by Abigail Agar
***
Gwyn sat at her desk trying to finish writing her letter to Jack, but she had all but given up. There was a good chance that she was not going to be able to patch up the rift between the brothers. At this point, she doubted that she could mend the rift between herself and Henry, let alone between Henry and his brother.
A small sound made Gwyn look around at her window. She sat there in puzzlement until the sound came again from the window. It was a soft clink. She blinked as she saw something hit her window. Gwyn walked over to the window and stared down at the ground in disbelief.
Jack waved up at her beckoning her to raise her window. Gwyn took a deep breath and pushed her window open. She called down quietly, “What do you want?”
“Come down. I need to talk to you,” Jack called up. He looked around hastily as if he had heard something. When he looked back up at her, his voice was urgent. “Please, Gwyn, I know you do not owe me anything, but for our once friendship, will you not hear me out?”
Gwyn hesitated then sighed. “Meet me at the bridge,” she called before she slid the window shut. She frowned as she went to grab her overcoat out of the closet.
The halls of the manor were quiet. She just hoped that no one had heard Jack and herself. Just because she was going to hear the man out, did not mean that she wanted the fact that she talked to him getting back to Henry.
Outside in the garden, the leaves were damp and cold as they brushed against Gwyn. The moon was new and the sky dark. It was hard to see where she was going, but she heard footsteps ahead. Jack’s blond hair shone in the shadows, and Gwyn followed the man’s direction.
At the bridge, Jack turned and waited for her. She walked up onto the bridge and dusted off her coat as best as she could. “Now what is so urgent that I had to come out in the middle of the night?”
“I came to see if you would listen to reason where no one else has. It is about Henry and Miss Rayburne,” Jack said as if he were gently trying to broach the subject with her.
Gwyn sighed and folded her arms. “I know about Miss Rayburne and Henry,” she said with a sigh.
Jack stared at her for a moment. “I cannot believe that you of all people would go along with such a thing. Especially with your views of men who keep mistresses,” Jack said in disbelief.
“I am not going to stand here and be judged by you of all people,” Gwyn said resolutely. “If that is all you came out here for, then I am leaving.”
Jack shook his head. “You honestly are fine with Henry having a mistress?”
“What?” Gwyn asked as she shook her head. “Look, Jack, I do not know what your agenda is, but you have come to the wrong place to sow your seeds of discontent.”
Jack said, “Wait, what did you think that I meant by Miss Rayburne and Henry?”
“That they were seen arguing before the scandal hit, but I have already talked to Henry about that,” Gwyn said as if that should be obvious. The look on Jack’s face gave Gwyn pause. “What is going on? What is it that you would have me believe?”
Jack held up his hand for her to just hear him out. The wind picked up, and Jack winced at the chill. Gwyn tugged her coat closer around her. “I shall be quick, so you do not freeze,” Jack said quickly. “Miss Rayburne is still in London.”
Gwyn gave him as blank a look as she could as she tried to keep the feelings that raged in her off of her face. “I hope that she and yourself are very happy. Perhaps you will leave Henry alone now that you are taking responsibility for your old actions.”
Jack shook his head “No. You do not understand. I am not paying Miss Rayburne’s bills. My father also seemed a bit confused when I told him about the woman still being in London. He was under the impression that she had gone to the colonies.”
“Perhaps her father decided otherwise,” Gwyn said reasonably.
Jack nodded slowly, “My father said the same thing, but the thing is that I believe Henry is the one that is footing the woman’s bill without my father’s knowledge.”
“I do not want to hear any more of this,” Gwyn said firmly.
She turned to leave, but Jack stopped her by grabbing her arm. She eyed him coldly, but Jack just kept talking. “I saw Henry visit a house in London. I was following him because I thought he was acting suspiciously when he came to visit me at the inn.” Jack took a deep breath and said softly, “Miss Rayburne answered the door of the house when I went to investigate. She told me that Henry promised her that she could be his mistress.”
“Why would he do that? What do you expect me to believe … that it is his child?” Gwyn asked Jack in disbelief.
Jack shook his head. “You do not have to believe me. You can believe her. She said that the child was Henry’s, and he has promised to take care of her.”
“This is ridiculous,” Gwyn said as she threw her arms up in the air and instantly regretted it at the gush of cool air that rushed in under her coat. “Look, that young woman will say anything to get herself out of her predicament. Who knows what she told Henry to get him to agree for her to stay in London.” Gwyn eyed Jack and shook her head. “I do not even know if what she says is true either way because she could be lying for you. She was very taken with you.”
