“No,” Hope said.
“Hope?”
She turned and saw her sisters at the top of the staircase. The silent sniffling and weeping of the staff seemed to be enough to inform her sisters of what had happened. Faith covered her mouth with her hand while Grace stood frozen in shock.
“Hope?” A man’s voice, Jacob’s, carried up through the house.
Numbly, Hope made her way to the staircase and descended, meeting Jacob at the bottom. She wanted to reach for him, but even in her fog-like misery, she kept her hands at her side.
“My God, Hope, you look terrible,” he said, coming towards her. “Is your grandmother well?”
“No,” she said softly, peering up at him. “No. She’s passed.”
Jacob face fell.
“That is unfortunate. I had hoped she would be able to help rally her friends in society to quash an absurd rumor,” he said. “As you were leaving Spotsmore House, I overheard that either you, Faith, or Grace was spotted kissing Lord Bartley.”
Hope barely registered what he was saying. Her grandmother was no longer alive and a numbness seemed to be spreading throughout her body.
She moved past him, finding a hallway bench as she felt as if her legs would no longer hold her. Dropping to it, she leaned her back against the wall and stared into oblivion.
“Did you hear me?” he asked.
“Yes, Jacob. I did.”
“Well?”
She turned her head to look at him.
“Well, what?”
“Well, how did such a rumor come to be?”
“I daresay it was because someone saw one of us kissing Lord Bartley.”
For a moment, Jacob just gaped at her. “Do you mean to say it’s true?”
“Yes.” She saw no point in lying. She saw no point in anything, at the moment.
“Was it you?”
Hope blinked. The sting of his distrust was significantly dulled after the news about her grandmother, but it still hurt. That Jacob would believe her so unfaithful, well, it devastated her.
“No,” she answered numbly. “It wasn’t me.”
“Well, that’s something, at least,” he said with a nod, shifting his stance. “However, I don’t know how your sisters shall fare now that your grandmother has died. Not without you here to help clean up their mess.”
Hope tilted her head, confused.
“Where am I going?”
“With me, of course,” he said as he reached for her. His soft, smooth hand encircled her cold fingers as he pulled her to her feet. Hope swayed for a moment, unsure of what she was hearing.
“What do you mean?”
“We’ll be married at once, and you won’t have to suffer the scandal that your sisters will endure. We’ll cut them off completely, of course. That’s the only way our reputations will stay intact.”
For a moment, Hope’s heart swelled with appreciation. They were going to be married! But moments later, the meaning of his words trickled down her spine.
