by Abigail Agar
Gwyn jumped at Jack’s words. Her eyes went to him, and she said, “I almost did not.” She turned around to face Jack once more.
Jack walked over to her cautiously. “So, why did you come?”
“I am almost always willing to hear both sides, Captain Shelton,” Gwyn said quietly. “Besides, I had to return your book.”
Jack did not reach out to take the book. Instead, he merely tucked his hands into his coat pockets. “You could have just given it to Henry.”
If Jack had been hoping for some give away in her expression, Jack did not see it as Gwyn said simply, “I was curious. Now, if you have nothing more to say than trying to make it look like I wanted to see you, then I will be going home now.”
“I did not write the part about the night you decided to leave for India for good,” Jack said. “I had no idea why you left.”
Gwyn laughed. “So, you want me to believe that you just thought I was a fool who was flighty and left for her own selfish reasons?”
“I would rather you believe that than I was with some woman,” Jack said.
Gwyn shook her head. “You do not understand, do you?” She asked the question with a blank stare at him. Jack frowned at her, and Gwyn growled, “I saw you that evening, right after the rainstorm. You were on the patio with your back to me with a girl. I saw you, and I ran away because I was so upset. I ran all the way to India because I could not bear to see you, and you dare tell me that that entry, of all the entries, is false? That one?”
Jack’s mouth fell open. Gwyn shook her head at him. She threw the book at him and yelled, “I am tired of your lies. I am tired of being played for a fool. I am not your puppet, and if you think that I will turn on Henry at a word from your mouth, then you are sorely mistaken. When I trust someone, Jack, my faith is harder to shake than that. You should know that, after all, you had my faith for far longer than you deserved.”
“Gwyn, wait,” Jack tried, but the woman was already making her way back through the trees. “It wasn’t me!” Jack shouted after her.
There was the snap of a twig, and Henry stepped out of the shadows. “That was very interesting,” Henry said. “Also, not very moral of you, Brother.”
Jack glared at Henry. “Are you honestly going to stand there and talk to me about morals? It was you that night. Gwyn saw you just like I found you with that girl. Why did I not put that together? I just blindly kept the peace, but no longer, Brother. If you want a war, then a war you have.” Jack shoved past Henry as he went back towards Shelton Hall.
***
Gwyn sat in the kitchen still shaking. One of the kitchen ladies had made Gwyn some warm milk and she sat sipping it. There was a knock on the door, and Gwyn looked up at the kitchen door to see Henry slip in. “Henry, what are you doing here?” she asked, trying not to sound guilty.
“I came to make sure that you were alright,” Henry said quietly. “Jack told me about the bridge.”
Gwyn gasped and shook her head. “Whatever he said, it is a falsehood, I promise. I merely went to give that horrible book back to him. He left a note with my father of all people. I cannot believe he was with my father.” Gwyn was babbling, but Henry just shook his head at her.
“I assure you, Gwyn, that I do not fear your betrayal. I trust you. It is my brother that I do not trust. That is why I came to see if you were alright,” Henry said as he sat down next to her.
Gwyn nodded her head. “Yes. Thank you.” Gwyn gave the man a smile for thinking of her. “I am fine, I promise. He did nothing to me. He just tried to tell me that it was not him I saw that night.”
Henry pursed out his lips. “Who did he try to say it was?”
“He did not, I do not think. I stopped listening,” Gwyn said softly. “I do not understand why he continues to lie with the truth right there on the page.”
Henry put his hand gently over Gwyn’s hand, “I can no more tell you why my brother does what he does than I can predict the rain with any certainty,” he said regretfully. “I promise that I will endeavour to keep him away from you, Gwyneth. It was never my intention that he should be able to cause you more grief. I had hoped that we would be married before he even found out about all of this.”
“I do not think even that could deter him, Henry. He certainly had no respect for our families when he interrupted our wedding,” Gwyn said with a shake of her head. “I fear we may never get married at this rate.”
Henry joked, “We could always run away.”
“Yes, because what our families need is more scandal. I am just glad that thus far all of this has remained fairly quiet,” Gwyn said thankfully.
Henry said, “You clearly have never seen how intimidating my mother is when she is angry. I doubt even the most gossip-prone socialite would dare go against her recommendations.”
With a laugh, Gwyn agreed, “That is probably true. She is a rather formidable woman.”
“And with both her and me on your side then you can relax,” Henry assured Gwyn. “I had better go make sure Jack is not causing more trouble. Are you sure that you are well?”
Gwyn nodded and slipped her hands around her glass of warm milk. “I feel a lot better. Thank you for coming to check on me, Henry,” Gwyn said with a smile.