Jack’s mouth fell open. “I do not trust my ears. What am I hearing? Are you seriously still taking his side in this?”
“Like I told you once, Jack, when I give my faith to someone, it takes a lot to shake it,” Gwyn reminded Jack. “Now I am going to bed. Goodnight,” Gwyn said resolutely as she turned towards the house without waiting for the man’s answer.
Gwyn did not look back towards the bridge until she was almost to the house. When she did, she saw the vague outline of Jack still standing there. Why was he still there? Gwyn sighed and shut off all the thoughts that came into her mind. There was no point in trying to decipher the man.
***
Despite Gwyn’s words to Jack in Henry’s defence, she still found herself on the man’s doorstep the next morning. She squared her shoulders and swallowed down the fears. She and Henry were already on uneven footing, and little that she said was going to make that worse, Gwyn reasoned. At best she might get some clarity.
When the door opened, the young doorman showed her into a parlour that she rarely entered at the large house. The walls were stained a dark brown which Gwyn did not much care for. The darkness of the walls made the room seem close, almost suffocating.
Henry entered a few moments later and apologized, “Sorry, I was just about to head into London for the day. Had you come any later, then I would have been gone for sure.”
“I am glad I caught you then,” Gwyn said with a smile. She knew from experience that men often listened more when she smiled, so she gave Henry a winning smile and saw the curiosity on the man’s face.
Henry sat down on a chair near the one Gwyn had chosen and asked eagerly, “So, what do I owe the pleasure of your company? Not that I mind, as it will give me something nice to think on during my dreary day at business.”
“I came to ask you something about Miss Rayburne,” Gwyn said honestly, but she kept the smile on her face to ward off the man’s fury. “I know we have already discussed it, but it has come to my attention that Miss Rayburne is still in London. I wondered if you knew anything of that.”
The expression on Henry’s face was unreadable to Gwyn. He eyed her with a keenness that made Gwyn uneasy in her seat. “Who told you that?”
Gwyn had been afraid of that very question. Her smile slipped, and she found herself worrying her bottom lip as if she were a child again. “I heard it from Jack,” Gwyn said softly. “He told me that he spoke with her.”
Henry did not respond immediately. It was like a slow-building fire where the embers just flicker. However, when the man’s temper ignited, it did so spectacularly. His voice boomed, doing his father’s lineage proud. “You saw Jack? Alone? You spoke to him unchaperoned?”
“It was not like that—” Gwyn protested, but Henry cut her off.
Henry snarled, “I should never have trusted you. Now not only are you out to disgrace me, but you are consorting with my brother in such a lecherous way? It is disgraceful, and not fitting of a duchess. Your infidelity shocks me, Gwyneth.”
Gwyn had heard quite enough. She stood up and balled her fists. She tried to restrain her voice to a ladylike level as she spoke. “My fidelity is intact. I have never betrayed anyone that I was sworn to. I cannot say the same for the men I have met in my life. I do not know a man outside of my father who has not consorted with mistresses or harlots, and I am certainly not going to be judged by you, Henry Shelton.”
“Oh, you are free not to be judged by me, Gwyneth Stanton. You are free to leave,” Henry said as he stood up as well. He opened the door to the parlour, and Gwyn hurried to exit the room. Her eagerness to get away from him earned her another jab from the man. “In a rush to go tell my brother that you are now his alone again? Give him my best regards.”
Gwyn fumed and stopped in the middle of the hallway. “How dare you? I came here to ask you a simple question, a question easily dismissed by truth and candour, and you attack me. What is it that you have to hide, Henry? Perhaps Jack is right about you, after all. Perhaps you are still that wretched boy I grew up with.” Gwyn regretted her shouted words the instant they left her mouth, but there was little point in trying to rescind them. She saw Henry’s face harden.
As Henry’s mouth opened to reply, Lady Shelton’s reproving words echoed down the staircase that she was coming down when she witnessed their argument in the front hall. “Henry Shelton, what is the meaning of this?”
Henry looked at his mother in bewilderment as he straightened his vest. Gwyn saw nothing wrong with the man’s vest and just assumed it was a nervous twitch. “Mother, I did nothing. I was—”
“Are you really going to stand there and say you did nothing when I witnessed you besmirching Gwyneth’s very honour? An honour, mind you that you are sworn to protect, Henry.” Lady Shelton gave her son a disapproving look. “Gwyn, please come into my sitting room and calm yourself before the ride home. I would not have you so upset with us.”
Gwyn wanted nothing more than to flee, but she saw that the woman was visibly upset by the argument between Henry and Gwyn, so she relented with a nod. Gwyn turned to follow the woman, sparing not one glance for Henry. She smoothed her dress and patted her hair to make sure that it was still as it should be as she walked with Lady Shelton.
