Chapter 3

Now that the Duke was in plain sight, the three ladies looked at him in horror as though they had just spotted a ghost.

“Your Grace,” one of them said, turning red from embarrassment, “We did not know you were there.”

“We… we did not mean…”

“You did not mean to be so rude, Madam?” the Duke replied in a sarcastic tone. “Yet here you are, being precisely that.”

“We… had no idea that you would be here.” The lady’s tone was embarrassed.

“Does it make it appropriate to be this rude if I am not here to overhear your conversation?” the Duke challenged, raising his eyebrow slightly.

He could see that the women in front of him were scrambling to find any excuse, but they had been caught in the middle of the act. There was no denying their involvement or cruelty.

“You must understand, Your Grace,” one of the girls mustered up the courage to explain herself, “she is cursed.”

“And you know that… how?”

“Well, everyone knows that,” came the reply. “It is right there on her face.”

“By that logic, I can say that you are cursed too.” The Duke decided to play them at their own game.

“Me?” the girl replied, flushed. “Your Grace, how can you say that? You do not know anything about me to be making a claim as tall as that. I would wager that counts as defamation if anything…”

“So, you agree that it is unfair to make an assessment like that about someone who you do not know anything about?” he countered.

The girls were speechless. They knew that he had a fair point, and they had just been made to look stupid.

“I suppose…”

“We should probably get going. The dances must be about to start again.”

The three women who had been so emboldened in their words just moments ago now shrunk away like little terrified cats, scrambling away back towards the ballroom.

When they finally left, the Duke directed his attention to the woman who had been the subject of those brutal tongue lashings.

“Madam…” He turned to her. She had kept her head down this whole time, so he did not yet get a chance to see her face. “I must apologize for their behavior. It is clear that none of them had an ounce of class in them.”

“It is quite all right, Your Grace,” she replied, finally looking up at him.

Duncan was immediately taken aback by her appearance. She was dressed in an emerald green gown and had her hair pinned to one side, proudly displaying the scars on her face that he had only heard about up until this point.

Even so, he could not help but notice how beautiful she was. Under the pale moonlight, she appeared to be akin to a vision. And though her beauty was not conventional due to her scars, she was stunning in every way.

“I do not think it was all right,” Duncan replied, snapping himself back to the conversation. “I would not have stepped into the conversation otherwise.”

The woman smiled at him.

“I am sure that it must look quite awful to you on the outside, but I have gotten quite used to it by now.”

The Duke could not hide the surprise on his face.

“But… that is awful. No one should have to get used to something of this sort.”

“Well, do you have a better solution?” she shrugged her shoulders. “I cannot control what they have to say about me, only how I react to it.”

Once again, Duncan felt impressed by her maturity — so much that for the first time that night he did not feel the immediate urge to flee the conversation after only a few moments.

“I can say that I admire your strategy.” He nodded in her direction. “I am quite used to having my life being discussed by the ton as well.”

“Is that so?” An amused smile danced on the corner of the woman’s lips. “That must signal that you’re quite the controversial character yourself, are you not? Is it due to the ladies?”

Duncan let out a small chuckle.“The ladies?”

“Yes, what else could a man of your age be notorious for? I assume that you must be a rake.”

“You are quite forward in your assumption, My Lady,” he replied, her boldness making him even more curious about her.

“I am merely just telling you what I am assuming,” she shrugged. “However, I do take your point about not making assumptions about people we know nothing about, so you may attempt to convince me otherwise.”

“Pray tell, My Lady, how is it that I should be convincing you?” he asked.

“Well, for one, I would like to know how many women you have danced with already tonight,” she mused.

“Take a guess?” he chuckled. She seemed to be convinced that he was a rake when in reality he was the exact opposite of one.

It was not as though he did not like women. It was more so that he did not want to deal with the gossip that came with them.

“Well…” She looked at him once over, pushing her eyebrows together as though she was making a really important finding. “I would wager at least four.”

“You are off only by four,” Duncan shook his head, laughing.

“You are not being serious?” The woman was noticeably surprised by his answer. “Do you really expect me to believe that you did not dance with anyone this evening?”

“Yes,” the Duke shrugged. “I have no reason to lie to you, nor is it in my nature to do so.”

“But…” She struggled with her words. “Why? I am sure there are many ladies there who would love to have a chance to dance with you.”

“Are you trying to imply that I am a most eligible bachelor?” the Duke countered. “I must say that I am quite flattered that you have this opinion of me, My Lady.”

The woman rolled her eyes at him. “I did not say that. You are only putting words in my mouth. And I am still curious to know what it is that makes you so controversial. If it is not your habits with the ladies, then what could it be?”

“I assume you do not keep up with the gossip or else you would know already.”

“I am afraid that I do not.”

“I see,” he noted, impressed. “Well, my father was quite notorious during his life for his… less than ideal choices.”

For a brief moment, Duncan noticed that the woman flinched ever so slightly at the mention of the word father, but she composed herself quickly.

“Now, you have me quite curious as to what those choices were,” she replied.

