“That is why I called upon her,” Henry continued, quickly picking up as Josephine’s words teetered off into nothingness. He drew all eyes back upon himself as he drew himself up, a look of disgust filling his features. “I had hoped that you would be present as well. I wanted to settle this matter once and for all. I never imagined that she would repeat the scandalous offer from that afternoon all those years ago. Nor did I expect her to try acting on it, but she did. She asked me to take her as my mistress. She offered to bear children for me.”
Henry said it all so blandly, without any inflection outside the revulsion he’d been displaying the whole time. It was as gentle a blow as he could offer, his eyes steady on Lord Brisby despite the scandal that he outlined.
And, as he spoke, Lord Brisby seemed to wither even further.
His shoulders hunched in upon him, his frown growing as he looked down at his feet in shame.
“I knew that she harboured an unhealthy attachment to you,” Lord Brisby muttered. “When you first started courting Martha, she railed against the injustice of it all. That you, a duke, would choose her when she was so lucky already. Martha was their father’s favourite, did you know?”
He seemed to be talking half to himself, his words hurried and his inflection slipping as he grappled with the truth of things.
“When I met Catherine, she was so warm and lovely. She was social and happy … I never imagined that she would be anything but. But she was never satisfied, never happy. When their parents died, Martha told me that it had affected Catherine greatly, that she was having such difficulty because she and their father had never been able to reconcile. She told me to be patient with her.” He laughed, but the sound was as mirthless as it was cold.
“I tried to be, you know. But when Martha married, she became even more distant and angry. I never imagined–” he cut off, grimacing as he lifted both hands to his face. He pushed his fingers into it, scrubbing them down his skin before sighing heavily. “You have my deepest apologies, Your Grace. If I had known that her discontent had slipped so – if I had paid better attention, maybe …”
Josephine tore her eyes from the grief-filled man in front of them to look at Henry, her heart hurting for all the partiesinvolved. It was an odd feeling to account for alongside her own embarrassment. She didn’t know which was more prevalent, her understanding or the feeling that she ought to be yelling at Lord Brisby for having believed such groundless accusations so easily.
Henry looked as if he’d been struck, his face slack as he stared at Lord Brisby, his eyes twin pools of disbelief and a begrudging understanding.
“You could pay better attention now,” Henry suggested. He said it gently, the bite he could have used missing from his words. “I will not have her harassing my intended.”
“I can only ask for your forgiveness and forbearance, Your Grace,” Lord Brisby murmured, his eyes downcast. “Your mercy, even. I should not have barged into your home in the manner that I did. I should not have allowed things to get to this point at all.”
Josephine felt for the man, his whole world in shambles at his feet the way it was, but she felt even more for Henry, his jaw ticking as he stared at him.
“You have all three,” the duke whispered, his voice catching, and Josephine knew without knowing how he was thinking of his late wife. “Just … take Catherine away. Take her back to London so she cannot interfere anymore with the wedding or my future wife. Maybe the change in scenery will be good for her. I cannot imagine remaining will bring anyone anything but harm.”
“I–” Lord Brisby’s voice caught, his eyes swinging around the room as if there were a part of him that wished to contest the request, but he struggled only for a moment before swallowing thickly and nodding. “Of course, Your Grace. My deepest condolences … and congratulations,” he tacked on as an afterthought as he gestured towards Josephine.
He bowed his head before anyone could think of a response, fumbling with something in his hands as he turned and hurried from the room even more quickly than he had come.
Harbuttle cast a long look at the duke before following him out, closing the door with a quiet ‘whick’ behind them.
For several long moments, there was only the sound of breathing in the room; the inhabitants left reeling in the aftermath of the scene Lord Brisby had caused.
At least until Josephine’s father cleared his throat.
Henry snapped back to attention, turning to face Josephine and her parents with a grimace.
“I apologize to the three of you. I had no idea … I understand if what just occurred gives you pause, but I assure you that I will endeavour to keep Lady Brisby from being any grievance. I promise you, as well, that I did nothing to encourage these attentions.”
“The scandal any of this would cause is quite great,” Josephine’s father muttered, seemingly torn as he looked between the duke and his wife. “Were word to get out–”
“But it won’t,” Josephine interrupted quickly, her heart hammering in her chest at the sudden realization that her parents could still call the wedding off themselves.
She didn’t know if the thought of them losing their safety net or never seeing Henry again scared her more. And that uncertainty was even more damning than anything else yet.
Josephine’s father shot her a long, hard look, his moustache bristling as he glanced again at his wife and sighed.
“We trust you, Your Grace,” he murmured graciously after a short pause. “I did not mean to imply anything else.”
“You were just thinking of your daughter,” Henry acknowledged, nodding as if it were to be expected. “I can perfectly understand how the accusations might give you pause, even hearing my defence of them. The charges levelled against me were no small matter.”
He stopped, his gaze swinging from her parents to her and Josephine felt her breath catch in her chest from the sudden intensity in his glowing green eyes.
“Speaking of which, Lady Josephine, I believe I owe you my thanks for advocating for me as you did. You did not have to trust in me as much as you did nor vouch for my reputation. I am forever in your debt for doing so.”
Why is it suddenly so hard to breathe?
