‘You chose the family feud, while I left it where it belonged,’ Lord Rotherby accused with an ugly scowl. ‘And while there has never been anything I could do to change history, you have sought to punish me our whole life long!’
'You knew his father? I did, and let’s just say the apple never falls far from the tree.’
Weston’s words reached through her panicked thoughts, as Viscount Damerel’s gaze narrowed sharply. And she knew exactly why he stared. Their likeness had never been so obvious as now: it was in their murderous expressions, their proud stature and the flare of their tempers too. A chill chased through her as she locked eyes with her exhausted brother-in-law, never more certain their shared blood was the cause of their feud too.
‘The family feud?’ Sir Weston sneered angrily. ‘How poetic that sounds! Yet in truth, our father was a blackguard who thought nothing of taking what he wanted while ruining the lives of others. My mother was honest with me about his ruthless pursuit– which sounds more than yours ever managed.’
‘How dare you!’ Lord Rotherby hissed, white-lipped and furious. ‘You may have my commiserations on your blood, but my mother was beyond reproach and I will not have her name sullied. You will never speak her name again in my presence!’
He lunged then, though Sir Weston met him with a stinging defence, before following up with a series of powerful strikes.
‘You must forgive me if I fail to be moved by yourtragicchildhood,’ Sir Weston said, panting, ‘because while your mother enjoyed every luxury, mine was condemned to a life of misery. She was forced to live a life of shame for your father’s violation, while I grew up in the shadows– and all the while, I’ve watched you enjoy every privilege, knowing Rotherby blood ruined my life!’
‘You sir, have no idea of what you speak!’ Rotherby snarled as he parried, before advancing again with furious strikes and a final lunge that saw his blade pass terrifyingly close to Weston’s neck. In a heartbeat, Sophie snatched up a water jug and emptied the contents over the duellers, who paused, gasping for breath.
‘Well played, Sophie!’ the unknown lady said approvingly. ‘If gentlemen behave like children, we must treat them as such. And I’d rather not ruin my soufflé with blood and drama if possible– cards is my preferred entertainment after dinner.’
Sophie glanced at her companion, who’d been watching from the shadows, and wondered again if she wasn’t a little touched in the head. It was impossible to understand how she could be so calm unless she didn’t grasp the full situation, after all.
Yet, to her utter astonishment, both gentlemen suddenly froze, before lowering their swords and turning towards her, their expressions a mixture of incredulity and fear.
‘Tante Elizabeth!’ Rotherby was the first to find his tongue, executing a deep and respectful bow.
Tante Elizabeth?Confusionflushed Sophie’s veins as she swung her gaze back to her mysterious benefactor, who seemed just as serene and unmoved as ever– before she smiled.
Sophie clamped her hand to her mouth in horror.
Hadn’t Aurelia mentioned an aunt who’d stood guardian through Rotherby's childhood? Could she have confessed her entire pitiful story to none other than Lord Rotherby’s own Aunt Elizabeth?Including a very plain account of Lord Rotherby’s own misdoings too?
It was inconceivable, and yet the only answer, too.
Flushing scarlet, Sophie recalled everything she’d relayed to Rotherby’s aunt in painful detail.
‘I’m so grateful you decided to come to Chartres,Aunt Elizabeth,’ he continued, ‘and can only thank the heavens that Sophie– Miss Fairfax– had the good fortune to fall in with your company. Perhaps now you perceive the charms I wrote to you about?’
Sophie’s flush deepened.
If he’d written to his aunt about Chartres, she must have known about her fall from grace from the moment she’d shared her name.
‘Yes, well, you can save those pretty compliments for one who will appreciate them. And, of course, I was on my way. You wrote that you’d lost your heart, boy– the nephew who claimed never to have one!’ his aunt said, waving her glass of claret. Startled, Sophie stole a glance at Lord Rotherby’s rueful smile. ‘As for the rest, Ihavehad the good fortune to enjoy Miss Fairfax’s company this evening, and can fully understand the appeal, though why she might wish to give either of you a second glance, is quite beyond me.’
Sophie watched in astonishment as Elizabeth pushed herself to her feet and shuffled into the light, where there was no denying the resemblance in her proud profile at all.
‘Now listen to me, all three of you,’ she commanded, eyeballing the gentlemen, who looked more like recalcitrant schoolboys with every passing second. ‘This is a most unfortunate business, and it is imperative you do not blemish this young lady’s name further, though you haven’t made things easy at all.’
She jabbed her cane as though it was a sword itself.
‘Rotherby, you were ever the impetuous hothead! When will you learn you cannot inflict your will on the world? And didn’t I say to find me if ever you were in a mess? You should have brought Miss Fairfax to me the moment you landed in France.
‘Weston, you were dealt an unlucky hand, but that does not give you permission to scheme against my nephew. You, sir, will confess your wrongdoing in a witnessed letter before this night is done and I will not, no I willnothearanother word against my sister, or I will run you through myself!
‘And as for you, Damerel, you haven’t helped matters at all with that entirely unnecessary show of heroics at Versailles! You were ever the same as a boy, far too free and easy with that sword of yours.’
‘Apologies, my lady,’ Viscount Damerel mumbled with a crest-fallen expression.
‘In truth, I am furious to discover that between the three of you, you have managed to force the hand of this young lady so much that she had to flee across France with only a Versailles mask to her name. And so, it appears, I am left in a quandary.’
Elizabeth paused to assess each gentleman with her razor-sharp gaze, making them shrink visibly before Sophie’s eyes.
