Chapter 3

"Ruined," Sally stammered. "I'm ruined. What have we done?"

"Lady Sally," the Duke said beside her. She felt the warm breath brushing against her cheek and his sandalwood oils filled the air. A second ago, she'd thought it pleasant to be so close to him, to be enveloped in the cloud of the comforting scent. Now? Now she wished she'd never stepped foot into this library.

The ton was merciless when it came to gossip, and Lady Millstone was the Queen of the Scandal Sheets. She'd never have admitted it, but most of the most horrifying stories printed came from her. She couldn't shake the feeling that her reputation, her future, was slipping away from her grasp.

"I can't believe this is happening," Sally muttered, her eyes wide with panic. "I've always tried to be responsible, to live up to the expectations placed on me. Now, it's all crumbling because of a simple accident."

"Please do not fret so much." Leonard placed a hand on her arm, trying to steady her but it only fed her fear and she stepped away from him.

"What will people say? What will my mother think? I've let everyone down."

Leonard tightened his grip on her arm. "Listen to me. We'll find a way to explain, to clear up any misconceptions. You are not alone in this. Let us go back to the ball and pretend nothing has happened. Even if Lady Millstone said something, we will act as though it is not true."

Sally's eyes welled up with tears, her resolve crumbling under the weight of shame. "I can't face the ball now. I can't face anyone."

"Please, do not panic. Nothing has happened yet. Lady Millstone is known to be a gabster and people might doubt what she said. All we need to do is spread the truth first," he said as if it were the easiest thing in the world. Sally wanted to inform him that for him, a Duke, a man, this might not be a problem, but it was for her.

Before he could respond, the door swung open, and Sally's mother's face appeared in the doorway, Lady Millstone right behind her. The woman's face had turned into a mask of disdain. Following her was Rosy – and, to Sally's surprise, Joanna and Kenneth. Panic surged through Sally at the sight of them because their faces told her what they had been informed of

Lady Millstone pointed an accusatory finger at them. "See? They are still standing together like thieves in the night. It is a scandal! A scandal. He disrobed her!"

True to his word, the Duke attempted to explain, "Lady Millstone, it's not what it seems?—"

But before he could finish, Sally found her voice, her determination cutting through the chaos. "It was an accident. I was trying to fix my gown, and His Grace was helping me. Nothing untoward occurred. If anything, he prevented a scandal."

Lady Millstone scoffed, her eyes narrowing with suspicion. "Nonsense! I saw it with my own eyes. She was half disrobed, and the Duke was taking advantage of her!"

Sally's cheeks burned with embarrassment and frustration. "That's not true! I was not half disrobed, and he certainly wasn't taking advantage of me. It was a simple mistake."

Joanna looked at Sally with wide eyes, betraying both shock and concern. Sally wished she could run away with her sister, escape the judgmental gaze of the ton, but she was trapped – literally for her family and Lady Millstone were blocking the door.

Then, Joanna's husband Kenneth stepped forward and commanded attention, his tone firm. "Lady Millstone, I appreciate your concern, but this is a family matter. Please, leave us to deal with it."

Lady Millstone huffed, offended. "Very well, I shall leave you to it but rest assured I will not let this go. Such behavior is unbecoming of a lady. A scandal, indeed!"

As Lady Millstone stormed out of the room, Sally felt a mixture of relief and gratitude toward Kenneth. She'd had her trouble with her brother-in-law when he first met her sister, but in the last two years he'd become an integral part of the family. Kenneth had been the one to guide the family through the shocking revelation that their father, Lord Carlisle, had stolen funds from a local orphanage – and sought to arrange a marriage for Joanna with a wealthy Marquess to weasel his way out of consequences.

The fallout had been quite terrible, for it had brought more misdeeds to light, chiefly among them her father's infidelity years prior. However, with Kenneth's help and his belief in forgiving and moving forward, they had all found a way to reconcile with Lord Carlisle. In fact, he'd softened over the years and was now a firm champion for his daughters. He was meant to be at the ball, of course, but his carriage had suffered a delay at Brighton on his journey home and he'd been forced to miss it.

How odd it is that in this hour I should wish for my father when I was so angry at him for so long.

"Sally, what in the world were you thinking?" her mother chided her, and Sally realized the situation was far from over. Her cheeks still flushed with embarrassment, turned to face her mother. "Mother, I swear, nothing untoward happened. I do not know how else I can say it. Rosy, you know how hard it is to do this dress up on my own. You helped me. Tell her."

To her disappointment, Rosy said nothing, only shuffling her foot over the carpet as she looked from Sally to the Duke of Chester and back again.

"It doesn't matter if it was an accident, Sally. Lady Millstone saw what she saw, and the ton will believe her version of events. We need to think of a solution to salvage your reputation. There are of course few options for us," she said and looked at the Duke. Suddenly, Sally understood what her mother was implying. But no … she couldn't mean … marriage? She'd heard many tales of girls who'd been made to marry due to a scandal, but this surely would not quality. Would it?