“Oh, just the usual vices.” Duncan chuckled darkly to himself. “Gambling his life away, no regard for his family…”

That elicited a small laugh from her. He was surprised to see that as his humor was usually too dark for the ladies to appreciate.

“Was there an element of alcoholism thrown together in there as well?” she inquired, playfully. “Surely, that would make it into the holy trinity.”

A loud chuckle escaped his lips.

“What an astute observation, My Lady. Indeed, he was quite fond of the drink. And he made sure everyone else knew of his vices too.”

“I am sure that he must have given the people enough gossip fodder to last the entire season,” she chimed in.

“The season? My Lady, you are aiming too low. It has been many years since he has passed now, and whispers about his life still follow us wherever we may go,” he observed.

“I suppose then you could say that he was a man who liked to live large,” she said with a small shrug of her shoulders.

“For all the wrong reasons…”

He surprised himself by how easily he was able to talk to this woman. Talking about his past was not something he did, even to those that were closest to him. But with her, he felt as though words were flowing freely out his mouth.

He wanted to know more about this lady.

But just as he was about to ask her for her name, both of them turned to look behind them as the sound of horrified gasps and footsteps approached them.

“Duncan,” a panicked voice belonging to his mother called out to him. “Is that you?”

“He is alone with the Scarred Lady,” another voice called. “Oh, the shame!”

“Your Grace, please get away from her before she curses you as well,” Barbara said, sounding very concerned.

Duncan looked back the woman, feeling embarrassed on her behalf. He wanted to give the others a piece of his mind. Surely, they were blowing things wildly out of proportion.

“I am sorry,” he mouthed to her. He noticed her calm expression had slipped, and there was a hint of hurt in her eyes. He felt his guilt double in size, and he instinctively stood before her, shielding her from the crowd of women.

“What is your name?” his mother stepped forward. Her tone was not as angry as the rest, but Duncan still felt protective of the lady.

“Sophia,” she replied. Duncan could not help but notice how her voice sounded more unsure than it had previously. Had the jeers finally begun to get to her?

“I see…”

“I hope that you do not have it mixed up,” he explained. “Miss Sophia and I were just talking to each other. In fact, I was quite enjoying my conversation with her. I do not know why you all had to come looking for me.”

The ladies exchanged glances and whispers amongst each other, and Duncan already knew that they were going to spin this into something that it was not.

“Of course, I had to come looking for you son,” his mother replied. “We only have limited time here at the ball, and it worries me when you are gone for long.”

“And you still have to dance with the ladies, Your Grace,” Barbara interjected. Her tone was full of jealousy. “Besides, what pleasure did you even derive from speaking to… her?”

“I do not feel the need to tell you why I do or don’t talk to anyone,” the Duke asserted. “I am not answerable to you.”

“But she is…” one of the ladies replied. “Oh, this is scandalous.”

The Duke was beginning to grow frustrated now. He knew that no matter what he said, it was going to be misconstrued in the wrong way. That is the problem with people in society, he thought. They always make something where there was nothing.

“I am sure that Lady Sophia needs to head back to the ball. I propose the rest of you do the same thing,” he suggested.

He resented the ladies showing up out of the blue. He had been having such an interesting conversation with Sophia.

As he walked, he could not escape the judgmental stares of the ladies. They were whispering amongst themselves, and Duncan already knew that he had just landed himself the spot for the most sizzling gossip of the night.

“It is best if we return home now, mother,” he told Anna in a firm tone. “I have no wish to engage with the ridiculous questions that will be hurled my way once we are back inside.”

Anna contemplated her son’s words for a moment but ultimately nodded her head.

“I see, then. You may have a point.”

The two departed in the carriage. Looking out of the window, Duncan saw the venue shrink away as they moved. Once again, his thoughts circled back to the woman he had met.

If the ladies had been so ruthless with her before, he could not even fathom how they would treat her now that she had been caught speaking to a man unchaperoned.

His heart softened for her. Across from him, the Dowager sat with her hands folded onto her lap. Duncan could tell that she was similarly rattled by what had just taken place, but the two did not exchange any conversation about it. Instead, the carriage ride was spent in silence.

When they finally arrived back at the Manor, Duncan decided to retire to his chambers. It had been a long night already, and he just wanted it to end.

“Duncan,” his mother’s voice called him as he walked down the hallway towards his room, “may I have a word with you?”

He turned to face her. She had the same serious and contemplative expression on her face as she did for most of the carriage ride.

“Yes, mother?”

She looked around to see if there was anyone lurking in the hallways, but it was a late hour, and most of the staff had gone asleep.

“We must discuss what happened tonight,” she said. “While I believe that your title shall protect you from too much of a negative impact of being seen with that lady, it is still not an ideal situation. Oh, what reason was there for you to speak to her in the first place?”

“You should have heard the way that some of the girls there were speaking to her. I merely stepped in. It was the gentlemanly thing to do, and you are aware of that.”

“I am not questioning your intent, son,” she replied. “I am merely telling you how it appears from the outside. It was Barbara’s idea to go out looking for you. I merely accompanied her with some of my friends. Had I known what you were doing… I would have never allowed it.”

