A horrid thought came to her then as she looked at Joanna who was growing paler by the second.
“Mother, what are you suggesting? You cannot mean …” Joanna said but while Sally appreciated her sister standing up for her, she had something to ask herself. And it could not wait.
Sally narrowed her eyes, and looked at Joanna, her throat dry. “Joanna, when did you arrive?”
Joanna exchanged a confused glance with Kenneth before answering, “We just got here. Why? What does that have to do with anything?”
Sally’s mind raced, connecting the dots. Lady Millstone had mentioned both her and Joanna. Hadn’t she said their mother was looking for them? And hadn’t her mother sent her to look library to look for Joanna?
“Mother, did you orchestrate this? Did you send Lady Millstone to find us in the library?”
Her mother’s eyes grew wide while from the corner of her eye she saw the Duke’s shoulders pull back in attention.
Her mother, taken aback by the accusation, feigned innocence. “Sally, how could you even think such a thing? I would never?—”
But Sally interrupted, the anger bubbling to the surface. “Don’t lie to me! You sent me here saying that Joanna had arrived and was in the library returning books. However, she confirmed she just arrived. And moments before she burst in here, I heard Lady Millstone calling for Joanna and myself, saying you were looking for us.”
“Mother?” Joanna demanded, arms crossed while Kenneth’s jaw dropped a little at this revelation.
Her mother’s eyes flickered with discomfort, but she quickly composed herself. “I was mistaken. I thought Joanna was in the library, but I must have been someone else, someone who reminded me of her. I was mistaken. As for Lady Millstone, I did ask her to look for you only so that … I do not need to justify myself to you.”
“Mistaken? Mother, I know you wanted me to marry, but to go to such lengths? To involve Joanna, to manipulate the situation?”
Her mother, offended, replied, “How dare you accuse me of such things! I only thought you wanted to see Joanna. I had no idea a Duke would be in the library undressing you.”
Sally’s anger intensified. “He did not disrobe me. Stop saying that!”
The tension in the room crackled as Sally grappled with the betrayal of her mother’s actions. She didn’t even dare look at the Duke beside her, she could only imagine how he felt. He’d hardly spent any time in town for the last two years, and now that he was back, he was drawn into this mayhem.
Joanna broke the silence. “Please, it does not matter how this all came about or even what really happened. What matters is only what we do now.” She looked at Kenneth who appeared rather miserable and tugged on his cravat which appeared too large around his neck.
Kenneth’s gaze shifted toward Leonard, his brows furrowed in contemplation. “There’s only one thing to do. Leonard needs to marry Sally.”
The reply came swiftly – and sharp as a sword. “I’m sorry, my friend, but no. I am very apologetic for what has happened here this night, but I could never marry her.”
“Your Grace!” Sally’s mother explained and at last even Rosy found her voice although all she managed to mutter was a weak “What?” before Leonard Harding, the man who’d appeared as if out of thin air disappeared through the library door, having elbowed his way past a shocked Kenneth.
Even though they were nothing to each other, the rejection cut deeper than she could have imagined. Wounded, Sally wrapped her arms around herself and shook her head. “I didn’t even want to marry him,” she said to herself but evidently loud enough to draw her sister’s attention for Joanna rushed to her side.
Oddly, her arm did not feel comforting as she wrapped it around Sally as her entire body felt twitchy. Her skin burned with mortification and her eyes stung with unshed tears.
“We need to talk to Lady Millstone,” Kenneth’s voice came like a bullhorn through the fog.
“First we need to talk to the Duke,” her mother replied.
“He didn’t seem to want to,” Rosy pointed out and felt her younger sister’s eyes on her.
“He’ll do the right thing,” Joanna whispered to Sally, but her words did not soothe her any more than her touch. Amidst the chaos, Sally couldn’t help but wonder how a situation she never desired had brought about such unexpected pain and upheaval. Humiliation pressed heavily on Sally as she stood in the center of the room, surrounded by expectant gazes. She had to get out of there. Now.
“I must take the air,” Sally declared, freeing herself from her sister’s touch. Without waiting for a response, she swiftly exited the room, the eyes of her family following her every step.
* * *
The night air greeted Sally as she stepped onto the balcony, the cool breeze offering a momentary reprieve from the stifling atmosphere inside. She leaned against the railing, anger, hurt, and confusion all crashing down on her at once.
Sally tried to make sense of the events that had unfolded so rapidly. The Duke of Chester’s rejection echoed in her mind, exacerbating her disgrace. She didn’t want to marry him either, but couldn’t he not have found a more tactful way to declare his will?
“Lady Sally?” a voice came from the shadows and for the second time today, Leonard Harding appeared from the darkness, sending her heart into palpitations.
