by Amelia Grey
When the duke grabbed up the last book he held on to it and turned it over, glancing at the back cover as if expecting something to be written there before saying, “I would have thought a reading society would have chosen something a little more challenging for the mind than this kind of easy-reading fluff.”
Affronted, Marlena frowned and leaned away from him. Her shoulders stiffened. She would have loved to tell him it had been quite an endeavor to write that book of quips and quotes about such men. What did she know about rakes, libertines, and all the rest of their kind who had no regard for a young lady’s tender feelings? Or any kind of gentlemen, for that matter? Nothing.
She’d talked with Veronica, Justine, and most of the ladies in her sewing and reading societies to get their ideas on what constituted a rake and took their comments under advisement. Still, there were many nights she’d lain awake for hours trying to come up with things a rake shouldn’t say or do concerning a young lady. And most of them had come directly from Marlena’s mind.
She also wished she could let him know the book would have been twice as thick if she’d met him before she wrote it. There was no doubt that after a few more hours in his presence, she would have enough quotes to fill a second volume of words and wisdom! And she knew the first one she would write: He could be a rake if every time he looks at you your heart starts fluttering.
However, she had to put all that aside and only say, “If anyone needs to know the folly in accepting the attention of a known scoundrel or like man, it’s an innocent young lady who has not yet given her hand to a gentleman. We need to be enlightened as well as educated so we don’t find ourselves in ruinous circumstances.”
“So I’m assuming you read penny dreadfuls, too?” he asked, with a spark of humor glinting in his eyes.
“Occasionally,” she admitted awkwardly. “As well as books on poetry, history, astrology. There are simply too many other subjects to name that interest us. We have diverse tastes in our reading group.”
“So it seems.”
“I believe it is merely another form of entertainment for the people of London. We have plays, the opera, carnivals in the park, and gossip.”
“I suppose you’re right. Some people are entertained by it. They wouldn’t read it if they weren’t.”
He kept staring at the book, so therefore she did, too. The title and her name had been beautifully scripted and stamped into the light-brown leather. It seemed to be well bound, stitched seamlessly on the edges, and not much larger than the size of his hand. A feeling of pleasure and accomplishment settled over her, and she smiled. She was quite pleased with the look of it.
And that it was hers.
Yet as the duke continued to eye it, curiosity got the better of her and she asked, “Do you know anything about the book?”
“I can’t say I do. Though someone mentioned it to me just yesterday. It’s a new publication, I believe.”
Marlena nodded.
“I haven’t read it,” he offered, thumbing through the pages with what seemed a fair amount of interest. “But I think I will.”
“Why would you?” she asked cautiously. And quickly added, “Read something so unchallenging to your mind.”
He gave her that easy smile again. The one that made her heart beat as fast as rain splattering against a windowpane during a storm.
“I wouldn’t think you needed any words of wisdom or warning about such men,” she advised.
The sparkle of amusement stayed in his eyes, and he shrugged. “You never can tell, Miss Fast. I might need to know how to spot a rake someday.”
“Then may I suggest all you have to do is look in the mirror, Your Grace.”
He laughed. “Your wit is charming, Miss Fast.”
She couldn’t help but return his smile, because he was genuinely pleased with her bold comment. She welcomed the humor in the duke’s eyes. It softened him and made her look at him differently. Not as a commanding man but an understanding man. But she wouldn’t let him know that.
“I suppose you thought you were an exception to the men in the book.”
“If Society has indeed failed to make me aware of that after all these years of being the center of gossip, Miss Fast, I believe you have just set me straight on the matter. However, I’m thinking it might be helpful for me to know what a woman thinks makes a man a rake.”
He thumbed through the book again, stopped on a random page, and read aloud from it: “He could be a rake if he goes for an afternoon horseback ride with his friends instead of a carriage ride with you.” The duke glanced over the top of the book to her and grimaced. “All young men enjoy their horses, their friends, and the young ladies. I don’t see any reason why a man can’t manage to do it all in the same afternoon.”
“Hence the reason he is a rake, Your Grace. I’m sure the author only meant that if a gentleman is wooing a lady, his attention should be only on her and not divided with horseback riding, hunting, card playing, and those sorts of pleasures gentlemen usually enjoy. If his attention is elsewhere, he could be a rake.”
The duke’s expression was curious. “Hmm,” he finally answered. “And he could be a gentleman who doesn’t have his appointments under proper control.” He held up the book. “May I?”
Marlena stayed very still but felt as if all her senses were clamoring for attention. He was asking for a copy of her book from her? The book she’d written with him and his two friends in mind. What could she say other than, “Yes. Yes, by all means, take one. As you can see, I have plenty left for my reading group.”
Eugenia mumbled again. Marlena started to rise with her armload of books, and the duke reached out and took hold of her elbow to help her stand. A sensuous warmth of tingles spread throughout her body again. She felt strength in his hand and a strange sense of comfort and security in his grip. She should have recoiled or at the very least shied away from his touch, but it was simply too pleasing to withdraw from him.
“I’ll return the book.”
“It’s not necessary to trouble yourself with doing that, Your Grace.”