Duncan was beginning to grow irked at how dramatic everyone around him was being. It was not as though he had been caught kissing Sophia. They were only talking.

“Of course, this is worse for her than it is for you,” his mother continued. “That poor woman already had little to prospects due to the stories about the curse, but now, even her reputation has been soiled.”

“Surely it is not going to be so bad?” His voice was laced with both curiosity and guilt.

His mother looked at him as though he had uttered something a four-year-old would say.

“You know as well as I do that everyone is going to be talking about this by tomorrow,” she sighed. “They will be embellishing it and making it much worse. I have no delusions regarding that. We must take steps to separate you from the scandal.”

“And what about Sophia?” Duncan asked, appalled “Does she not deserve the same grace?”

The Dowager pursed her lips.“You know the rules of society. It is not the same for her.”

“Well, those rules are ridiculous, and they need to change,” the Duke replied. “One person should not be paying such a big price.”

“I know that you feel sympathetic, my son. You have always had a great sense of duty, but it is not something that you should be worried about.”

“What is the point of duty then?” he questioned. “I do not want her to take the blame for something she did not even do.”

“Then she should have thought about it before talking to you. She is a lady and should know these things. The consequences are for her to bear alone.”

Duncan felt unsettled by his mother’s words. They felt unfairly harsh, but he knew that there was no use speaking to her about the subject any longer. He decided he no longer wished to have this conversation with her.

“It appears that I have gotten a headache,” he said. “I must retire to bed now.”

“But we must…”

“Good night, mother..”

He returned to his chambers without waiting for a response from her.

That night, Duncan could not get himself to fall asleep. He could not help but feel a burden of responsibility on his shoulders.

Had he not intervened when the women were speaking to Sophia, he would not have been caught alone with her. But now, her reputation had been put into jeopardy.

It felt unfair that one of them was going to suffer much worse consequences.

“Poor Lady Sophia,” he muttered to himself. The fact that she was at a ball signaled that she must want a husband for herself. As his mother had already noted, her already bleak prospects must have dwindled down to nothing after this.

“I must do something,” he said, tightening his fingers into a fist. All his life, he had promised himself that he was not going to grow up to become anything like this father.

He knew that if his father was in a situation like this, he would take the easy way out and let the lady suffer the consequences of something that he was responsible for. It filled up him with disgust when he imagined himself doing the same thing.

He had to be better than that. Even though he and his father shared the same blood, he would do everything in his power to make his choices different than his father’s.

“Good morning, my son,” Anna greeted him the next morning at the breakfast table. “I must say, I feel much better than I did last night. A night full of sleep and a steaming cup of tea does wonders.”

“I am happy to hear it, mother,” Duncan said as he took his place on the table in front of her. “I have to tell you that I did some thinking last night.”

“Oh?” Anna raised her eyebrow, setting down her porcelain cup of tea. “Please tell me. You know I am always interested in knowing your thoughts.”

“About the scandal…” he said, leaning over, “I think it is quite unfortunate that everyone will be talking about it.”

“Of course. I agree with you,” Anna noted. “Alas, people have nothing better to do; I cannot blame them, really.”

“I have made a decision that will make the whole scandal go away,” he announced. “I have decided to ask for Sophia’s hand in marriage.”

His mother nearly jumped up at the announcement, causing the cup of tea to knock over from the table and smash itself into smithereens into the floor. Hearing the noise, one of the maids rushed over to clean it, but Anna dismissed her immediately.

“Not now,” she said, waving her hand at her. “Give us a moment alone.”

Duncan waited as the maid left the dining room. All the while, his mother stared back at him with an expression of absolute horror.

“What?” he questioned. “Were you not the one urging me to find a wife for myself just yesterday?”

“Not like this! Duncan, I understand that you are free to make your own choices, but as your mother who cares about you the most in the world, I urge you to please reconsider.”

Duncan’s father’s face flashed into his mind, and he shook his head.

“I have already made up my mind.”

The disappointment on his mother’s face was palpable. She took a deep breath to calm herself down before speaking again.

“I cannot say that I ever truly believed in the curse, but it is not a risk I would be willing to take with my own child,” she explained. “What if what they say about her is true?”

“I suppose we will find out for ourselves.” Duncan shrugged his shoulders casually.

“Please, Duncan,” she beseeched, “I cannot see you do this. It is too big of a risk. A woman like her is not fit to be a duchess. In fact, having her in the family puts your brother Jacob at risk, too. Do you really want that?”

“Well, unfortunately, I am the person who put her into this situation. She was not the one who came to speak to me, rather it was I who did so of my own accord. As a man, I cannot let her take the fall for something that was my responsibility. You should know my principles are stronger than that.”

“But this decision will have real consequences.”

Duncan stood up, not wanting to explain himself any further.

“If we only did the right thing when it was easy to do, then we are nothing but a bunch of hypocritical cowards,” he said before he turned to leave, “and you know full well that you did not raise a coward.”