A horrid thought came to her then as she looked at Joanna who was growing paler by the second.

"Mother, what are you suggesting? You cannot mean …" Joanna said but while Sally appreciated her sister standing up for her, she had something to ask herself. And it could not wait.

Sally narrowed her eyes, and looked at Joanna, her throat dry. "Joanna, when did you arrive?"

Joanna exchanged a confused glance with Kenneth before answering, "We just got here. Why? What does that have to do with anything?"

Sally's mind raced, connecting the dots. Lady Millstone had mentioned both her and Joanna. Hadn't she said their mother was looking for them? And hadn't her mother sent her to look library to look for Joanna?

"Mother, did you orchestrate this? Did you send Lady Millstone to find us in the library?"

Her mother's eyes grew wide while from the corner of her eye she saw the Duke's shoulders pull back in attention.

Her mother, taken aback by the accusation, feigned innocence. "Sally, how could you even think such a thing? I would never?—"

But Sally interrupted, the anger bubbling to the surface. "Don't lie to me! You sent me here saying that Joanna had arrived and was in the library returning books. However, she confirmed she just arrived. And moments before she burst in here, I heard Lady Millstone calling for Joanna and myself, saying you were looking for us."

"Mother?" Joanna demanded, arms crossed while Kenneth's jaw dropped a little at this revelation.

Her mother's eyes flickered with discomfort, but she quickly composed herself. "I was mistaken. I thought Joanna was in the library, but I must have been someone else, someone who reminded me of her. I was mistaken. As for Lady Millstone, I did ask her to look for you only so that … I do not need to justify myself to you."

"Mistaken? Mother, I know you wanted me to marry, but to go to such lengths? To involve Joanna, to manipulate the situation?"

Her mother, offended, replied, "How dare you accuse me of such things! I only thought you wanted to see Joanna. I had no idea a Duke would be in the library undressing you."

Sally's anger intensified. "He did not disrobe me. Stop saying that!"

The tension in the room crackled as Sally grappled with the betrayal of her mother's actions. She didn't even dare look at the Duke beside her, she could only imagine how he felt. He'd hardly spent any time in town for the last two years, and now that he was back, he was drawn into this mayhem.

Joanna broke the silence. "Please, it does not matter how this all came about or even what really happened. What matters is only what we do now." She looked at Kenneth who appeared rather miserable and tugged on his cravat which appeared too large around his neck.

Kenneth's gaze shifted toward Leonard, his brows furrowed in contemplation. "There's only one thing to do. Leonard needs to marry Sally."

The reply came swiftly – and sharp as a sword. "I'm sorry, my friend, but no. I am very apologetic for what has happened here this night, but I could never marry her."

"Your Grace!" Sally's mother explained and at last even Rosy found her voice although all she managed to mutter was a weak "What?" before Leonard Harding, the man who'd appeared as if out of thin air disappeared through the library door, having elbowed his way past a shocked Kenneth.

Even though they were nothing to each other, the rejection cut deeper than she could have imagined. Wounded, Sally wrapped her arms around herself and shook her head. "I didn't even want to marry him," she said to herself but evidently loud enough to draw her sister's attention for Joanna rushed to her side.

Oddly, her arm did not feel comforting as she wrapped it around Sally as her entire body felt twitchy. Her skin burned with mortification and her eyes stung with unshed tears.

"We need to talk to Lady Millstone," Kenneth's voice came like a bullhorn through the fog.

"First we need to talk to the Duke," her mother replied.

"He didn't seem to want to," Rosy pointed out and felt her younger sister's eyes on her.

"He'll do the right thing," Joanna whispered to Sally, but her words did not soothe her any more than her touch. Amidst the chaos, Sally couldn't help but wonder how a situation she never desired had brought about such unexpected pain and upheaval. Humiliation pressed heavily on Sally as she stood in the center of the room, surrounded by expectant gazes. She had to get out of there. Now.

"I must take the air," Sally declared, freeing herself from her sister's touch. Without waiting for a response, she swiftly exited the room, the eyes of her family following her every step.

* * *

The night air greeted Sally as she stepped onto the balcony, the cool breeze offering a momentary reprieve from the stifling atmosphere inside. She leaned against the railing, anger, hurt, and confusion all crashing down on her at once.

Sally tried to make sense of the events that had unfolded so rapidly. The Duke of Chester's rejection echoed in her mind, exacerbating her disgrace. She didn't want to marry him either, but couldn't he not have found a more tactful way to declare his will?

"Lady Sally?" a voice came from the shadows and for the second time today, Leonard Harding appeared from the darkness, sending her heart into palpitations.

