelaide was grateful that her friend had noticed that, for it was a shocking thing to read. She would not have been surprised if they had indeed brought help.
“Yes, Cecilia,” Beatrice sighed, “you saw the mistake that we did not. That does not explain who sent the letter in the first place.”
“No, but Adelaide will know. If you ask me, it was that nasty Edmund Hargrave.”
Adelaide shook her head and motioned for them to sit.
“He would not have known that you were coming to visit,” she pointed out. “No. You see, I was hoping that I would not have to tell you this just yet, but it seems I have been left with no other choice.”
The ladies looked at her expectantly, and with a sigh, she explained what Iris had done. The children were taken to another room to play, the older ones happily agreeing to help watch over them.
As she told her friends everything, she watched them feel all the shock and anger and surprise that she had gone through.
“And you have not demanded retribution?” Emma sputtered. “Adelaide, she has committed a crime! She pretended to be you and falsely accused your husband of the most dreadful things.”
“I did not know that when we sent her away,” Adelaide reminded her.
“So will you do it now?”
Adelaide considered it. She did not want to cause such trouble for an old lady, but it was true that what she had done was awful. Not only that, but she had done it before they had sent her away, so there had been no real reason for it.
But she knew that Cassian did not hate his mother, and for his sake, she wanted to keep it that way. It was easier for him to think that she still had some redeeming qualities, and regardless of what she had done to him, there was the excuse that she had never broken the law.
Slowly, Adelaide shook her head. “No, I cannot. The thing is, we have sent her far away. She can no longer cause trouble. So much has happened of late that all I truly want now is peace.”
“That is understandable,” Cecilia agreed. “But you must not let it all be forgotten. It might bring you comfort now, but there may come a time when you will wish you demanded justice.”
“I do have justice, at least in the way that matters. Now I can run my household without her shadow hanging over me. That is all I need.”
Adelaide was truly convinced of that, but her friends did not seem so certain.
Despite herself, she felt a looming presence, a feeling that it was not quite over yet. Still, she had been looking forward to seeing her friends, and the fact that they had arrived sooner than expected could only be a good thing.
They were going to have a good time together, regardless of what had happened.
“So,” Emma said gently, “aside from the most bizarre mother-in-law, how has your marriage been?”
“The same as any marriage, I suppose. We are slowly getting to know one another, and we enjoy each other’s company. We have formed a friendship.”
