“Non.My mistress, she was an angel. What happened to her, she did nothing to deserve.” Tears spilled down the maid’s cheeks once more. “And now that she is gone, I have but one duty left: to protect and consecrate her memory. To preserve the legacy of Monique de Brouet.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Trudging with Kent and Strathaven toward the field where Wormleigh was said to be shooting, Richard told himself to focus. Worrying about the interview presently taking place with Monique’s maid wasn’t going to accomplish anything. Besides, Violet was there, and he had to trust that she would do her best to manage the situation.
He’d never had someone to share his burdens with before. It made him feel both relieved and uneasy to depend upon another—and a woman, no less. But Violet had proven herself to be loyal and strong in her resolve. God knew he’d butted up against her stubbornness more than once, and as much as that quality had annoyed him, it had also earned his respect.
She was no namby-pamby miss; she meant what she said and did what she set out to do.
Recalling what she’d set out to do beneath the wardrobe made heat surge in his loins. Aye, there were definite benefits to his lass’ willfulness. He liked that her passion was a match for his. He liked that they were learning to walk in step. He also liked how her playfulness contrasted with his own somber nature, how she continually surprised him with her antics.
The plain truth was… he likedher.
That she doubted his regard struck him as absurd. He’d proposed to her once (and nearly twice). She was the one balking at making things permanent between them. His past rose in his mind, cautioning him to be wary of feminine vacillation. Although he’d shared with Violet the essentials of his past affaires, he hadn’t divulged the entirety of his failures. Violet didn’t need to be privy to all the humiliating details.
He wasn’t eager, for instance, to share the fact that Audrey Keane had tried to make a cuckold of him. That she’d said yes to his offer while she had been pregnant with another man’s child. That day, when Richard had gone to tell her that he wanted their engagement made public, he’d come upon her with her secret lover—a soldier whose regiment had recently moved from their village.
Audrey hadn’t known if her lover would return for her, and finding herself with child, she’d come up with a contingency plan. She’d strung Richard along, all the while hoping that her true love would come back for her. In a way, Richard didn’t blame her for her act of desperation: he blamed himself for being fool enough to believe that he’d swept her off her feet and that she’d actually wanted to marry him.
After all, he’d overheard the recipient of his first proposal, Lucinda Belton, telling her friends what she truly thought of his looks and manner.
No, he decided, there was no earthly reason why Violet should know that the man presently wooing her had been made a bloody fool not once, but twice. A chill snaked through him, and he couldn’t stop the thought from forming. What if Violet turned out to be like the others? What if she tired of him? Decided she wanted someone more dashing, exciting…
Like hell that’s going to happen.
Then and there he decided there was no time like the present to make his intentions known to her family. Both Violet’s brother and brother-in-law were present, and it was best to stake his claim.Strike while the iron is hot.
He glanced at the two men walking beside him. He stopped, cleared his throat. “I have a matter to discuss with you both.”
“Can’t it wait?” Kent’s gaze was trained on the figures in the distance. The hunters stood in a line; they were spaced several dozen yards apart, each of them accompanied by a footman bearing a caddy of shooting equipment. “We have to get to Wormleigh.”
“I can be quick. The fact of the matter is… I’d like your permission.” To quell a sudden feeling of panic, Richard clasped his hands behind his back. “To court Miss Kent.”
Kent swiveled. “What did you say?”
“He wants to court Violet.” Strathaven didn’t look overly surprised.
“That’s what I thought he said.” Kent’s brows knitted. “Why?”
“Er, I beg your pardon?”
“Why do you wish to woo my sister? Forgive me, but from what I understand, you do not hold her in particularly high esteem.”
Richard’s neck heated beneath his collar. He knew the other was referring to the gossip he’d inadvertently started about Violet all those months ago. In the space of a few short days, his feelings had undergone so radical a change that he could scarcely recall his muddled frame of mind back then. With sudden insight, he realized that his antagonism toward Violet had been directly proportional to his attraction to her. The attraction that he’d tried to resist… and failed.
What an idiot he’d been.
Drawing a breath, he said, “I have offered Miss Kent my sincerest apologies for having spoken carelessly. I cannot excuse my behavior, only say that it was not my intent to give rise to gossip.” He paused, searching for the right words. “My regret over my actions has only grown stronger with each moment that I spend in Miss Kent’s presence. I misjudged her. I can offer no defense but only assurances that, in the future, I will treat her with the respect and admiration she deserves.”
Muscles bunched, he waited for the response.
“Seeing as how she pushed you into a fountain,” Strathaven drawled, “I should think you and Violet could call it a draw.”
“What?” Kent’s gaze shot to the duke. “Violetwas responsible for that?”
“She confessed all during a sisterly interlude yesterday. Emma told me—she tells me everything,” Strathaven said with a hint of satisfaction. “So, you see, Kent, we might actually owe Carlisle thanks for keeping that scandal a secret and protecting our little sister’s reputation.”
“No thanks necessary. I rather deserved it,” Richard muttered.