“It won’t be any trouble. As I said earlier, I’ll return at another time to meet your cousin, and I’ll be stopping by from time to time to see how you’re doing. Go to your friend. I’ll see myself out.”
Marlena watched the duke leave the room. She had no idea why she was so affected by him unless it was because she’d written about him and the other two Rakes of St. James for so long. After hearing the front door open and close, she hurried over to a chair, dumped the load of books, and then flung herself down on the settee beside Eugenia.
“What happened?” Eugenia asked, lifting her head to look around the room.
“No, don’t try to rise. You may be dizzy. You fainted.” There was no need to further stress her by mentioning that she’d actually done it twice. “How are you now?”
“Fine, I think.” Eugenia put her trembling hand to her forehead. “I really don’t know as I’m feeling quite odd. The way I felt when Papa died and I knew I’d have to come live with Veronica. It was eight years ago but I still remember.”
“Did you faint when you heard about your father’s death?”
“No, but I’ll never forget the feeling of thinking it can’t be true. Papa can’t be gone.” She looked around the room. “Just as now, I could have sworn there was a gentleman here and you said he was the Duke of Rathburne, but it can’t be true. No one is here.”
“I wish I could tell you that he wasn’t, but the duke was here.”
Eugenia bolted up on her elbows. “Where is he? Has he gone for guards?”
“Lie back and stay calm, dear friend, please,” Marlena urged after hearing fear in Eugenia’s voice. “He left, and all is well.”
“Then what was he doing here? Does he know about us? Are we in trouble? Did he come to take us away? Is he coming back?” She plopped her head back on the settee in frustration.
“No. No. We are fine.” For today, anyway. “Please
don’t worry yourself. I’m sure he doesn’t know anything about what we do.”
“When you said his name, I thought for sure I was about to be shackled inside a prison cart and carried away.”
“I must admit that was my first thought, too, when he told me who he was. But believe me, the duke would have mentioned it if he’d known that I am Miss Honora Truth and that you conspire with me to see that the column gets to Mr. Trout to publish each week.”
Eugenia placed the back of her hand onto her forehead again and expelled a loud breath of angst. “Oh, I knew I’d never be any good at this secrecy and deceit.”
“Nonsense,” Marlena reprimanded. “What are you talking about? We’ve been doing this almost three years now, and we’ve never had anyone come close to knowing I’m Honora Truth.”
Her friend seemed to think on that for a moment and then said, “We have been lucky no one has figured it out.” She paused again before saying, “The duke is more handsome than I expected him to be.”
Indeed!
“But we must continue to see him as one of the men who is at the root of your sister’s marriage and unhappiness, and the cause for her recurring attacks of despair.”
“That’s something else I’ll never forget. Why was the duke here?”
“For a completely different matter, which I’ll explain later. But tell me, first, why Mr. Trout sent us so many copies of my book? I almost fainted myself when I saw you walking in carrying them in your arms.”
“I don’t know,” she said, rising on her elbows again. “It’s what my maid brought in her sewing basket when she came in this morning. She had no explanation from her sister as to the amount, and there was no letter from Mr. Trout explaining.”
“I suppose it could be that he wants us to give them away. Which we’ll do; we can give them to our reading society. That will be good. I suppose I need to know what people think of the book.”
“Do you think he gave us so many because the book’s not selling very well?”
“It’s only been out a little over a week, Eugenia. We must give it time. You know Mr. Trout has told us the scandal sheet is quite popular. He thought the book was a good idea and that surely everyone who reads the sheet will want a copy of the book.”
Eugenia smiled, swung her feet to the floor, and sat up. “You’re right. I don’t know why I worry so.”
“It’s human nature. But let’s give people time to purchase a copy of it before we get concerned.”
“I promise I will. Now tell me why the Duke of Rathburne was here if not to have us arrested for writing about him.” She stopped, her eyes rounded. “You don’t suppose he found out about Mr. Bramwell, do you? That he and—”
“No, no, you must stop this. Do not work yourself into a faint again. The duke is not a shy man. If he knew about that he would have questioned me, and he wouldn’t have left until he had the answers he wanted. Besides, he couldn’t possibly have found out what Mr. Bramwell did for us. How could the duke possibly know that?”
“Perhaps someone finally recognized Mr. Bramwell as the man who started the rumor in White’s.”
“I don’t think that’s possible. Mr. Bramwell hasn’t been back to White’s. He’d tell us. And since your brother-in-law hasn’t paid his account at White’s in over two years, he’ll probably never be allowed back even when he does.”
“If he does,” Eugenia echoed.
Marlena agreed that possibility wasn’t looking good with all the money Mr. Portington was spending on his extravagances. “You don’t think Mr. Bramwell would tell on himself, do you?”
A calmness seemed to settle over Eugenia. “No, of course not. He wouldn’t indict himself like that.”
“And he wouldn’t want to see us in trouble, either.”
“Never. He’s a very thoughtful and intelligent man and always so kind to me.” Eugenia’s eyes turned dreamy, and a sad smile eased across her lips for a moment. “He would like to call on me, but Veronica would never allow it.”
