“Of course not. I rather think my brothers did not tell her all, and she is so used to being in charge. We usually just go along with it, which is wrong, I know, but easier.”
“Even if it is not kind?” Lucinda wiped away her tears. Marianne was small and had huge blue eyes, but she had a calming temperament, something she certainly did not get from her mother.
“That is the thing; she does not mean to be unkind. She wants to help you. We all do, and I fear I know even less than Mother about you and your circumstances. What I do know is that we should have given you some time to settle in before bombarding you with demands about the queen and such.”
“I do not care about the queen. It is the pity in all your eyes I cannot stand. I understand that my circumstances are unusual, but I cannot abide pity. I’ve been pitied all my life. I thought coming here would be different.”
“I am sorry about that. And my mother, well, all I can say is thank goodness you were not waylaid by highwaymen or neither of us would have heard the end of it. You would have been the talk of the ton, though. Imagine that!” Marianne gave a little giggle.
Lucinda gave a small smile back and wondered what was worse. Poor miss orphan or to have really been held up by a highwayman? Her few possessions would surely have disappointed him. Mister Beckett would have clobbered the highwayman senseless within minutes, in any case.
How to explain, though, why what had happened downstairs had so affected her. “I did not know there was to be a family dinner tonight, and I was unprepared, and I told Lord Ashton so, but he assured me, and well, it all went downhill, didn’t it?”
“Yes, it did, but that was not your fault. Tell me about yourself, why you are here, and how we can help you. I am told I am an excellent listener.”
Lucinda debated whether to tell Marianne anything, but once she started her sorry tale, she could not stop, and though she had vowed not to, she confided in Marianne all the worries and stresses she could not tell Lord Ashton.
Marianne had listened and made all the appropriate head nods and sounds required, and at the end, she helped May get Lucinda ready for bed and tucked her in like a child.
“Do not fear, dear Lucinda. I will talk to my mother, and everything will look much better in the morning. I will not let her upset you. I promise.”
“Thank you for coming to see me and for listening to my concerns, which seem silly now.”
“Not silly at all. Good night. All will be well in the morning.” With that, she slipped out the door and Lucinda pulled the covers high.
“Tomorrow will be a better day, miss. You wait and see,” May said as she blew out the candle.
*
Downstairs, Tony pacedthe parlor, waiting for his anger to calm. He should have known better; he should have taken his mother aside and fully explained what was needed of her. Then he could have cautioned her about Lucinda’s shyness, although he did not think it was shyness exactly. It was more than that. Was she anxious at meeting so many strangers, or was it simply embarrassment at her lack of presentable clothing? Any of these would be understandable.
Hereallyshould have known better. He had seen how distressed she was and had practically forced her to meet the family anyway, especially when she was already in a state ofpanic. He was an imbecile, and… he should have read the room better, damn it.
When the duke strolled into the room, he went directly to the brandy and poured two glasses. He offered one to Tony, who simply glared at him.
“I know, I know,” the duke began. “Not an auspicious start. I should have stopped her, but you know how Mother is. Her heart is in the right place; she just has no control over her mouth. And we always have family dinners when Mother returns to London.”
“No, we do not, and you know it. And you were no better with all thepoor Miss Sterling,andwe need to show kindnessspeech as though she was not sitting right there. It was careless and insensitive of you. And while I am at it, you could have warned me what Mother had planned.”
“For goodness’ sake, I did not mean any malice in my statement, but, regrettably, I now see your point. You were the one to point out she only has two dresses. Her eyes filled with shock at that one. So, we are all at fault.”
Had he said that? Oh, God, he had said that. He was as bad as the rest of them, maybe even worse. “Blast it, Edward, now what am I to do? I promised her I would protect her.I promised.Now she will never believe a word I say. She will think I have fed her to the wolves. Lord knows I did not want this responsibility in the first place, but I have a duty to her. Markham placed her in my care for a reason, and I am already failing him.”
The duke offered him the glass again, and this time he took it. “For my part, I am sorry, but you are not failing him. This is just a minor stutter. Mother will calm down. Marianne will play peacemaker as always, and I will apologize for my foolish comment, and Miss Sterling will come good in time.”
“You being optimistic? Where is my brother, and what have you done with him?”
The duke laughed. A rare occurrence. Tony wanted to stay mad because it delayed the shame he would feel, but he could not. He should have had a meeting with his mother and brother when the dowager arrived. It was not ideal how this night had turned out, but he could only hope that Marianne had worked her magic. However, he could not blame Miss Sterling if she never wanted to talk to him again.
“One more thing. Have you ever heard of Viscount Foxton?” Tony asked.
“Foxton? Hmm, it sounds vaguely familiar. Why?”
“Well, Foxton was the title of Miss Sterling’s father. She seems to have no family, and she is an only child. I was hoping you might know more.”
“Leave it with me. I have a copy ofDebrett’sthat should tell us more.”
Of course, he was so concerned about her having no family he forgot to wonder who her family might have been. Most families can connect to one another in some way. Between his brother and Lord Stafford, he hoped they could help him piece together the puzzle that was Miss Sterling.
