Chapter Thirteen

“It is good to see you out this afternoon, brother.”

Stephen scowled but said nothing, ignoring his sister’s cheerful expression and choosing instead to let his gaze run across Hyde Park. There had been no particular reason for his decision to come to the fashionable hour, he had told himself, though what Lord Hampton had said to him after the dinner party had certainly been running through his mind since.

“Do you think that we will see Lady Violet this afternoon?”

Stephen turned to her sharply, his eyes narrowing just a little. “Why are you so insistent on bringing that name here?”

“I saw you speaking with her last evening,” came the reply, Caroline showing no interest whatsoever in the sharpness of his tone. “Lord Hampton spoke to me thereafter, though he did not say what it was that passed between you.”

“That is good of him, given that you have already said more than enough to each other of late,” Stephen grumbled, making Caroline’s eyebrow lift. “What I said to him – and indeed, what I said to Lady Violet – is none of your business.”

Someone turned around to glance at them just as Stephen finished speaking and, much to Stephen’s surprise, he looked straight into the face of Lady Violet. Heat poured into his face as he realized that she must have heard him speak her name. Was she wondering what it was that he had said of her? Or had she just turned around by chance?

“Lady Violet!” Caroline exclaimed, catching Stephen’s arm and drawing him close to the lady even though Stephen had no intention nor desire to do so. “And this is Miss Chesterton with you. How pleasant to see you both this afternoon!”

Stephen found himself standing opposite Lady Violet, with Miss Chesterton on one side and Caroline on the other. He inclined his head, though he chose to remain entirely silent rather than offer anything to the conversation. He seethed inwardly, wondering what it was that Caroline was doing in forcing him to come into conversation with Lady Violet. Had he not made himself perfectly clear already? Did she not understand that this was the last person he wished to speak with?

“It is a very pleasant afternoon, is it not?” Miss Chesterton asked, as Caroline nodded and then, much to Stephen’s frustration, moved to stand next to Miss Chesterton, forcing him to make his way closer to Lady Violet. He cleared his throat rather gruffly in the hope of catching Caroline’s attention but his sister steadfastly ignored him, leaving Stephen to look to Lady Violet, wondering if he could stand and say nothing at all for the next few minutes.

Lady Violet, on the other hand, surprised him by looking up at him and, with a small smile, enquired as to how his day had progressed.

“It was just as usual,” Stephen stated, turning his gaze away from her and aware of just how much his heart yanked his attention back towards her, despite his intentions to ignore her completely. “I had business matters this morning and thereafter, Caroline forced me to attend the fashionable hour with her.”

His sister paused in her conversation to hear this, snorted aloud and then, with a roll of her eyes, turned back to Miss Chesterton. Stephen, seeing the way that Lady Violet glanced up at him and then away again, found himself deciding to say something more. “And your day, Lady Violet?”

“It was not particularly interesting,” she said softly, her sigh heavy and catching his attention.

“And where is your mother or father?” Stephen asked, even though his desire to ask her nothing more still burned within him. “I thought they would be present this afternoon. Or are you here with Miss Chesterton?”

Lady Violet glanced up at him again and then looked away. “My… my father is not particularly enamoured with my presence at the moment,” she said, softly. “It is best for Marianne’s sake if I remain a little away from society.”

“I see.”

Was that sympathy which swelled in his heart? Sympathy for her situation? It was the most extraordinary thing and something which Stephen despised intensely. He did not want to have any feelings for her and certainly none of sympathy!

“Forgive me for this,” Lady Violet added, turning to look up at him, her copper curls dancing on either side of her bonnet as her green eyes, just as vivid as he remembered them, caught his with an intensity which surprised him.

“Forgive you for what?”

Lady Violet closed her eyes. “For what I must say to you, for I do not know if I will have opportunity again,” she said, her voice only a loud whisper. “I – I want to apologise, Your Grace.” Her eyes opened as Stephen fought the anger and the upset which felt like a fist tightening around his heart. “I want to tell you how much I regret what I was forced to do. It was not my desire to do as I did. The pain I must have caused you – the pain I must continue to cause you – was never what I wanted. I am only sorry that I did not have the strength nor the ability to refuse what was demanded of me.”

It was as if he had been struck by a bolt of lightning, such was the energy coursing through him as well as the way he froze in place, barely able to even blink. It was everything that his sister and even Lord Hampton had said to him, the truth now laid at his feet, demanding to be taken ahold of.

She had not wanted to end their engagement. She had not wanted to write that letter that had separated them. That was what she was saying to him.

Do I believe her?

His heart cried out but Stephen frowned. He had thought too long and too hard about it all to turn this to an instant trust.

“That is all I wanted to say.” With a sigh, Lady Violet turned, making to face Miss Chesterton and Caroline, only for him to find her name upon his lips all over again.

“Violet?”

She turned, looking up at him, her eyes a little wider than before. “Yes, Your Grace?”

“I… I do not know what to say to that,” he informed her, speaking carefully and slowly as he frowned. “I cannot tell you that I believe you for I do not.”

Lady Violet’s shoulders dropped. “I see.”

