The memory of the Duke’s sudden change in behavior, and his frequent travels, lingered in her mind like a shadow. “I think not,” she simply said. She wetted her lips when another thought came to her. “Rosy, why did you not agree with me last night when I accused our mother? You know she arranged it all she all but admitted it at breakfast.”
Rosy reached out, placing a comforting hand on her sister’s shoulder. “I must beg your pardon. It is true, I didn’t speak up last night,” she apologized with a grimace. “I knew what Mama was doing, but I was so shocked I didn’t know what to say and then the Duke reacted so harshly and I didn’t want to make everything worse.”
Sally turned to her sister, offering a reassuring smile. “It’s alright, Rosy,” she assured her, her resolve shining through despite the turmoil within. “I assumed that was it, but I had to ask. You understand, yes?”
“I am sorry you are stuck in this situation but marrying him is still the best option, is it not?”
“Of course it is. And Father is not wrong. I will be a Duchess. I will be in a position of influence and I do not intend to squander that opportunity. I’ll handle it. I always do.”
Though her heart ached with uncertainty, Sally forced herself to maintain a facade of acceptance. After all, she was determined to make this marriage work, no matter the challenges that lay ahead. Still, as she looked out at the long, empty road ahead she had to wonder. Was there even going to be a marriage? Or had he changed his mind once more?
CHAPTER6
Leonard
“You see?” Leonard gestured with frustration. “It was an accident, but thanks to Lady Millstone and others like her, it doesn’t matter. We are trapped.”
Aaron Finch, his assistant, shifted his seat and ran a hand through his blond hair, his green eyes wide with shock.
“I do not know what to say, Lenny. When I said it would be beneficial to attend a ball now that you are back in town, I did not think you’d return engaged. But is it truly all bad?”
Leonard looked at his friend and sighed. They had only known one another well for a little under three years, having met when Leonard took over the Dukedom from his father. Aaron’s own father had been Leonard’s father’s business partner in their vineyard venture for many years before passing away of a heart attack at a young age. Ironic, really, given that Leonard had originally believed his own father had died of a heart attack also – though he soon learned that wasn’t the case at all.
Aaron had assumed the title of Viscount, though he had little interest in the peerage, focusing instead on running his estate. To say he’d been positively surprised when Aaron paid them a visit was an understatement. Though their fathers had been close, he hadn’t had an occasion to spend time with Aaron before. They’d see one another passing at a ball but hadn’t become friends until after losing their fathers.
They were no longer just good friends; indeed, Aaron was now Leonard’s chief assistant who took care of the vineyard business and their merchants while Leonard traveled the world.
“Well?” Aaron asked, prompting Leonard.
“It is if you consider I never wanted to marry at all,” he said and shook his head.
“Lady Sally,” Aaron mused. “She is the sister of the Duchess of Wells, is she not?”
Leonard nodded. “The very same. Have you met her?”
“No, not that I recall,” Aaron said and looked out of the window, “I do not frequent the social scene as you know. However, I have heard the servants speak of her. She seems a woman worthy of respect.”
Leonard’s brow furrowed as he absorbed Aaron’s words. “Do you doubt that I will treat her as such?” he questioned, a hint of defensiveness creeping into his voice.
Aaron shook his head, bewildered by the outburst. Of course he was, his friend had no idea Leonard had an intense fear of somehow mistreating his future wife. The truth was, to anyone on the outside, Leonard would appear a stable, calm, and collected man with a witty sense of humor and buckets of charm. So much like his father people would say, it was almost as if they were one and the same. For a long time, he’d felt this was a compliment. Until he discovered his enigmatic father’s kindness and compassion had only been skin deep.
Beneath the mask of a caring husband, father, and landowner someone altogether different had hidden, someone vile and calculating. A manipulator. A man who would cheat on his wife without a second thought and steal from his own employees, knowing they had no way of making it without the funds he withheld. His father had been a monster and he’d been blind to it – until the day he read his mother’s diary. Within its withered pages the truth had been revealed, the affairs, the insults, the occasional physical mistreatment of his mother – she’d documented it all.
Had she wanted him to find this truth after her death? Had she tried to tell him that his perfect father was not as she thought him to be? Most importantly, had she known more about his business dealings than she wrote in her diary? She’d hinted at his misdeeds which had inspired him to look deeper, uncovering years of financial discrepancies. Of course, the real truth hadn’t been revealed until after he’d spoken to the victims …
“I never said that,” Aaron spoke up now. “Why would you assume I’d think that of you? In fact, I am confused as to why you are not happier to marry. Your mother said you were eager to find a wife.”
“My mother wished for me to marry, but that was before I knew what sort of man my father was,” he stopped speaking, not wanting to reveal too much.
The only person who knew every detail regarding both his father’s marital behavior and business failings was Kenneth. All Aaron knew was that his father had hidden his philandering, unkind side from everyone including Leonard. He hadn’t told him about the verbal abuse his mother suffered behind closed doors, the humiliations she’d been subjected to by her outwardly loving husband. She’d kept all of that to herself, taking the truth to her grave – and Leonard had sworn to do the same. He didn’t want the world to look at his mother with pity or remember her as a victim. She’d worked hard to preserve her outward grace and regality and he’d keep it that way.
Besides, it would do nobody any good to know what his father was like. Until recently, Leonard hadn’t planned on getting married and even now that he was, he had no intention of having an heir – thus his father’s line and his heritage would die out with Leonard, ensuring no Harding man ever mistreated his wife again.
Aaron had no idea. He still thought of Leonard’s father as the capable businessman who had built an empire on grapes. Nobody knew the truth, only Kenneth and those poor vintners and their helpers who’d been conned by his father.
“I wish I understood why you think being your father’s son will mean you will one day become a horrible husband. Are you not also your mother’s son, who was an exemplary wife and mother?” Aaron asked. He only knew hints about the truth and Leonard wanted to keep it that way.
With a heavy sigh, Leonard raised his hands in a gesture of resignation. “Ever since I found out what a horrible man my father was to my mother,” he confessed, “I’ve feared I’d turn into him.”