In the sitting room, Lady Shelton beckoned a maid to bring them some tea which she coerced Gwyn into sipping. “It will do wonders for your nerves. Georgiana puts chamomile in it,” Lady Shelton said coaxingly.
“Thank you,” Gwyn said quietly before she took a sip of the tea. “It is most good.”
Lady Shelton smiled and patted Gwyn’s arm. “Now, what was all that unpleasantness with Henry? What has he done now?”
Gwyn laughed softly. “I came here to ask him about Miss Rayburne, and he got angry.”
“What about Miss Rayburne?” Lady Shelton asked as she picked up her teacup. She eyed Gwyn as she took a sip waiting on her answer.
Gwyn shrugged. “Apparently, she is in London, and I was told that your family was paying for the girl to live in a house in London.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Lady Shelton said. She frowned thoughtfully. “Or I think it is. We could go and ask my husband.”
Gwyn sat her teacup down. “Oh, I could not possibly bother the Duke with this.”
“Nonsense, besides you were very upset, and I wish to show you that we are not hiding anything,” Lady Shelton said simply.
Gwyn shook her head. “I believe you. Did you know anything at all about the arrangements with Miss Rayburne?”
“Not really,” Lady Shelton said honestly. “I thought that the boys were hiding something. They are often like that, looking out for one another, always trying to cover up things. I thought that sending the girl to the colonies was a bit cold, but in the end, it was what the men decided and well, the ladies never get much say, now do we?”
Gwyn nodded quietly. “Perhaps I should talk to the Duke, as long as he is not busy.”
“I think it would be a splendid idea since I really am of no help when it comes to the finances,” Lady Shelton said as she set down her teacup. “No time like the present.”
***
The two ladies made their way to the Duke’s study. When they entered, there was a thick residue of smoke lingering in the air that made Gwyn’s nostrils burn. She fought the urge to cough and instead cleared her throat.
The Duke looked up at them and gave both ladies a warm smile. “Well, if it is not the two ladies I adore the most. What can I do for you?”
“We actually came to talk to you about Miss Rayburne,” Lady Shelton said as she guided Gwyn to one of the leather chairs in front of the Duke’s desk.
The man chuckled. “There certainly has been a lot of discussion about that scandal lately. Jack was just in here yesterday about it. What is it that you should want to know?”
“We—” Gwyn corrected, “I was wondering what happened to her.”
The Duke pursed out his lips. “She was set to go to the colonies, but I must confess that I did not arrange any of it. Her father was to make the arrangements, we merely supplied the funds.”
“And did he?” Gwyn asked curiously.
With a shrug, the Duke said, “Honestly, I have no idea. Jack seems to think she is in London. If she is, then I would assume the young lady’s mother probably did not like the idea of sending her daughter to the colonies, choosing to keep her close and so on.”
“But you do not know that for sure? Do you know if your family paid the money?” Gwyn asked, knowing that she was pushing her luck, but the Duke did not seem offended.
The man merely said, “Henry handled that. I had begun delegating tasks to him, and it seemed like a good one at the time for him to handle. So, you would have to talk to him. As I have not heard anything out of the young lady’s family, I would assume that we paid, and all is well.”
Gwyn nodded. “Thank you.” She gave the man a smile, but inside she was beginning to feel as if she were sinking. The doubts about Henry had begun to let water in, and she feared that it would not be too much longer that she could deny all the thoughts that she tried so hard to deny.
Chapter 16
Jack came down the stairs into the main room of the inn to find Gwyn and another young lady, presumably Gwyn’s chambermaid, waiting for him. Jack gave them a curious look. “What do I owe the privilege?”
Gwyn cleared her throat and said, “I would like to meet with Miss Rayburne.”
Jack looked over at the maid with Gwyn then back at Gwyn. They both stared at him defiantly as if they were a united front and he was a lone soldier. “Right,” Jack said softly. “I do not think that is a good idea for anyone.”
“I mean the young woman no harm,” Gwyn said quietly. “I just need to hear it from her. Surely, you understand that.”
Jack shook his head in disbelief. “Just the other night you swore your undying allegiance to Henry and told me to leave you alone.”
“That is a bit far,” Gwyn said with a shrug. “I merely needed time to process things and to ask Henry about them.”
Jack stared at her for a moment. “You told Henry that I knew about Miss Rayburne?”
“Well, yes,” Gwyn said. She frowned at Jack. “Was there some reason you did not want me to?”