This reporter is appalled.
Virginia threw the paper aside and burst into tears.
Elinor rubbed her forehead. She could take little more of the ton and their gossip.
Dory picked up the paper and read it again. “None of this is true.”
“None of it is a lie, either,” Elinor said.
“Who could have told?”
Elinor shrugged. “A servant, the priest, or one of the officers who helped in my rescue could have been paid to tell. The story is vague, so it’s likely whoever it was did not really know all that had happened.”
“How can you be so calm? We’re ruined. No one will have you now!” Mother’s wailing was annoying.
“Well, there is no point in getting hysterical. It won’t help anything if we cannot keep our wits about us.”
“What should we do?” Dory asked.
“I will wait for Michael. He will come. You should go home so as not to be associated with me. We don’t want this to taint your reputation.” Elinor patted Dory’s shoulder.
Dory looked horrified. “I will not go. You are my oldest and dearest friend, Elinor. I will not abandon you when you need me most. If my friendship with you is not suited to some man who wishes to receive my dowry, then he can go to Hades.”
“Dorothea, language,” Mother scolded.
Elinor and Dory exchanged a private smile. “Thank you.”
Dory nodded.
They didn’t have to wait long. Michael’s arrival was announced only thirty minutes after the newspaper’s arrival.
Virginia didn’t even bother to hide her surprise. “I thought you would have left the continent by now, Kerburghe.”
He smiled crookedly. “I would be happy to leave England for a while, but my bride-to-be has insisted on Scotland for our honeymoon. It seems she worries over the state we left the property in the north. Though I have assured her I have sent a steward to see to the repairs.”
Elinor stood at his side and gazed at him.
He kissed her nose.
Pacing frantically, Mother said, “We shall cancel the wedding and you can elope. The scandal will be much lessened by your absence. I will go now and start writing letters.”
Holding up a hand, Michael stopped Mother’s exit. “No. We will go on with the wedding as planned. To run now would be an admission of guilt. We have done nothing wrong. Certainly Elinor is not culpable for the actions of a madman.”
“I do not know if society will see it that way, Michael,” Elinor said. “Perhaps Mother is right. We could disappear for a while, and the talk would eventually stop. The ton becomes bored with these things so easily. Once it has passed, we can come back to London.”
“Elinor, it is not fair for you to have your wedding spoiled by ignorance. You should not run. I do not like it one bit.” Stiff with rage, Dory walked across the room to the window.
“It really doesn’t matter, Dory.” As long as she ended up married to Michael, she didn’t care about the rest. Well, not much.
Michael took Elinor’s hand, and they sat as far away from the other two women as possible. “I do not want you to be disappointed, my love. I still think it’s better to stay and face the scandal. I am a duke, and that should be worth something to these people.”
“I just want to be with you. I do not care how we get married. The fact that you are here is the most important thing to me. The rest is trivial.”
He smiled. “I could be nowhere else.”
Voices raised and doors slammed in the foyer. It sounded like an invasion. A moment later, Sophia and Daniel burst in.
Kendall trailed behind and announced them. The stout little man rolled his eyes as he left.
Giving the butler’s back a stern look, Sophia slapped her gloves across her palm.
A deep frown marred Daniel’s handsome face.
Before the new arrivals could be informed of the couple’s decision, a footman appeared with a note.
Virginia made to take the note, but the footman turned and delivered the missive to Elinor.
She read the note, and the rest of the room stood in silence, watching. “It’s from Middleton.”
Michael frowned and grumbled something that she couldn’t understand.
“Well, what does it say?” Sophia put her fists on her hips.
“He says he thinks he can be of some help. He advises that Michael and I attend Lord and Lady Brasher’s ball tomorrow night. He advises us not to run or take any steps that might confirm the statements in the paper.” She looked up from the note and shrugged.
Daniel stepped forward. “May I see the note?”
She handed Daniel the message.
He read it. “He says that if you have not been invited he can arrange an invitation.”
“We have one.” Virginia reclined on the chaise and maintained a dramatic pose. “I had planned to decline since we were so busy with the wedding plans.”
Daniel said, “Michael, I think you and Elinor should do as Middleton advises. I am sure he has a plan.”
“And if his plan is to make a fool of me and take her away from me?”
Elinor touched his arm. “He would not. Even if he could, I do not believe he would do anything to hurt us, Michael. He is my friend. I think he only wishes to help.”
Daniel nodded and took the note from Michael. He looked it over. “He is influential amongst the ton. His friendship could be enough to silence the masses.”
“We should all go,” Dory said.
“I agree,” Daniel said. “I will contact Thomas and Markus as well and see if they are available. I cannot stand for the malice of such a report. We must push back, or the reporters begin to run our lives.”
“They have been running mine for years.” Elinor should have kept her thoughts to herself, but she was tired of being a good girl. It had never gotten her anything.