Eugenia had mentioned that almost every time she came over for the past couple of months. Marlena never knew what to say. Eugenia was right. Veronica would never agree. “She is only trying to take care of you the best way she knows how. She has been your mother as well as your sister for many years now.”
“I wish she would just be a sister.”
Marlena could have said to Eugenia that she wished she’d had a sister to care about her. Or that she wished her aunt Imogene and uncle Fergus hadn’t decided to take their boys and move to America, leaving her behind with Mr. Olingworth, or when Mr. Olingworth suddenly told her she must go to London and live with a cousin she’d never met. But not wanting her friend to feel ashamed for her innocent comment, Marlena stayed silent about the feelings of abandonment that sometimes swept over her. She had managed. She’d always survived and learned how to adjust to wherever she was and accept whoever was in charge of her.
Eugenia sighed softly as if suddenly consenting to her plight as well. “It is simply too unbelievable to comprehend that the duke was here in your house.” She rose from the sofa and looked down at Marlena. “If he doesn’t know you are Miss Honora Truth, why was he here?”
Marlena cupped her hands together in her lap. “That is something I’ve yet come to terms with myself, but know I must. He is my new guardian.”
Eugenia fell back onto the settee with a plop beside Marlena. “Guardian? How can this be? Did Mr. Olingworth—”
“No,” Marlena said quickly. “He’s alive, but still ill. I assume he feels it’s time to give the responsibility of seeing me enter Society to someone else. The duke’s father knew Mr. Olingworth. Apparently very well. His Grace felt duty-bound to take over when Mr. Olingworth asked him.”
Marlena thought about the kindly old gentleman who’d been good to her and allowed her to continue the independent life she’d had when she lived with her aunt and uncle and their boys. But he’d seen to it she was educated, too. He’d put few restrictions on her when she’d arrived at his house. The few rules he’d given her were easy to follow. She had to finish her studies, embroidery, pianoforte practice, and any other lessons before she could go outside. When dusk settled across the sky she had to come in and dress properly for the evening meal. Every night before she went up to bed, she had to play chess with him or read for an hour. All his rules were things she enjoyed anyway.
She swallowed a sudden lump that formed in her throat. Shortly after she was born a fever swept through her father’s estate and almost everyone succumbed to it, including her parents. Marlena was told she was spared because her father had the forethought to have Marlena’s nurse take her to his brother’s house, where she lived until he wed his second wife. At that time her aunt Imogene and uncle Fergus took her to live with them and their boys. She would never forget her time with them or how following the boys around had shaped who she was today.
Much to her disappointment, when she was ten her uncle told her she must go live with Mr. Olingworth, because the family was going to America. They didn’t feel it was right to take her from her homeland. She needed to be properly schooled and brought up so that when the time came for her to wed, she could make a good match with a suitable young man. Marlena hadn’t understood them not wanting her to go with them, why her remaining in England was important, but after a time she’d accepted it. She’d had no choice.
When Mr. Olingworth’s health started to fail, he had contacted one of Marlena’s older cousins. It wasn’t unusual that Marlena had never heard of Mrs. Justine Abernathy. One of her father’s brothers had nine children by three different wives. Marlena had many other cousins from both sides of her family, though she knew little, if anything, about most of them. Having recently been widowed, Justine was agreeable for Marlena to move to London with her so she would be ready to prepare for her debut Season as soon as Mr. Olingworth was well enough to join her.
That hadn’t happened. Mr. Olingworth’s health continued to decline and Marlena’s
Season had been put on hold for the past two years. That was perfectly fine with Marlena. The only thing that distressed her was that Mr. Olingworth hadn’t allowed her to visit him when she’d requested to do so.
“What are you going to do about the scandal sheet?” Eugenia asked softly.
Looking back at her friend, sprawled on the settee with her head against the back cushion and her arms spread limp to each side, Marlena answered, “I don’t know.”
New concern clouded Eugenia’s pale eyes. “You’ll have to stop writing it.”
“Maybe not.”
“I remember you were going to discontinue it after the first Season but Mr. Trout didn’t want you to and offered you more money to continue.”
“It suited me to keep doing it.”
“Only because you knew the money helped us. We know that, Marlena.”
“That’s not true it’s the only reason,” she defended, and then added after a prick of conscience, “Maybe at first it was. Yes, I wanted to help you. That is what friends do. Help each other. But there has always been a little of a will-o’-the-wisp idea that I couldn’t let go.”
“You’re good at writing the gossip,” Eugenia said with a smile of praise.
“I suppose. I do study over all the bits of gossip I hear and I’m careful with every word I write. I do feel everyone who reads the column enjoys it, and knows we really mean no lasting harm to anyone.”
“Except to the three rakes,” Eugenia injected with all seriousness.
Marlena pursed her lips for a moment as she remembered the handsome, forthright duke. It was really quite astounding that he admitted he hadn’t been curious enough to ask Mr. Olingworth any questions about her. Maybe he’d be just as uninterested in every other aspect of her life, including Miss Truth.
“After meeting the duke this afternoon,” Marlena said, “I do believe he considers the scandal sheet a bee he can’t swish away.”