"What do you want?" she spat, the intensity of her gaze locking onto Leonard's figure. Under normal circumstances, she might had admired his handsome visage. The moonlight cast a particularly favorable light onto his sharp features and his blue eyes sparkled as they reflected the candle in the lamp above him. Alas, right now there was no such time. Right now, she was livid with him.

"If my presence is unwelcome, I can leave." He shrugged and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his black pantaloons.

Sally's eyes flashed with frustration. "Unwelcome? How could your presence be welcome after what you did?"

"I thought we had established that I did nothing, neither did you," he replied. She noted the change in his demeanor, his face grew harder.

"I mean after refusing to marry me in front of everyone as though I had a case of leprosy?" She had to control her volume, lest she attract more attention but right now she did not care.

"I understand your anger, but marrying you is not a solution. It wouldn't be fair to either of us. Nor is it something you or I want, or am I wrong?"

Her resentment boiling over, Sally shot back, "Fair? What do you know about fairness? You are a Duke. Everyone will simply chalk this up as another of your rakish conquests, but me? I am ruined. My sister is ruined, nobody will marry her now. And Joanna and Kenneth? They too are implicated." She curled her hands into fits, grateful for the long satin gloves which protected palms from being bloodied by her nails digging into them.

Leonard's gaze held a hint of empathy, though his words remained measured. "I rejected the idea of a forced marriage, not you, Lady Sally. Our circumstances are unfortunate, but I did not mean to wound you."

Sally scoffed, her frustration reaching its peak. "Wound me? Is that how you see it? You've shattered any hope I had of a respectable marriage, and now you pretend to be concerned about my feelings?"

Leonard's response was steady, his tone measured. "That is not fair. I was doing you a favor, nothing more."

Sally, her anger mingling with hurt, retorted, "Some favor," she muttered even though she knew that she had been unkind. He truly was as innocent in all of this as she was. Her words, her rage was born out of hurt and desperation, nothing else. Indeed, she didn't want to marry him either, she'd been shocked by the suggestion as well.

"I know you did not do anything wrong,' she said, forcing herself to calm down as she released her fingers. "I never wanted a marriage forced upon me, either, especially not to a man I do not know well."

Leonard's expression remained composed. "I understand and I regret any pain this has caused. But we must find a way forward that preserves what dignity we can salvage."

"There is nothing to salvage. Even if we tell the truth and it is believed, I am afraid my mother is quite right. Ruination will certainly follow." She scoffed. "I suspect she planned all of this, not figuring your reluctance into her actions. Now she's ruined me. It is ironic, is it not?"

He said nothing but looked at her wistfully.

"Do not worry yourself, we will manage. I know it." Sally watched him intently, aware of the sincerity in his tone and yet uncertain that what he was saying would come to pass.

"Your Grace, you are gullible if you believe the ton will be kind to us. To me. You will face certain judgments, I know. But that will pass. With time, they will forget especially since you have a reputation already as a rake – "she raised a hand as he was about to protest. "Deserved or not, it is what people are saying about you. In this case it will help you recover quickly. You will even have gentlemen pat your back and congratulate you on your conquest of an Earl's daughter. But I? I shall never recover from this."

His lips parted but he said nothing. He knew it was true, he had to know.

"My family will be affected, my sister and I will have no chance of finding a match. I do not seek validation, Your Grace, I only tell you the truth. Nobody touches a lady who has been scandalized in such a manner. There is no mercy in our society for women, even if they are aristocratic."

She took a deep breath. It felt good to get this off her chest. He had to understand what she was facing. "I would only ask that if anyone should ask why you would not marry me after this that you do not say ‘I could never marry her' as you did in that room for it will make things infinitely worse for me. Invent a lover, invent a … I do not know. Anything but that. Although perhaps it makes no difference."

As the tension lingered in the air, Sally grappled with the harsh reality before her. She usually liked sitting out here at night to count the stars, alas tonight was different. This night held no promise of solace, only the daunting prospect of navigating a future that was most uncertain.

To think this morning, I worried about becoming a spinster because I could not find a husband – it is now all but a certainty. I will be a spinster but because I was rejected which is even worse.

His voice drew Sally out of her thoughts, gentle and almost undyeable as he spoke her name.

"Very well, I shall marry you," he said, and she stared at him as if she'd been burned by a flickering candle. It was a searing shock that ran through her, and she could do nothing but allow her mouth to drop open, though she knew she'd likely look like a fish drawn from the waters.

"What in the world do you mean?" she demanded incredulously. "Do not play tricks on me, I beg of you."

Leonard met her gaze, his tone staunch. "You heard me. I will marry you if that is what you truly want."

Sally blinked, forcing herself to swallow though she could not reply. The shock was too deep. He'd marry her? But why the sudden change? Why this mercurial behavior?

"I … I …" the words refused to exit her mouth for the truth was, Sally did not know what to say, think, or even feel. What she did know was this:

Life as she'd known it was over.

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