Michael squeezed her hand. “I know it seems that way, Elinor. We shall find a way to put all of this behind us. I am quite tired of every nuance of my life being put to print for the entire world to read and interpret. It is time to put an end to it. Then, once we are married, we will no longer be of such interest to the gossip of London.
“I will go and see Middleton today and find out what he has in mind.”
“You will be nice, won’t you, Michael?”
He smiled. “I will be nice.”
* * * *
The Brasher ball was one of the biggest events of the season. Elinor had attended the event before, but she took special pains to look her best. She had no idea what Preston had in mind, but the fact that a duke of his influence was supporting them would go far amongst the meddling ton.
She had chosen a sapphire blue gown trimmed in silver. The soft fabric hugged her body snugly, and the bodice’s design pushed her breasts up, showing just enough cleavage to inspire the men to great things. At least, that is what the dressmaker had professed when Elinor picked out the confection. It had been twenty minutes since her maid had informed her that Michael was waiting downstairs, but she wasn’t ready.
Her hair was coifed and curled with strands of silver that caught the light. The gown was exquisite and needed no alterations. She had even dowsed her eyelashes with a special black soot that was all the rage. It made her blue eyes even brighter. As she looked at herself in the mirror, she had no idea who the woman was looking back. She took a deep breath, and the movement made her breasts push higher.
She liked this new person more than the old Elinor, much more.
Pushing her shoulders back, she turned from the mirror and left her room. At the top of the stairs, she spied Michael in the foyer. He was stunningly handsome, all in black with a crisp white cravat. He spoke to Mother, but they were too far away for Elinor to hear the conversation. Whatever they were discussing, he didn’t like it. He frowned at Virginia, but his stance stayed relaxed, with his elbow leaning on the finial at the bottom of the handrail.
>
She moved forward, and he turned and looked up at her.
His mouth hung open, then a slow smile spread across his face.
She floated down the stairs, with only Michael in her sight. He was her sun, and she reveled in his heat.
She closed the gap between them. Her heart in her throat, she wanted to run away with Michael and leave all of the ton and their silliness behind.
He looked at her as if she were the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Yet he was magnificent, like a star shining through on the darkest night.
“Really, Elinor, that dress borders on obscene.” Mother shook her head and pursed her lips.
Michael’s grin was wicked and delicious.
“Well then, Mother, it shall give them something else to talk about. I will not slink through and try to go unnoticed. If we are to make a statement this evening, it shall be a bold one.”
Mother sighed and accepted her wrap from the butler. “Shall we go?”
Michael smiled and wrapped Elinor’s hand into the crook of his elbow. He leaned down and whispered, “You are stunning.”
“Not obscene?” She joked, but her heart pounded with trepidation.
“I have never seen a more beautiful woman in my life. If I could, I would whisk you back up those steps and take you this minute.”
Her cheeks burned, but she loved the way he wanted her, and kept her gaze on his.
Virginia was already out the front door and walking down the steps.
Elinor stopped their progress at the door. “Everything is going to be okay, isn’t it, Michael?”
“Of course, my love. The ton does not run our lives. They are merely an inconvenience that we have to deal with.”
She nodded, and they moved toward the waiting carriage.
Virginia used the entire carriage ride to vent her opinions of Elinor’s behavior over the past few months. She droned on and on.
Elinor stared out at London as it passed and reminded herself she had only one more week to deal with her mother’s disapproval, then she would be Mrs. Michael Rollins, The Duchess of Kerburghe. Though she suspected Mother would still find fault with her.
Michael sat like a statue. He dug his nails into the wood on the carriage’s sill. “Lady Malmsbury, if you do not stop berating my future wife, I shall have to resort to severe measures. Kindly refrain from further blather. If you cannot think of a kind word, it would be best if you did not speak at all.”
Heart leaping in her chest, Elinor had to hold back her glee. He had defended her when she couldn’t defend herself.
Virginia huffed, crossed her arms over her chest, and pouted for the remainder of the ride. However, she was silent, and that in itself was bliss.
As was the case in many homes in London, the Brasher townhouse was overdone. The ceilings were gold and red. Thick plaster columns meant to imitate the great temples of Greece adorned the walls. It was horrible, but Elinor tried to focus only on what was in front of her. She didn’t want to see the contemptuous looks of the people around her as she, Mother, and Michael walked through the crowded foyer and into the even more crowded ballroom.
Once inside, they were immediately approached by the Dowager Countess of Grafton. Lady Daphne Collington could be quite harsh, and many called her the Cruel Countess, but she was Sophia’s great aunt and a good friend of Mother’s. The crowd held their breath, expecting some scalding set down. Silence descended, which in itself was amazing considering the awful cacophony usually present at one of these crushes.
Even Elinor found herself on the verge of bolting from the room. The Countess had been at Marlton Hall and knew most of what had transpired. It was possible that she disapproved and would set in motion a series of events that would ruin both her and Michael.
Michael put his hand over hers. “You can’t run now, love.”