“Any time, darling,” Henry said. He stood up and gave her a bright smile. “Try to get some sleep.” Gwyn nodded again and then the man was gone out of the kitchen. Gwyn sighed at her glass of milk. As much as she wanted to sleep, Gwyn was not sure at all that she could after all that had happened.
***
Lord and Lady Shelton sat in Lord Shelton’s study eyeing their youngest son with looks of disbelief. “You actually expect us to just believe you?” Lord Shelton asked Jack before he looked over at his wife who sat on a couch to one side. Lady Shelton sighed and shook her head.
Jack stared at his father. “It was Henry that night that Gwyn saw. He has tampered with my journal. Everything in there is him. I did not write those horrible things about Gwyn. Yes, I wrote about Gwyn, but only in a lovesick manner. Yes, the journal would have been embarrassing, but I did not write all of that.”
Lady Shelton said, “If, as you say, Henry had given Sergeant Chavers a lovesick journal, would the result have been different?”
“Yes,” Jack said, before he corrected, “No. Sergeant Chavers would have acted like the buffoon he is and blamed Gwyn for something she had no control over. However, Gwyn would not be so upset with me, and we would not be in this current situation without the parts that had been changed.”
Lord Shelton pursed his lips. “We agreed to let you defend yourself, but I do not see that a mild difference in handwriting is grounds for throwing the whole of the journal out.”
“I do not care if you throw the journal out or keep it and cherish it,” Jack said fervently. “I care that the journal has been changed to put all, or most, of Henry’s sins upon my shoulders. I will not carry any more burdens that are not mine. I have done everything I can for the family, and if the years you have known me are not enough, then I do not want to make amends any longer.”
Lady Shelton relented a bit as her expression softened. “Jack, we all appreciate the things you have done for the family. We just cannot overlook the fact that Gwyn has been hurt by all of this. In that respect, it does not matter to us what your journal said, we must look out for Gwyn’s best interest.”
“And that would be with me,” Henry said as he stepped into the study.
Lord Shelton asked, “Where have you been?”
“I was at Stanton Manor enquiring after Gwyn,” Henry said. His eyes cut over to Jack as he said, “Jack tricked her into meeting him by leaving his journal with her father. I got there just as Gwyn left upset. I felt that it was more important that I see to her well-being.”
Lady Shelton nodded her agreement. “As well you should have.” Her eyes went to Jack who braced himself for the tirade he saw building in the woman’s eyes. “How dare you go and entreat that girl to meet you af
ter all that has happened? Do you not understand what she has been through? Just today she and Henry along with her mother had to go and try to salvage our mutual reputations in our very own church after your little performance. Now to cause her such grief, and what do you mean involving Ian as sick as the man is?”
“I had not intended on Lord Stanton being involved, I just had no one else that would believe me,” Jack said honestly. “I just needed to tell Gwyn the truth.”
Henry scoffed, “You mean to try and mix her all up and use her like the puppet that you have treated her as since she was a child?”
“Do not twist my words, Brother,” Jack growled. He rose up out of his chair but stilled as his father eyed him. It would do no good to cause a scene, and it would only further hurt his cause to lose his temper, but it was difficult to rein in with Henry smirking at him. “Perhaps, it would be best if I stay elsewhere for the sake of Gwyn and everyone’s peace,” Jack suggested.
Lord Shelton nodded. “That might be for the best, at least for the time being.” He glanced over at his wife and said, “Stop fretting, Lydia.” Lord Shelton sighed at the look on his wife’s face. “He can go stay at the inn in the local village,” Lord Shelton said reasonably.
“I suppose that would be a good thing. At least it would give Gwyn a bit of peace knowing that Jack is further away,” Lady Shelton said hesitantly.
His mother’s words stung Jack, but he kept the hurt out of his voice. After all, he had already announced that he was leaving for the colonies. Although leaving for the colonies was far from his mind at the moment. “Then it is decided. I will go and get my things,” Jack said. He gave his older brother a glare. “It will save you the trouble of having to keep an eye on me, Brother,” Jack said to Henry with all the animosity he could muster.
Henry for his part merely smiled at Jack, knowing full well that he had won the battle. Jack was not fighting a battle, though, he was fighting a war.
In war, battles could be won or lost, but the outcome of the war often boiled down to who wanted it more. Jack returned that wretched smile of Henry’s with one of his own as he pushed past his brother and out the door.
Chapter 13
Adrienne smiled at Gwyn in the reflection of the bedroom mirror as she held up some ribbons for her hair. Gwyn pointed out a silver one that matched the trim on her silk dress. Adrienne set about placing the ribbon decoratively around the braid of Gwyn’s hair that she had twisted into an elegant bun and pinned it to Gwyn’s head.
