She could not express her qualms even to her dearest friend. She worried that speaking those truths aloud would make them come true.
“I don’t know,” Madeline said slowly. “My brother said something about marrying me off, but I got the sense that?—”
“I’ll prove it to you,” Lavinia interrupted.
She most certainly did not want to discuss the Duke, so she gave that subject the wide berth it deserved.
She watched as her mother and the Dowager Duchess walked towards them. Lord Windham, Lord Selway, and Mr. Norton followed behind the ladies.
“Lavinia,” her mother called as they got closer. “Emanuel here is trying to tell me something. It is quite interesting. You must come hear what he has to say.”
Lavinia’s palms started to sweat. Her interactions with Lord Windham had been extremely limited thus far. But he knew something that others did not.
Surely, he won’t reveal what transpired last night.
She looked up and caught Lord Windham staring at her, his eyes boring into hers. She shivered as her mother, the Dowager Duchess, and the flock of gentlemen drew nearer.
“Did you leave your chambers last night?” her mother asked.
Her fears had become reality.
Lavinia understood that it was wrong to lie to her mother, but Lord Windham had left her with no choice. She could not admit to roaming the halls or entering the Duke of Pemberton’s room. She could not tell the others, or her mother, how the Duke made her feel last night.
“There’s no reason for me to wander at night, Mother,” she said firmly, but her heart was pounding. “And alone?” she added, huffing a low chuckle.
Lord Windham squinted his eyes. Lavinia could sense his confusion, but she did not care an ounce for his discomfort. He had put them both in this awkward situation and should feel slightly bemused by her behavior.
Her mother was not so thrown by her response as Lord Windham. “So, you were not out of bed after most guests retired for the evening?”
“I—”
“You were in the hall, Miss Fitzroy,” Lord Windham cut in. “I saw you?—”
“Darling!” the Dowager Duchess interrupted as she welcomed her son into their small group.
Lavinia had not realized the Duke had joined their party until he stood right in front of her. He was close enough to have heard her mother’s question as well as Lord Windham’s accusation.
“Mother,” he said, and the others’ greetings followed. “I did not mean to overhear, but is it proper to force the lady to accept your narration?” he asked, turning towards Lord Windham.
The younger gentleman’s eyes darted quickly from left to right. “I think you might have misread the situation here, Your Grace. That happens when you eavesdrop, you know.” He straightened his spine and squared his shoulders. “I forgive you for listening in on our conversation, Your Grace, and for adding your voice to the mix without having all the pertinent details, but I was not forcing anyone to admit to anything here.”
“You might not have been coercing a response out of the lady, but you were obviously causing her some degree of discomfort.” The Duke’s eyes flickered to Lavinia before turning back to Lord Windham. “Perhaps disagreeing with Miss Fitzroy does not put you in a good light,” he said bluntly.
Lavinia watched him stare down Lord Windham. She could admire him. She could, but she would not. She knew he was not making a scene for her sake, but for his own pleasure. She could see from the smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth that he was amused, and even though Lord Windham was the honest one in the bunch, the Duke sought to humiliate him.
“Well, I think it would be nice for everybody to go around the garden and meet everyone else, don’t you?” Laviniaalmost jumped when her mother exclaimed her suggestion. She must have also sensed the growing tension between the two gentlemen.
“I quite agree, Lady Crawford.” The Dowager Duchess bobbed her head approvingly. Then she looked at her children. Something passed between the three of them, something Lavinia did not quite understand, but she appreciated it when Madeline spoke next.
“Brother, you were going to show me something, were you not?” Madeline squeezed Lavinia’s arm.
“Oh yes, I was,” the Duke replied, even though he looked very confused.
“Lavinia wants to come with us,” Madeline added smoothly as she steered her brother and Lavinia slightly away from the others.
Lavinia widened her eyes in distress at Madeline. She would have declined, had her mother not presented her with an undesirable alternative.
“But Lavinia was just going to show Emanuel around,” the Baroness said. “I promised him that?—”