Lady Collington had taken to using a cane in the last year, and she used it now to whack a young man in the calf as she plowed through the crowd. The man stumbled, grabbing his leg, and the countess said, “Out of my way, foolish boy.”
Even Virginia looked worried that her friendship with the dowager might not hold up to this level of scandal.
With a flair for the dramatic, the Lady Collington stood a full ten seconds in front of the three of them and scowled before she took the last step. “Virginia, my dear, so good to see you.” She kissed her friend’s cheek.
As she stomped past Elinor, she whispered, “You had better take that horrified look off of your face, dear. You look like you’ve swallowed a bird.”
Elinor actually laughed and hugged Lady Collington.
“It was very wise attending tonight. Sophia informed me, and I immediately accepted the invitation.”
“Thank you, my lady.” Elinor kept her voice down and her affection brief.
“Bah! I know what happened up north, and you are certainly not to blame. But it is not me you should be thanking.” She walked away without elaborating.
Middleton pushed through the crowd, took her hand, and kissed it longer than was strictly proper. “My dear, Elinor, how wonderful to see you.”
Elinor’s eyes widened, and she looked from Preston to Michael. Calling her by her given name in such a public setting was outrageous, and kissing her hand as he had cause for a scandal in itself. However, it was the forlorn look on his face that shocked her most.
Michael’s face filled with rage.
Preston had lost his mind and Michael was about to kill him.
She began at a stutter. “I…I am pleased to see you as well, your grace. How have you been?”
“My wellbeing is of no consequence as long as you are well. May I have this dance?”
She looked around the room. Every eye was trained on the three of them. She couldn’t refuse but her fiancé was grimacing like a feral dog. She could claim a twisted ankle. No one would believe it. They had all seen her walk in. She looked up at Michael’s furious face and for an instant caught something in his eyes that wasn’t anger. Amusement?
Elinor put on her best demure smile for Preston and nodded once to her fiancé. She took Preston’s arm, and he led her onto the dance floor. The music started as they reached the crowded floor, and Preston’s hand settled on her back.
It was a waltz. Elinor rolled her eyes, imagining the crowd’s gossip as she took Preston’s hand and allowed him to begin the dance. “What are the two of you up to?”
Preston smiled down at her. He was still too handsome to doubt, but she fumed at him and at Michael for keeping her in the dark on whatever they’d plotted.
“We are restoring your reputation, my sweet.”
“Don’t call me that, Preston. I nearly fell over when you approached me as if I were your fiancé and not Michael’s. This will only add to the scandal. Society will call me a loose woman.”
“I think not.”
When he didn’t elaborate, she stomped on his foot, making him lose a step.
He frowned at her, then laughed. “Smile, Elinor.”
She glanced around the room. Everyone was still watching. She smiled and laughed at him as if he had made an amusing comment. He was right. They had to put on a show.
“That’s better. It is better to have the ton think you are being pursued by two dukes than to think that you had to run off and get married due to some horrible mishap in the north.”
“There will still be scandal. I will still be shunned, and so will Michael after the wedding,” she said.
He shook his head. “I do not think so. No one will believe the rumors about what happened in Scotland or on the way back. They would never believe that I would still be after your hand if I thought those rumors were true.” He whispered, “Better to be thought of as loose than as a murderess.”
She gasped.
His hand pressed at the small of her back, lower than was proper.
“And are you still after my hand, Preston.”
“I
s it available?” He raised an eyebrow.
“I love Michael. I will marry him next week if he will still have me.” She continued smiling for the crowd.
A sad smile marred Preston’s lovely full lips. “I thought as much. Then I shall be thwarted, you and Kerburghe shall marry, and your reputation will suffer little more than a hiccup. I suspect even that will have passed by the time you return from your honeymoon.”
She couldn’t hold the fake smile any longer. “Why are you doing this?”
He gripped her tighter. “I think you know the answer to that question.” The intensity in his gaze was replaced by a light smile. “We are friends. I want to help you.”
Tears of gratitude welled in her eyes. “Thank you, Preston.”
“I am at your service.” As the music ended, he bowed, then took her hand and kissed her fingers lightly. “I always will be available for you if you need me, Elinor.”
Torn between gratitude and shame, Elinor could think of no response.
Middleton delivered her back to her mother’s side. “I will make sure that by the end of the evening, the entire party thinks the story in the paper was rubbish spread by an unhappy servant. I am sure this will pass quickly.” He bowed and turned to walk away.
“Your grace,” she called.
He faced her.
She whispered, “Will you attend my wedding?”
He smiled and bowed again. “It would be my honor.”
Middleton strode away and disappeared into the crowd.
She had seen something sad in his eyes. The possibility that two men were really in love with her was too much to think about.
Michael stood near the doors to the gardens, watching her.
She took a step toward him, then turned back to Mother. “Mother, I am going to get some air.”
Foolish Bride Page 24