Thankfully, the carriage began to move, and the party finally disappeared into the distance.
Madeleine allowed herself to relax on the seat and let her eyes slip closed.
Tonight had been worse than she could have imagined—and that was saying quite a lot.
What would happen now?There was no doubt in her mind that her uncle would be furious when he learned what had happened tonight. Madeleine might not have been ready to think about marriage, but she knew he had been thinking about it on her behalf.
It seemed very unlikely, now that this had happened, that anyone would want to marry her.
Cecily had been right about one thing—her reputation had almost certainly been destroyed tonight, and no one would want anything to do with her.
And that would have been just fine with Madeleine, but Uncle Joseph was all she had in the world now. The idea of disappointing him was bitterly painful.
He would be so upset when he knew her prospects were destroyed after a single ball. She wasn’t looking forward to telling him at all.
But she would have to do it. If she didn’t come clean with the truth, it was only a matter of time before he heard it somewhere else—and that would be even worse.
CHAPTERFOUR
Kellet Manor was quiet when Madeleine arrived home, but that meant nothing. Her home was always quiet because it was so big and so empty of people. Her uncle kept very few servants—only those he absolutely needed—and there were days when Madeleine didn’t see anyone apart from her lady’s maid. Uncle Joseph didn’t insist upon her attending meals, and though Madeleine liked to, just to have someone to talk to, she often indulged in having them brought to her bedroom to enjoy a little solitude as well.
So the fact that the house was silent didn’t necessarily mean that anyone had gone to bed, and Madeleine knew she’d do well to look for Uncle Joseph before retiring herself. He would want to know all about the ball, and she knew she would rather tell him now, while the memory was fresh, than try to sleep with the knowledge of what had happened and explain it in the morning.
She found him in the library, which was predictable enough—he spent many hours there. Tonight, he was pondering a chessboard.
She moved into his line of sight. “Uncle Joseph?”
He startled and looked up at her. “Madeleine. You’re home early.”
She sat down opposite him and smiled. “Are you playing against someone?” she teased him gently.
“Just studying the board,” he said. “Why are you home? You were only gone for about two hours. I didn’t expect you back for a long time.”
She sighed and began to reset the chessboard. Perhaps the conversation would be easier if he was distracted—at least in part—by a game while they talked.
Uncle Joseph took the bait and advanced a pawn. “Didn’t you have a very nice time?”
“Well, now that you mention it, I didn’t,” she said.
He frowned sympathetically. “They were gossiping about you?”
“As we knew they would.”
“They’ll lose interest eventually, Madeleine. This is only happening because you’re new to London society. Once people get used to the fact that you’ll be among them now, the gossip will end, I promise.”
Madeleine moved one of her own pawns. “They seem to really resent me,” she said. “Some of the ladies…”
“Which ladies? Shall I speak to their fathers?”
“No,” Madeleine said quickly. “I don’t think that would be a good idea.” She was sure Lady Cecily’s father would probably endorse what his daughter had done, especially if it meant Lady Cecily would have a better chance at marriage to the Duke.
“If they’re being rude to you, Madeleine, they should be stopped. If it’s too much for you to handle—”
“It isn’t that,” Madeleine said. “You know I can handle the things people say. It’s been going on since my parents died. It’s nothing I haven’t heard before.”
Her uncle nodded. “I thought you could handle it,” he said. “But in that case, you really do need to put in time at these balls, Madeleine. It’s the only way you’re going to get yourself married, and you know how important that is. It’s what your parents would want for you, too.”
Madeleine felt an unpleasant twist in her stomach. There was no problem so awful that it couldn’t be compounded by the suggestion that her parents would be displeased with her. What was more, she knew Uncle Joseph was right. Her parents would absolutely have wanted to see her successfully married. Nothing would have been more important to them during this stage in Madeleine’s life.