“Are you nervous, Miss?” Adrienne asked as she helped close the back of Gwyn’s dress.
Gwyn laughed and gave a little nod of her head. “I am a little,” she admitted. “To be honest, there is part of me that does not want to go.”
“But your betrothed will be waiting,” Adrienne ventured.
Gwyn frowned and said, “Yes, but so will his brother. I have made my promises to Henry and myself that I will strive to pass and be civil. I cannot bear the thought of all this family heartache being linked back to me.”
“It is not your fault if those two wish to bicker about their egos,” Adrienne said, and Gwyn gave the girl a surprised look. Adrienne blushed. “I’m sorry, Miss. I don’t mean to insult anyone. I just have grown to like you, and I don’t think you should take so much guilt on yourself for the actions of others.”
With a sigh, Gwyn said, “I do not know how to distinguish what is my fault and what is not. I guess I have just decided that everything should be my fault. Someone has to take the blame and help everyone just move on.”
“Do you really think that the Lord and Captain will do that, Miss? Just move on, I mean,” Adrienne asked as she clasped her hands together.
Turning around in her chair, Gwyn frowned. Did she think that? With a lift of her shoulders, Gwyn said, “I am not certain of anything when it comes to those particular gentlemen. The moment I think I have my feet firmly on the ground, and my vision is clear, my eyes get fogged up again. That sounds silly.”
“Not at all,” Adrienne said with a smile. “I have known a few men in my time. They tend to muddy any waters they walk through.”
***
Gwyn took a deep breath as she waited with her mother outside Shelton Hall. The weather had turned blustery as the warmth of summer struggled not to fade away. Gwyn tugged her shawl around her shoulders tighter as if that inch of snugness was going to ward off the chill on the wind.
The door opened, and a young man who looked to be barely sixteen opened the door. He gave them a bow. “The Duchess is waiting on you in the sitting room. She thought you might like to chat before the evening meal,” the young man said far more eloquently than Gwyn had expected of him.
Lady Stanton nodded. “Of course,” she said with a nod of her head. The young doorman held the door open for them to pass through, and then beckoned them to follow him even if they knew the way to Lady Shelton’s sitting room by heart after all these years.
Gwyn noted that the house was quiet. The quiet could be deceptive, though. Shelton Hall was a large place, and it could be quiet as a mouse in one section while a war brewed in another. Gwyn did not trust the silence at all; if anything, it put her on edge.
The young doorman disappeared ahead of them into the sitting room. When the door opened again, he motioned for them to enter. “The Duchess will see you now,” he said as he held the door open for Gwyn and her mother.
Inside the room, Lady Shelton smiled at them as Gwyn and her mother entered. “Oh, Clarisse, I am so glad you decided to join Gwyn and come tonight.”
“I thought it proper with all the unrest lately between our households to have someone here for Gwyn if things should be too rowdy, besides she is as of yet unmarried,” Lady Stanton said. With a smile, Lady Stanton added, “And, of course, seeing a good friend is always nice.”
Lady Shelton nodded at Gwyn’s mother. “I wish that the unrest were behind us, but I do not know if it is. However, things should be quiet this evening. Jack has gone into London. He was going to stay at a local inn, but they had no vacancies, so he is in London until things are settled.”
“I feel as if this is all my fault,” Gwyn said as she followed her mother further into the room.
Lady Shelton regarded Gwyn with sad eyes, “No, child. Men will do what they want regardless of what the women around them say. I feel my sons are especially prone to that.”
“Lydia is right,” Gwyn’s mother said as she guided Gwyn over to sit on one of the cushioned chairs with an affectionate grip on her shoulders. “Now relax while the food is prepared. After all, there will be enough putting up with the gentlemen later without worrying over them now.”
Lady Shelton nodded her agreement. “I hope that at least the three of us can always maintain peace between us, even if the boys have other ideas.”
“We shall certainly make that our goal,” Gwyn’s mother agreed.
Gwyn, too, nodded and said, “I would like that.”
“Good,” Lady Shelton said with a smile. “I was praying that all the stress had not hurt the love between our families.”
Gwyn’s mother smiled back and grasped Lady Shelton’s hand. “We are near family, Lydia.”
“Very true,” Lady Shelton said with a nod. She squeezed Lady Stanton’s hand back.
Gwyn asked, “Will the Duke be joining us this evening?”
Lady Shelton laughed and said, “Child, there is no need for the title here. And yes, he will, thankfully. He is more married to his work than to me at times, I fear.”
“Nonsense, he loves you greatly,” Gwyn said with a shake of her head.