“Surely you cannot think that I would simply turn around and accept all that you have said without hesitation.” Stephen continued, aware of the slight scoffing to his tone. “What you did has caused me great difficulty! I cannot now hear you say such words to me, words which tell me more than you have ever explained before and, on hearing them, simply believe that all is as you say it is.”

She nodded but looked away and Stephen caught the way her lips trembled.

“I do hope you understand,” he said crisply, refusing to permit any sort of emotion to grab ahold of him as he looked back into her face. “There is nothing that you can say that I will accept without questioning it. That is just how things are.”

“Of course.” Lady Violet turned away again but said nothing else to him, leaving Stephen to stand and watch her depart, his own heart beating a little more quickly and filling with a good deal of sadness and sorrow over the separation between them.

“I should go after my friend.” Miss Chesterton shot Stephen a sharp look before smiling at Caroline. “It was very pleasant to speak with you again.”

“And with you,” Caroline replied, smiling back at Miss Chesterton before turning her attention back towards Stephen. The smile on her face slid away as she frowned, her hands going to her hips. “What did you say to Lady Violet?”

“Say to her?” Stephen rolled his eyes. “Do not think that her departure was my doing, Caroline. She – ”

“Of course it was your doing! What was it that you said?”

Stephen shook his head. “I did not say anything to her, my dear sister. She told me that there was something she had to say and once she had said it, I informed that I could not simply accept what it was that she had stated. That was all.”

Caroline’s eyebrows lifted. “What was it she said?”

Stephen shook his head. “It is not important.”

“Of course it is!” she protested, her eyes flaring wide. “It is clearly important since it is the first time that you have both shared a conversation together. Please, what is it that you spoke of?”

Letting out a long sigh, Stephen closed his eyes briefly. “Caroline, please.”

“I must know. She was… ”

Opening his eyes, Stephen looked at her again, seeing how she bit her lip. “She was what?”

Caroline lifted her gaze to his. “I was her friend,” she said, softly. “And she was to be my sister-in-law. She is still important to me even if she is not important to you.”

Stephen’s expression darkened. “She cannot be important to me any longer,” he said, a little angrily. “You cannot expect such a thing from me, Caroline.”

His sister said nothing, looking back at him expectantly until Stephen, letting out a long and heavy sigh, realized he had no other choice but to tell her the truth.

“Lady Violet told me that she did not want to end our engagement but that she was forced to do so,” Stephen told her, as Caroline’s eyebrows lifted. “That is all.”

“And you did not believe her?”

Throwing up his hands, Stephen attempted to keep ahold of his temper, fully aware that they were still in company and would be overheard by a good many gentlemen and ladies if he did not keep ahold of himself. “I have every reason not to do so, Caroline! This is the first explanation I have ever received as to why she ended our engagement and –”

“You would not have read her letters, even if she had attempted to explain,” Caroline interrupted, her cheeks a little flushed. “You have been much too angry with her, much too furious to even consider what she would have to say about it all. But I must ask you, what purpose do you think that she would have in stating such a thing? Why would she tell you such a lie, if that is what it is?”

“Why would she not?” Stephen replied, his own anger growing as he squeezed his hands tight into fists. “She could have been saying such a thing in the hope of returning to my affections!”

“And why would she do that?”

“Because I am a Duke now, am I not?” Stephen turned his head away. “Come now, Caroline, I am sure you can understand this! I am a gentleman with a greater title, a vast fortune and as I have been reminding you, a great expectation from society that I will marry and that I will marry well. It would be the choice of any young lady to marry a Duke, would it not? So why should not Lady Violet be the one to pursue such a thing? Why should she not try to come back into my attentions, given that she and I shared that beforehand?”

Caroline’s face, to Stephen’s surprise, drew into such an angry expression, Stephen almost took a step back.

“How dare you say such a thing of her?” she hissed, coming closer and prodding one finger into Stephen’s chest. “Did you not know Lady Violet at all when you were first courting, when you were first engaged?”

“I… I…”

“She is not the sort of creature who should ever treat you in such a way,” Caroline continued, her eyes as sharp as flint, biting into his face. “She would not lie. She would not use guile in an attempt to secure your connection to her again. None of that is true, Lancaster and, quite frankly, I am astonished that you would think such a thing.”

Stephen opened his mouth to try and respond, to try and find a way to tell her that he was perfectly well able to say such a thing but Caroline turned around and marched away, leaving Stephen to stand alone. He made to hurry after her, aware that she did not have anyone with her to chaperone her, only for him to see Lord Hampton striding across the grass towards her. He bowed and Caroline quickly took his proffered arm so they might walk together. Yet again, Stephen was left entirely alone, standing still and watching as both his friend and his sister walked away from him.

He was pushing everyone away from him, was he not? And yet, despite his awareness of this, Stephen could not seem to think of a way to stop himself from him doing it.

I could accept what Lady Violet told me, said a quiet voice in his mind. I could believe that what she told me was true and see what difference that would make to my heart.

Closing his eyes, Stephen let out a slow breath and then shook his head to himself again. If he was to do that, he would be letting go of the guard around his heart, releasing himself from the anger and the upset which burned through him almost constantly. Did he want that? Was he ready for it? And if so, then what would happen to him once he did?