Sally shook her head, her eyes wide with worry. “I cannot believe it. Why did I wear this foolish dress? Why?” Her shoulder drooped forward, and she let out a puff of air as if it was her very last one on earth, as if this somehow was the end of everything.
“Please, do not worry. I said we will explain, and we will. Nobody …. Nobody need to know,” he said again but there was no reasoning with her. Lady Sally shook her head.
“You do not understand. Lady Millstone loves nothing more than gossip and she will momentarily spread it all around the ballroom that she saw me with my dress half off and you behind me with the ….” Her words trailed off as if the true magnitude of the situation finally impressed upon her. Leonard could do nothing but watch as the young woman before him turned from a witty lady who’d kept pace with his challenges to a heap of misery – and all because one nosy woman had walked in on them at the wrong time.
But surely, it could not be as bad as she made it out to be. Could it? From outside, raised voices filled the hall and the footsteps that followed told him he’d have his question answered sooner rather than later.
CHAPTER3
Sally
“Ruined,” Sally stammered. “I’m ruined. What have we done?”
“Lady Sally,” the Duke said beside her. She felt the warm breath brushing against her cheek and his sandalwood oils filled the air. A second ago, she’d thought it pleasant to be so close to him, to be enveloped in the cloud of the comforting scent. Now? Now she wished she’d never stepped foot into this library.
The ton was merciless when it came to gossip, and Lady Millstone was the Queen of the Scandal Sheets. She’d never have admitted it, but most of the most horrifying stories printed came from her. She couldn’t shake the feeling that her reputation, her future, was slipping away from her grasp.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” Sally muttered, her eyes wide with panic. “I’ve always tried to be responsible, to live up to the expectations placed on me. Now, it’s all crumbling because of a simple accident.”
“Please do not fret so much.” Leonard placed a hand on her arm, trying to steady her but it only fed her fear and she stepped away from him.
“What will people say? What will my mother think? I’ve let everyone down.”
Leonard tightened his grip on her arm. “Listen to me. We’ll find a way to explain, to clear up any misconceptions. You are not alone in this. Let us go back to the ball and pretend nothing has happened. Even if Lady Millstone said something, we will act as though it is not true.”
Sally’s eyes welled up with tears, her resolve crumbling under the weight of shame. “I can’t face the ball now. I can’t face anyone.”
“Please, do not panic. Nothing has happened yet. Lady Millstone is known to be a gabster and people might doubt what she said. All we need to do is spread the truth first,” he said as if it were the easiest thing in the world. Sally wanted to inform him that for him, a Duke, a man, this might not be a problem, but it was for her.
Before he could respond, the door swung open, and Sally’s mother’s face appeared in the doorway, Lady Millstone right behind her. The woman’s face had turned into a mask of disdain. Following her was Rosy – and, to Sally’s surprise, Joanna and Kenneth. Panic surged through Sally at the sight of them because their faces told her what they had been informed of
Lady Millstone pointed an accusatory finger at them. “See? They are still standing together like thieves in the night. It is a scandal! A scandal. He disrobed her!”
True to his word, the Duke attempted to explain, “Lady Millstone, it’s not what it seems?—”
But before he could finish, Sally found her voice, her determination cutting through the chaos. “It was an accident. I was trying to fix my gown, and His Grace was helping me. Nothing untoward occurred. If anything, he prevented a scandal.”
Lady Millstone scoffed, her eyes narrowing with suspicion. “Nonsense! I saw it with my own eyes. She was half disrobed, and the Duke was taking advantage of her!”
Sally’s cheeks burned with embarrassment and frustration. “That’s not true! I was not half disrobed, and he certainly wasn’t taking advantage of me. It was a simple mistake.”
Joanna looked at Sally with wide eyes, betraying both shock and concern. Sally wished she could run away with her sister, escape the judgmental gaze of the ton, but she was trapped – literally for her family and Lady Millstone were blocking the door.
Then, Joanna’s husband Kenneth stepped forward and commanded attention, his tone firm. “Lady Millstone, I appreciate your concern, but this is a family matter. Please, leave us to deal with it.”
Lady Millstone huffed, offended. “Very well, I shall leave you to it but rest assured I will not let this go. Such behavior is unbecoming of a lady. A scandal, indeed!”
As Lady Millstone stormed out of the room, Sally felt a mixture of relief and gratitude toward Kenneth. She’d had her trouble with her brother-in-law when he first met her sister, but in the last two years he’d become an integral part of the family. Kenneth had been the one to guide the family through the shocking revelation that their father, Lord Carlisle, had stolen funds from a local orphanage – and sought to arrange a marriage for Joanna with a wealthy Marquess to weasel his way out of consequences.
The fallout had been quite terrible, for it had brought more misdeeds to light, chiefly among them her father’s infidelity years prior. However, with Kenneth’s help and his belief in forgiving and moving forward, they had all found a way to reconcile with Lord Carlisle. In fact, he’d softened over the years and was now a firm champion for his daughters. He was meant to be at the ball, of course, but his carriage had suffered a delay at Brighton on his journey home and he’d been forced to miss it.
How odd it is that in this hour I should wish for my father when I was so angry at him for so long.
“Sally, what in the world were you thinking?” her mother chided her, and Sally realized the situation was far from over. Her cheeks still flushed with embarrassment, turned to face her mother. “Mother, I swear, nothing untoward happened. I do not know how else I can say it. Rosy, you know how hard it is to do this dress up on my own. You helped me. Tell her.”
To her disappointment, Rosy said nothing, only shuffling her foot over the carpet as she looked from Sally to the Duke of Chester and back again.
“It doesn’t matter if it was an accident, Sally. Lady Millstone saw what she saw, and the ton will believe her version of events. We need to think of a solution to salvage your reputation. There are of course few options for us,” she said and looked at the Duke. Suddenly, Sally understood what her mother was implying. But no … she couldn’t mean … marriage? She’d heard many tales of girls who’d been made to marry due to a scandal, but this surely would not quality. Would it?
